Signmypapyrus, your Barn Owner has a serious problem to be sure, but there isn’t a thing you can do about it.
Finding somewhere else to keep your horse would be your best bet, but if that isn’t possible, you will just have to work around Team Danger as best you can. These things have a way of working out, and this one sounds like it is pretty close to resolving itself; ER for the owner and removal for the problem horse. Sad for the horse, too bad for the owner, but really it’s none of your business, and you should resist the temptation to get involved. Just stay safe until the dust settles. My $.02.
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If you are in the rural west, contact your local brand inspector or 4-H leader. They always know who has a spot in a pasture to take an extra horse. Or an unfenced pasture that you can use if you fence it.
A good solar charger and spooled hot wire (its like twine with a wire in it - can be cut, knotted and reused forever) package can be purchased off Amazon for a $150. Put up some t-posts and 2 lines of wire and a stock tank and you and your friend can get out of this situation in a day.
It’s not worth getting kicked/pawed in the head by some idoit’s spoilt beast. And she will NEVER get a trainer. No sane person will take him on because he will destroy their place and horses and put them in risk (why mess with a rouge when there a nice well bred colts to start.) Plus the owner would fire the trainer instantly - this kind of rehab is violent and some hair will be rubbed off and she will through a fit.
Good luck and stay safe.
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@signmypapyrus, how have you tried to find pasture during the past year? Are you only looking at want ads, or have you advertised that you’re looking for a place? Others have posted some good suggestions for where to ask about pasture rental (brand inspector, 4H, COTH forums). You could also post ads on local Craigslist and Facebook pages, want ad sections of local newspapers and other publications. Also tack a notice on the bulletin board of your local farm supply store or any place else that people with land and livestock go. And don’t forget your farrier and vet.
I get that it can be hard to relocate your horse. Like you, I live in a rural area. If I couldn’t keep my horses at home I would have a hard time finding a decent place to board within reasonable driving distance.
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On the one hand I’d agree that the horse is not your problem to fix; on the other hand, if that horse is in the same field with your horse and you get attacked by it, then it’s very much your problem.
If the BO can’t at least fix that aspect of the problem–the horse attacking other horse-owners who are just trying to catch their own horses–then you should move. Maybe you won’t ever be actually hurt by the horse, but you’re already having to routinely take a whip along with you and be ready to deploy it to protect yourself, and that’s just a disaster waiting to happen (either to you or another boarder).
Have you asked your vet and your farrier if they know of any places that might be able to take your horse in? Have you considered just moving your horse farther away than you’d like just for the short term to give yourself enough time to find something else or set up something else (as another poster suggested?
Could you relocate and take your horse to a different area? (I know that may not be realistic, but I thought I’d ask).
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This is so true. There would likely be some CTJ moments with this one to try to turn him into a horse you’d trust being around. Shame the idiot owner did this to him.
OP, widen your search parameters as suggested. There surely must be someone with a pasture with a shelter who wouldn’t mind a sane self-care boarder in your vicinity.
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Those who know hot wire, how removable is it? If OP uses some to create a separate pasture/paddock at their current boarding place, can it just be removed and sold or re-used when the OP no longer needs/wants it there? Same thing with making a pen, paddock, or pasture at/near the OP’s house or wherever they find a spot.
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Hot wire/tape and T-posts are very removable, I move mine around every few weeks for my goats.
But the barn owner needs to step up and ask the dangerous horse to leave or put dangerous horse in a private paddock.
If unwilling OP just needs to move.
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He isn’t afraid. He doesn’t hate his owner. He lacks zero respect for any human as alpha. For that reason alone I would give this owner one choice . Send him to a reputable trainer or leave now. More than the owner is at risk of serious injury or death.
If you aren’t the BO then they need to step up and say something and put the horse somewhere that nobody has to enter his enclosure to feed or clean.
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Seconding (thirding?) this.
I’d try every possible way to find a different pasture but in the meantime, can you fence off an area at your current farm for your and your friends horses? You mentioned that the horse is/was at one time in a different paddock - can you use that? Are there multiple fields, or just one single field? Is there any way to temporarily subdivide it or fence off a corner for your horses (or better, if the barn owner would go for it, for the young horse)?
I hate to see it when things are going badly for other horse people but the bottom line is that the only thing you control is your and your horse’s safety. Do whatever you need to do to 1) keep yourself safe, and 2) keep your horse safe.
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Why the BO hasn’t made this horse a round-pen to live in or set up his own hot-fence paddock is beyond me. The solution that is needed NOW is that every other boarder and the BO are safe. To achieve that, the horse must be in his own space. that is not an expensive thing to make happen. The BO should tell his owner that she’ll throw hay and feed and stick a hose in his tank through the fence and that’s it, full stop.
the BO is a blooming IDIOT if they think they are shielded from any liability at all in this case. There is too much evidence and too many witnesses to the many dangerous events to date. That is NOT the OP’s problem. That is the BO’s problem.
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The owner of the horse is insane.
The barn owner has no business sense, if they allow this menace to remain and risk their other boarders.
The horse, unfortunately, has a bleak future. He will likely need to be in extremely competent hands for the rest of his life or he will ultimately kill or maim someone.
Why does the BO allow them to stay?
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I looked up our 4-H (which is 100 miles away; that does sound like a long distance, but for us that’s “close”) and we have a 4-H affiliation with our state university and one with our county, so I can contact them. We don’t have horse clubs here. Once a year the rodeo comes through. 4-H might have options, though.
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I agree with everyone that one of the best options is talking with the barn owner and figuring out why they’re allowing the lady to stay and if they could either move the gelding or if they could stall my mare. My girl is really easy going and doesn’t mind being stalled.
I might not be privy to conversations that are happening behind the scenes. -
For the past year, I’ve asked around, and I can definitely keep looking. My barn friend is looking because she’s worried too.
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With the recent vet situation, for example, we ALL had to help out and I think that was really when the light bulb clicked on that I need to do something (like move, figure out liability, stall my mare, etc.) because he could have hurt any one of us.
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So far, he has not attacked any other horses, but that could change.
I hope that clarifies and thanks so much for the advice! The most recent two events had me ready to put my mare in my backyard even though I’m legally not allowed to.
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I wholeheartedly agree with these concerns.
If the horse had not had surgery to remove the testicles, then it is basically an unruly young stallion and should not be in a herd with mares.
If you have a mare, and that mare is turned out with this horse, you could unwittingly become the owner of 2 horses.
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If this horse is indeed a cryptorchid stallion, you (and other mare owners) might want to have your mare checked to make sure she’s not in foal. You never know.
(Foggythistle read my mind)
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Could you use the stallion probability to demand that your mare not be turned out with him?
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You don’t have to do this, it is just for me 
, and yes I’m cheeky enough to carefully frame this question and slide it into a conversation with a BO …
So, is it ok with the BO if someone is hurt/killed by this horse, or another horse is hurt, so long as she has no financial responsibility due to insurance and/or liability protection laws?
She will probably say no it is not ok with her, and MAYBE that question would start to untrack her thinking which may be foolishly stuck on her assumed financial protections.
You could get into a pointless argument to show her that those things won’t protect her financially because of this and that, but if she argues back, there is no real point in trying to convince her. You will have made the real point - injury or death - and really the financial stuff doesn’t even matter compared with that. People get their heads on backwards, sometimes.
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OP what I’m reading between the lines, as you have expressed without details (and that’s ok, don’t need 'em), is that this situation is escalating. Maybe faster than it was previously – and if this dangerous horse is maturing, that could be definitely be the case.
So, whatever is going on now is putting you and your friend into a situation of increasing urgency. I get that feeling of desperation and having nowhere to turn.
Keep putting out those wide-ranging feelers and working the phones & email for an evacuation landing point, as has been suggested. As it were.
In the meantime – If you feel urgent about the situation – trust your instinct on this, if you feel a deep urge to pull your mare out of there asap – it’s ok to take her to a place that is suitable but temporary, even if it is a long way away.
Be open to a (much) wider range than you’ll accept long-term. Just get her to safety – and yourself – even if it means you can’t be with her as often as you like. Even if it is a major inconvenience. As long as you trust the care if you can’t be eyes-on very often.
In a more urgent situation with no immediately suitable long-term solution, then you are just looking for a safe place to buy some time. For weeks or months, not forever.
Last resort if you become convinced that your mare needs to move asap, even ‘today’ – call your city offices and ask for temporary permission to put her in your backyard. For maybe a week or two. Tell them how you will keep her confined (no loose horse in town) and how you will handle the manure, that’s often their biggest concerns. If they say ‘no’ you are no worse off. Sometimes it’s surprising what can happen if we just ask.
I’m on the opposite end of the north-south spectrum from you, close to the gulf coast, and I’m being triggered into hurricane-evacuation protocol. 
First get the horses away from the storm – then the farm is all busted up, so they can’t come back right away – so the horses end up parked about 200 miles away for a week or several, while it all gets sorted out for them at home. (Farther than really needed because other hurricane evacuee horses are also out there taking up board space.)
Keep asking for whatever you need to resolve this. Humans aren’t actually made to be entirely self-sustaining monoliths, contrary to the stories and movies about the old west. We are community creatures and community members will often go a bit extra to help another community member in need. 
I hope you will keep us up to date in this thread. Or if you must step away, come back at some point with a final update. You have a lot of COTH emotional support behind you right now! And your mare, and your friend and friend’s horse.
Just know that you’ve put the word out to COTH, and in response you now have dozens of horse people who are firmly on your side! That response is likely to happen for you locally as well!
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I am sorry you are dealing with this. I had to evict a client whose aggressive training (opposite problem) had made her horse aggressive. I wasn’t willing to take the risk to myself, other boarders, OR the owner. She was also evicted at her next barn, and was forced to field board (as nobody wanted to make their staff handle him).
I wonder if the BO feels obligated to board because there aren’t other options for this lady and because she has two horses? Unfortunately it will probably take the BO being injured, or a lawsuit for the boarder to be evicted if they haven’t already.
Have you asked the vet if they know of alternative boarding in the area? Or the farriers? I would assume they have other horse farms they go to, and the vet will likely understand why you need to move.
Segregating the dangerous horse would be a good short term solution, but I think you would still find the place stressful and dangerous as long as that person is there.
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And if you’re on good terms with the vet, they might have leads too. I live in the rural west as well and my vet is a godsend for information. Interestingly, I found my current boarding situation by using my local community FB group. I posted looking for a place to park a horse and I’ve been there for almost two years now.
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I haven’t read all of the responses but read most.
If your horse is OK with it, carry a flag and whack the sh*t out of that horse if it comes in your reach. If the owner can’t teach it, you can if it is interfering with you catching and leading your horse out of the pasture. Horses will learn that the owner might be a carpet but you won’t be. The trainer at the barn gets a lot of problem horses. I barn-sit not infrequently. They learn the rules pretty quickly if you are boss mare. Most of these horses tend to act out in the absence of a boss mare. Some of them, we put with the resident boss mare. Oh, how they change their toon.
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