Greenhorn questions about Horse Troubles...

MossflowerWoods · Nov 10, 2012

So I'm guilty of letting the girls treat the horses like golden retrievers and they got pretty naughty for a short while. My neighbor, and a couple books helped me regain a modicum of control and they are behaving better.

But I am VERY Green as a horse owner/rider/ranch hand.

Somehow I need to get these horses back into being ridden daily or at least every couple days. But I'm having a tough time.

My gelding thinks he is lead mare, and he is constantly annoying my mare. He steals her food, he is pushy, etc. Lately he is like a helium balloon and when I go out in the pasture he follows me like a helium balloon and I cannot get close to her. Eventually I will have seperate fields and will be able to seperate them so I can work with just one at a time.

I suspect this thread may take on a life of its own and go on for a while. I have many questions...

Any advice is greatly apreciated.

Thanks in advance.
David

Bird · Nov 10, 2012

David, we've got lots of horse owners on TBN, so maybe they can help. But are you also a member of TBN's sister site, horsesbynet? I don't really know, but think you might find more information there. I had to give up my last horse about 57 years ago.:laughing:

JimRB · Nov 10, 2012

Equus magazine is a wealth of knowledge of things you don't even know to ask. My wife has horses. I read her Equus every month learning stuff I do not really need to know. EQUUS Magazine – The Horse Owner’s Resource

farmfun · Nov 10, 2012

JimRB said:
Equus magazine is a wealth of knowledge of things you don't even know to ask. My wife has horses. I read her Equus every month learning stuff I do not really need to know. EQUUS Magazine The Horse Owner痴 Resource

"learning stuff I do not really need to know", about the horses or the spouse?

whistlepig · Nov 10, 2012

Horses aren't like dogs. Dominance with horses is something that you just can't work out. We board horses and turn out new horses out with an established herd from time to time. We do watch them. Sometimes this is ugly. There is nothing that we can do but watch to make sure they don't break the fence. They will work out who is going to be the boss horse. There is nothing that we can do to change this. Just another mystery of a horse.

RDrancher · Nov 11, 2012

Well, here's some advice from my wife.

Whistlepig is right, there will always be a level of dominance in the herd. You can do your part to modify it a bit though. Stall all of the horses, even if its corral panels with dead space between them. Then you'll be feeding and cleaning up after them everyday and you'll be more likely to ride them as well. That interaction time will help in your taking your place as the herd boss. A round pen is also very beneficial since you can spend as little as fifteen minutes with each horse and build respect from them. Ground work is just as important as riding...and remember to always end on a good note.

2LaneCruzer · Nov 11, 2012

RDrancher said:
Well, here's some advice from my wife.

Whistlepig is right, there will always be a level of dominance in the herd. You can do your part to modify it a bit though. Stall all of the horses, even if its corral panels with dead space between them. Then you'll be feeding and cleaning up after them everyday and you'll be more likely to ride them as well. That interaction time will help in your taking your place as the herd boss. A round pen is also very beneficial since you can spend as little as fifteen minutes with each horse and build respect from them. Ground work is just as important as riding...and remember to always end on a good note.

Pardon me for butting in; I know absolute nothing about horses, except that when I get on one he's the boss. My Dad used to ride a lot when he was younger; born on a farm in 1910, he used horses to farm and rode a horse as transportation, even rode it to school every day. I used to listen to his stories about him and his horses, and once made the remark that "It must have been fun to farm with horses". His reply? "He77 no", he said, "horses are dumb, and you have to be smarter than them and stay on your toes, or they will end up killing or maiming you. Tractors were the best thing that ever happened to farming". I think he much preferred mules.

RDrancher · Nov 11, 2012

2LaneCruzer said:
Pardon me for butting in; I know absolute nothing about horses, except that when I get on one he's the boss. My Dad used to ride a lot when he was younger; born on a farm in 1910, he used horses to farm and rode a horse as transportation, even rode it to school every day. I used to listen to his stories about him and his horses, and once made the remark that "It must have been fun to farm with horses". His reply? "He77 no", he said, "horses are dumb, and you have to be smarter than them and stay on your toes, or they will end up killing or maiming you. Tractors were the best thing that ever happened to farming". I think he much preferred mules.

Even though I do own a horse, I prefer things with a key that can be shut off.

dave1949 · Nov 11, 2012

2LaneCruzer said:
Pardon me for butting in; I know absolute nothing about horses, except that when I get on one he's the boss. My Dad used to ride a lot when he was younger; born on a farm in 1910, he used horses to farm and rode a horse as transportation, even rode it to school every day. I used to listen to his stories about him and his horses, and once made the remark that "It must have been fun to farm with horses". His reply? "He77 no", he said, "horses are dumb, and you have to be smarter than them and stay on your toes, or they will end up killing or maiming you. Tractors were the best thing that ever happened to farming". I think he much preferred mules.

Sounds like my father-in-law. Same sort of life experience. When I asked him about getting a horse for our kids, he said he'd seen so many guys "bunged-up" by farm horses, he would advise against it. But, he did have a funny tale about an Uncle of his yelling "Whoa!" as he drove his first tractor through a fence row.