Re: RC: Handling Pastured Horses

[owens <owensall@sierranet.net>]

Dear Terry;
Your problem lies in not being the boss of your whole herd.  Your boss
gelding doesn't recognize you as his boss, or else you wouldn't have any
trouble with him.
I would carry a crop, and boss him around.  I would stand in front of
his food and keep him away as long as I wanted.  Watch and study  what
happens in a herd.  There is research done on it.  Be the boss.  It is
the only thing that works.  Horses are very sensitive to body cues, you
need to act the part of the boss.  You know what he is going to do, tell
him otherwise.  Don't let him give you any garbage, out-think him and
make him guess as to what you'll do next.  Throw small rocks at him if
he gets out of your reach, instead of the crop, to control him.
Another thing I've found is that with me as head boss, it gives any
horse I take out bonus points with the herd, for being the chosen one. 
I ride one gelding, who is actually lowest ranking, but doesn't care,
and the youngest gelding, just starting under saddle, is horribly
jealous of him.  He wants to go out, as it shows that he gets
preferential treatment by me, the herd boss.  It seems to improve their
status in the herd.
Oh, also, once you master the boss, you automatically are the top dog
with all others.  They understand this instinctively.
Speaking of rocks, the other day I wanted my gelding to eat the hay I
leave in his spot and the younger one decided he wanted it.  I stood on
the hill and tossed rocks at him until he moved off.  He kept coming
back, and I kept popping him with stones.  It made him so mad, he hopped
up and down, shaking his head.  Finally, he gave up and went off to eat
his own.  There was nothing he could fight.  I won.  
Katee
First thing, you have to be smarter than the horse.
> 
> Terry Emmitt tle01@health.state.ny.us
> Hi, I'm an occasional lurker at Ridecamp and noticed that most of
> you seem to be into the pasture life for your horses. I need some
> advice on how to handle retrieving horses from the pasture.  I
> have a boss gelding who is the first one in and out every day
> (until summer, when they are on 24/7) Anyway, he goes out first,
> ambles over to his hay pile until he sees the mare come out of
> the barn.  Then he runs back over to the gate and makes it hard
> for me to get her in.  Sometimes, he'll just stand there until I
>  bang on the gate or tap his rump, then he'll move off.  Other
> times, he'll stand out of my reach, but in a position so that he
>  can nip at her rump as I lead her
> in.  I occasionally reverse the order of turnout,
> but both horses have fits and I've learned about pecking order
> and the importance of following it to maintain peace in a herd.
> Part two of the problem is that when I go to retrieve the mare for
> a ride, I have to get her out of the pasture without getting
> attacked.  When the gelding is busy eating or dozing, it's easy.
> But if he feels like he wants to keep her in, it's a race to get to the
> gate before he does.  Once he ran the full length of the field to
> kick her real quick before we could get out.  Yesterday, he walked
> along behind us, nipping at her every few steps.
> Please offer some suggestions, especially those of you who maintain
> "herds" and must catch a lowly ranked horse and leave the bully in
> the field.
> Thank you... Terry (and Chrissy, the lowly mare)
> 
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-- 
Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups.


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Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.    
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp   
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=