@Bluey -Bob has Ranch Horse in his CV --like the horse in your post, he never really attacked other horses, just push-bump-push-bump 24/7. Previous owner had no way to separate and her old horse was getting thin with Bob constantly pushing him. So, happy with me (so far).
I kind of wonder if it might be an innate or even reenforced behavior. Bob is a wiz with cows --where his “pushy-ness” is expected and rewarded.
Maybe the herd aggression is Bob-being-Bob.
You are right, Skippy was great on cattle also.
Maybe some horses inherit cow herding instinct a bit over the top?
That is the second horse we had from many that I know that did that.
The other, Boots, he won cow horse futurities, did the same.
Both were excellent, quiet, sensible, smart horses, just had that quirk things need to be moving and other horses in their herd were their handy target.
Tightly bred border collies also can be like that.
One we had when we were training them, if not busy, when the wind would blow, would run up and down the dirt road in front of the house, her feet stirring up dust balls she then chased down trying to herd them.
We had to keep her penned up. 
Do you own a second horse to try turning out with your mare?
As a boarder, I wouldn’t want my horse to be the Guinea pig on this experiment.
I’d offer special yummy hay and clicker train for trailering plus chains.
Hey, thank you so much for this! It’s all really helpful. She has scoped clean! She did have some ulcers when I first got her, though she went through a successful course of treatment, and upon rescope, she’s all clear.
I really appreciate you taking the time to go through how you would go about introducing her to a horse. I also have though about the animal communicator thing - it’s a bit woo woo for sure, but I’ve heard people have some really interesting/positive experiences, so it may be worth looking into, bc, why not!?
Hey, I really appreciate this comment, too. I’m currently in an equine behavior course, and I’m admittedly grappling with finding the balance between what I’m learning is “best practices” vs. what my horse seems to want. My trainer and vet (who is wonderful, and I really trust her) has essentially said what you have said - my mare doesn’t ‘act’ like this is a problem for her (she seems quite content in most of her day to day life) so perhaps I’m making too much of it.
I don’t! Which definitely complicates things, and I totally understand my barn owner’s/other boarder’s trepidation (I would feel the same way! I don’t want anyone to get hurt!).
Good thought on the chains for trailering.
Coming in with a differing perspective that we have two horses that came to us with the disclosure they “could not be turned out with other horses or else!!!” and they were fine. They’re out in a herd now, both middle of the pack on the totem pole. Been a few years that way. We put them in with the boss first, then gradually added the others. No issue. Some galloping around though. 
It breaks my heart to see and take care of horses that have been alone their entire lives. They are different. You can tell. So many people let them down along the way. Those horses are often not a joy to handle from the barn side, FYI - they don’t understand boundaries the same way and tend to be rude and pushy.
The answer may be somewhere in the middle of “keep alone” and “turnout with friends”.
Sometimes the horses that are really aggressive over the fence are resource guarding and insecure. I do not love introductory periods through the fence for that reason as most horses tend to feel proprietary about THEIR fenceline. Same goes for stalls - horses tend to be much more aggressive to their neighbors in stalls. I prefer to do introduction through hand grazing first, a few sessions - and then in a neutral paddock. This is not a realistic practice for most boarding barns though.
Best practice is to do so in a large, neutral paddock where galloping is not risky, horses are not at risk of sliding into fences or boards, and the resources are spread out enough that if one horse says unequivocally G-T-F-O that the other horse has ample space to do so. Another best practice would be to seriously weigh the temperaments and limitations of both parties before introducing them: if you have a geriatric horse that has some physical limitations, don’t make him the guinea pig of your Chucky Doll horse that paces the fence line at Formula One speeds.
Unless you own another horse willing to be a guinea pig, your mare may be stuck alone. Horses can and do get killed by other horses. All it takes is a kick in a bad place.
Right, I am sure there are all kinds of horses out there that fit in all managements.
Figuring how it works for each is the trick.
We bought a nice 5 year old that was not disclosed had to be kept alone as he was aggressive to other horses, we found that later.
All we were told is that he was kept alone last year.
No barrier aggression, as we put him in pens by the herd, that came visit and not even a pinned ear or squeal.
After a few days, time to turn him out, four other geldings, oldest 14 and very soft, shy horse.
Put out several flakes of alfalfa, what we use for supplement to our winter grasses, about double the horses.
Turned new horse out with them, he walked around looking things over, found a flake and went to eating, just as every other was doing.
After a few bites, he ran at the meek gelding, grabbed him by the neck in front of the withers, was shaking him and knocked him down, kneed on him and was still trying to shake him by the time I reached them and got him off.
Caught new horse and put him by himself, checked other horse and he seemed ok, just teeth marks on his neck.
We sure didn’t want to mess with that horse, normal horses just don’t do that.
Talking to a friend trainer, he said his neighbors were looking for a horse for their teenager ranch kid and he had been thinking this new horse would fit him great.
They had a large herd of rough ranch horses and thought they would teach that upstart horse some horse manners.
He called them, they wanted to try horse, kid got along fabulously with horse, after a few days turned him out and they say their old horses seem to have been eyeballing him when across the fence and immediately got after him before he could get any ideas.
Horse ended up with a few bites, but they had him for many years and he made a really good horse for them and never again attacked any horse they knew about.
All of us have our stories, we have introduced new horses in pens by the herd pastures and dozens of horses have been fine when turned out.
This is the only one that ever became so over the top aggressive, it was scary to see.
Best we can do is try whatever we think may work and be ready to change our minds if we are wrong, trying to keep everyone safe all along.
Oh gosh yes, normal horses do not do that. Those ones I do feel sorry for.
It is much easier to navigate this issue at home, where you can control more aspects than a boarding barn. This would not be a situation I would expect a boarding barn to address – and why should they? It would put their clients at tremendous personal risk.
I was totally a skeptic before I did it for the first time, but I have now talked to almost all of the horses under my care with a communicator. The first time I did it, I thought for $200, it was so much cheaper than all of the other things I was going to try and it ended up solving the problem that day. It really has surprised me the insights she has had over the few years I’ve been working with her. Definitely recommend giving it a try!
That is well over 2x what I’ve ever paid for a reading. OP, worth a shot but very reputable ones come far cheaper.
Well, as reputable as the profession can get I guess.
🤷 she definitely targets the show crowd so maybe that’s why she charges more, but she’s been spot on with a lot of horses.
Thank you!! This was another really helpful perspective! I will see how she does with some hand grazing alongside another horse (we’ve done this a bit, unintentionally, and she’s been fine, actually. She also is okay in warm up rings, going on trails with other horses, etc.) Given everyone’s feedback and our current boarding situation that isn’t likely to change anytime soon, I don’t know if it’s going to be feasible to get her in turnout with a friend, though maybe we can safely make some acquaintances.
My experience as well with unsocialized horses. Unsocialized to other horses.
Rude and pushy enough that newbie horse people can’t go in the stall with them, or lead them … in fact, need to stay away from them, even when the horse is in cross-ties. Not that the horse is a monster. The horse just doesn’t know what they are expected to do. And the horse is a large animal, with hard feet to step on people … accidentally. Hurts just the same, as an accident.
I feel those horses have been seriously let down by the people who brought them along from birth to whenever they reached maturity with that lack.
I am going to put a bag over my head, so that no one knows that this is OverandOnward posting, while I confess that a true communicator is a thing of gold, a revelation. 
While maintaining that I don’t believe in the woo-woo stuff. Not a bit. 
But a good communicator has made the difference in my life path with a horse more than once. One time I paid. It was one of the best $100 I ever spent. The others were friends, not professional communicators, but they could hear from the horses.
If you need a rationalization, maybe this is our one avenue at a person attuned to both horse and human psychology. Can tell myself that this was actually a counseling session with someone who had insight into horses, as well as people.
“Communicator” may mean “Good at communicating with humans about horses.” 
I think my last communicator was well attuned to how much stamina I had for the journey I was on with the horse at the time. She helped me come up with a plan and some future decision dates. Even a sort of budget. While assuring me that this was what the horse was willing to do, as well. That outside-the-situation input was what I needed with that horse! (Still have him, 6 years later.)
Also … do horse people think they need a communicator, or do they just need COTH for that other opinion? 
Companion horses for horses that don’t socialize well with other horses – I’ve seen good results when the companion is a draft, or drafty-type, a few inches taller and at least a couple of hundred pounds larger than the other horse. With a saint’s patience.
Have noticed that horses in even small herds seem to feel more secure with the calm, patient, big horse of the group.
In one fairly large pasture with about 10 horses, the resident 16.2h 1400 lb draft-cross was the bartender, as it were. All the horses gravitated to him, once in a while, to graze alongside, complain about the world, and get away from the others. He never cared who was next to him, he welcomed them all, and gently ignored them. They kind of took turns. Since they all had one or two other horses, they were avoiding and wouldn’t go to The Bartender when they didn’t like the other company. 
Listen to Bluey. You don’t need to force your horse to share a pasture with another horse that she dislikes, because someone has told you that horses must share a pasture to be happy. That is not necessarily in your horse’s best interest.
If you are looking at feral horses as the example of “happiness”, remember that in the feral state, horses choose who they hang out with, and can get away from those that they don’t get along with (except for foals which are sometimes savaged by stallions.)
Two people with longe whips in a pasture shooing horses away from each other will not be helpful if one horse really dislikes the other. Humans can’t train horses to like each other when they don’t. As soon as the humans leave (which at some point they will have to) the horses will work it out in one way or another, with a good possibility of one or both being hurt.
If your mare is content, why impose your version of happiness on her?
Glad to hear you aren’t going to risk it in your situation. Enjoy you mare! 
100% agree.
I find roundbales really helpful for resocialization. If you live in the north sometimes some crappy cold weather/snowstorm when they huddle up and eat together on the roundbale can really help put those anxieties away. But first you need a compassionate grounded knowledgeable herd savvy horses to put her with. And then if she wants to eat she can either share and be shoulder to shoulder with another horse or wait her turn and eat in shifts.
Sometimes resocialzation comes in phases - like the horse you need in the beginning to help her and then they learn what fits and doesn’t. I had a gelding that was stalled/turn out alone and first I had to put him with dominant mares for leadership and confidence. That helped a lot but his liking of the mares then kind of went to his head but by that time he could function being in a group with more submissive geldings. In that group he finally learned how to play and became really relaxed and adjusted with life. Don’t be afraid to change up the buddies, it’s like people things change.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
