Which is the best boarding situation

[jtkorth]

Hey guys

So I recently found myself in a situation where I need to switch boarding stables. I have already chosen a stable, but I can’t decide on what her situation should be.

She’s currently in a mid-sized pasture by herself, and it’s all dirt with a shelter in the middle. I’m not quite sure of the dimensions. She’s been in an outdoor living environment her whole life (when we lived up north we put her in a stall at night during the winter) and I really want to keep her there, just because she’s pretty young (6 1/2) and I always catch her loping around her pasture and bucking and such.

The barn I’m looking at has a BUNCH of different boarding options, but most of them are stalls. There’s 3 things I’m considering keeping her in.

The first one is a pasture with 3 other horses (and a run in shelter). I really want her in that just because I want her to have other horses to play with and those pastures are the biggest outdoor choice available. The only issue is that she is an extremely, extremely submissive horse and does nothing to fight for her food (I think it could be because she was a rescue from a situation where she wasn’t getting fed, but I kinda figured that would only make her more aggressive about it??). When we lived in WA, she was with her mom and 4 other horses in a 2 acre pasture for around 2 years and even right before we moved she was letting the other horses bully her away from her food. Down here where I live now, my current barn owner and I have tried multiple times to pair her with a horse but even the most submissive ones haven’t worked. Like, if her and another horse are getting fed, the other horse can just move his/her ears back and my horse will back off (even with 2 food piles, and we’ve tried both geldings and mares).

The other 2 are private paddocks (with a cover on one end), one of which is 12x40 and the other is 16x40. I’m really iffy on the 12x40 just because I’d like to have her in 600+ sqft of space and that’s only like 480. Right now the 16x40 seems to be the best option of all 3 just because it’s alone and still outdoors, and an alright size, but again, I really like the idea of having her in a pretty big area with other horses she’d be able to interact with.

I just don’t know what to do and was hoping for your opinions, like should I try the bigger pasture for the small chance it’ll work out, and if it doesn’t then move her to the 16x40 paddock? Or, since I’ve already tried keeping her with other horses to no avail, should I just go with the 16x40 paddock straight away to avoid the possibility of having to switch later on and make the transition a little easier?

I’m HOPEFULLY going to tour the barn before I decide to move her (but I’m on crutches and am moving her pretty much right after the crutches go away), so that might help me make my decision, but I’d still like your opinions.

And yes, I do know that my horse is not a delicate flower, but she is my rescue baby and I want to make sure I’m making the right decision.

TIA:)

[jdobbs64]

I put out one more pile of hay than I have horses to feed.

[JB]

IMHO, all pastures with multiple horses, where hay is put out, should have quite a few more piles of hay than there are horses.

Even if there are 2 horses, there should be at least 4 piles IMHO. 3 piles can allow one dink of a horse to still be pretty nasty about hoarding unless they are far enough apart. It’s just not that difficult to dump more piles.

I have 4 horses, and spread 10-12 piles of hay out. This also has the advantage of forcing movement, which they should have. I don’t want them standing for hours at a time in front of a huge pile of hay (one reason I simply don’t put rounds out), and this helps with that as well.

Zero aggression once they figure out who gets the first (or best, whatever the case may be lol) pile, and plenty of room for the submissive horse to go eat in peace.

[Blumeroo]

If you would like your horse in the shared pasture, but are worried about the other horses bullying her, then be sure to discuss your concerns with the BO/BM before moving. I’m sure they have encountered this issue before and hopefully are proactive and have a plan.

Like other posters said, they should put out extra piles of hay to ensure that they eat their fair share.

[jtkorth]

I understand all the extra piles and I’m pretty sure they do that (or they should lol) but she does get beat up a lot (I hate the way I sound saying that, but every time I’d bring her in there’d be 1-2 new marks on her) which is also a concern of mine. I know they play and that “scuff marks” are normal, and there’s the whole “establishing pecking order” thing every time you put new horses together, but it’s excessive.

When I tour I’ll try to look for where they put the piles in the pasture, or I’ll ask who’s giving the tour what that situation is

Thanks guys :))

[joiedevie99]

Is it just hay, or will she also get grain while she’s outside in a pasture with others?

[gumtree]

Interesting how different things are in different areas. In my neck of the woods, every horse area I been around. Paddocks are measured by acres or fractions of not feet. Our farm is only around 40 minutes from a one of the biggest cities in the country.

I completely understand why people like to have/keep their competition horses “spotless”. But I think social interaction is pretty important to horses. So a few nicks and scrapes don’t bother me.

That’s not to say I would put, keep horses together who are not a good fit.

[SnicklefritzG]

Make sure they actually put hay out. I know one farm that doesn’t put hay out for horses in the winter. Their excuse? “the horses will fight”

The reality: they are cheap

[jtkorth]

[QUOTE=joiedevie99;8940855]
Is it just hay, or will she also get grain while she’s outside in a pasture with others?[/QUOTE]

The barn only supplies grass hay & alfalfa, so if I end up getting her some grain I’d be buying it and feeding it to her alone somehow. I know for sure if I put grain in a pasture for her, she wouldn’t be the one eating it

[jtkorth]

[QUOTE=gumtree;8940865]
Interesting how different things are in different areas. In my neck of the woods, every horse area I been around. Paddocks are measured by acres or fractions of not feet. Our farm is only around 40 minutes from a one of the biggest cities in the country.

I completely understand why people like to have/keep their competition horses “spotless”. But I think social interaction is pretty important to horses. So a few nicks and scrapes don’t bother me.

That’s not to say I would put, keep horses together who are not a good fit.[/QUOTE]

Maybe you say paddocks when we say pastures? And yeah, I know why people are like that too, but she’s not a competition horse for me. That’s true though, and I’m aware of that but to me it seemed like it was way excessive, like she’d have a lot of spots where she was just missing all of her hair and 60% of them still haven’t grown hair back after a year or so.

[JB]

@jtkorth;8940778

I understand all the extra piles and I’m pretty sure they do that (or they should lol) but she does get beat up a lot (I hate the way I sound saying that, but every time I’d bring her in there’d be 1-2 new marks on her) which is also a concern of mine. I know they play and that “scuff marks” are normal, and there’s the whole “establishing pecking order” thing every time you put new horses together, but it’s excessive.

What kind of marks? A most-submissive horse doesn’t automatically get new scrapes every day simply because they are submissive. Is she instigating things and not as submissive as you think? In a normal situation, the hierarchy is re-established with a new introduction, and it settles. The least dominant horse doesn’t bother anyone so doesn’t get into scuffles, unless quarters are tight, or they just end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. But a low man who has aspirations for higher up can easily get beat up regularly if he’s really not a match for whomever he’s trying to surpass.

[newhorsemommy]

I would just go with the larger paddock and try to turn her out in an unoccupied pasture or arena on days you are there (assuming that’s allowed). I’m also in California and my horses have always lived in separate paddocks with shelters. I did have my gelding and mare sharing a large paddock for a few years, but when he got injured, she turned on him

As long as there are other horses in adjacent paddocks, mine have never minded not having to fight over food or shelter space and it’s a LOT more convenient if you do want to feed some kind of grain or complete feed.

I just moved the injured/retired gelding and mare to a new barn in June. They are in separate paddocks across from one another (each is about 50’ x 100’), each has a shade tree for summer and each has a shade shelter (I just added one wall to each shelter for a wind break). And plenty of larger areas for owner turnout.

[quietann]

[QUOTE=gumtree;8940865]
Interesting how different things are in different areas. In my neck of the woods, every horse area I been around. Paddocks are measured by acres or fractions of not feet. Our farm is only around 40 minutes from a one of the biggest cities in the country. [/QUOTE]

I will admit to envying you. Clearly you do not live in an area where an acre of land runs $150K or more… or you do, but you own the land free and clear.

This is, in fact, one of the most annoying things about boarding anywhere near Boston. Or you have a few places with those big turnouts, but the horses spend very little time in them.

[2DogsFarm]

I agree w/JB - sounds like your mare may be starting fights rather than being bullied.
Since she’d be new to the herd in the pasture best to ask the BO/BM how they integrate new horses.
If injuries are merely scuffmarks w/no skin broken I wouldn’t be overly concerned.

[fordtraktor]

How long was the mare in with the other horses?

I find it takes about a month for the herd to quiet down and yes, there are often a fair number of scrapes and even some cuts while that is happening. But it evens out and goes away if you can force yourself to tough it out. early this fall I put my pony in with my TB and the first week was horrible, every day someone had a new cut. I gritted my teeth and stuck with it – they’ve worked it out and are fine now.

Hair should grow back in a year. Are you sure she isn’t fighting with a neighbor over a fence and getting new scrapes or something?

[Foxtrot_s]

How often is hay put out - are they hungry again before the next feeding?

I happen to think that hair to hair interactions are important to horses and mostly think they will learn to get along when everyone has their place in the pecking order - if there is space.

I would be worried about a kick tho. Mostly it is posturing.

[TheJenners]

OP is in Cali. Very common for turnouts to measured in feet, depending on the location.

[fordtraktor]

That’s right – which leads me to ask “how big is the bigger pasture”? if it is small I wouldn’t want my horse in there with several other horses. I have a 1/2 acre paddock here and I won’t put more than 2 in it. in that case I’d prefer the larger individual option. If it is several acres it might be OK. Can all 4 horses get in the run-in or will she be out in the weather? do you get enough weather that it matters? here we have a lot of snow and rain so everyone needs to fit in the shelter – thus my herds are very small (2-3). but in CA that might not be the case.

[findeight]

How big is the shared “pasture” ? And is there decent grass or would they be dependent on the hay?

Think it makes more sense to just put her in the 16x40 paddock solo if you really don’t know how she’s is going to react in a group or exactly how the barn feeds the pasture group…and if it’s mostly alfalfa, they usually can’t afford too many piles.

She will have neighbors nearby and it’s safer for everybody just to take the easy way rather then experiment with who instigates and who gets bullied. Who cares if there’s a good sized ( by Cali standards) private suite available?

[candyappy]

@newhorsemommy;8941047

I would just go with the larger paddock and try to turn her out in an unoccupied pasture or arena on days you are there (assuming that’s allowed). I’m also in California and my horses have always lived in separate paddocks with shelters. I did have my gelding and mare sharing a large paddock for a few years, but when he got injured, she turned on him

As long as there are other horses in adjacent paddocks, mine have never minded not having to fight over food or shelter space and it’s a LOT more convenient if you do want to feed some kind of grain or complete feed.

I boarded in CA myself for many years . With your horse consistently the lowest in the pecking order, I would opt for individual living quarters with the largest paddock available.

She will have neighbors to socialize with but be able to eat in peace and keep from being bullied. Turn her out in the arena when you are out to see her and give her an opportunity to run and buck if she needs it.

Putting her in the shared pasture will just give the other horses the opportunity to chase her from one hay pile to the next. Since she seems to be bullied by even the most submissive horses in the past, I wouldn’t even go there.

You also risk the fact she will not get shelter either and even in CA it is needed .