Bullying

Question
I saw another post regarding "bullying" of horses and the expert blamed the person that owned the horses.  My question is this...if I have done everything he suggested..and one horse is still bullying (and I mean bullying..not being a leader).  How do I stop this?   Just to give you background...I adopted 3 horses.  Two were stable mates.  A gelding (Starr) and mare (Fannie).  The third horse lived at same farm but was in another area.  Now that they are all at my house..Fannie bullies Gracie my other mare.  She will keep her from food even if I make 6 piles.  She will take a bite from one and then run Gracie from where she is and take a bite and run to where Gracie is again.  She will either chase Gracie or bite her to make her go away from the food.  It gets to the point where Gracie gives up on trying to eat.  I feed them 3 times a day so there is no way that they don't have enough food.  Gracie seems to be in fear 24/7.  She is always looking around and stressed. Fannie will even take Starr's grain.   Is there a way to stop this?

Answer
Hi Mechelle!

Well, I don't know what you read or what was suggested in the other answer, so you will have to fill me in on that.  The difficult answer here is that these horses are not a balanced unit.  They were raised and lived a very unbalanced life and it shows in how they treat each other.  Is this the fault of the humans in their lives...yes.  It is a difficult answer, but so true.  Humans just don't want to hear or know that they are indeed the source of the problem.

That being said, you are the new human and there is much you can to to bring balance and harmony to your little herd.  I have experienced this myself in taking my very carefully tended show horses and just allowing them to be...horses.  The transition was difficult and has taken years.  A horse doesn't become unbalanced overnight, it is a process, so helping them to achieve balance is also a process.  The one thing YOU can be thankful for is that you did not put all the "trouble" into these horses,so that burden does not rest with you.  You will however have to be responsible for what happens from here on out!

There are a couple of ways to approach this problem.  One is to butt out and allow this little herd to develop.  It may be difficult to watch, but they can, eventually, sort things out.  The second approach is for YOU to become they type of leader to this little herd that supports good citizenship, balance and respect.  This is what I would do.  It starts by giving each of these horses a JOB.  When they are in the pasture alone, they would be peaceful.  If they were not being peaceful, they would be working, period.  If I observed a horse being pushy or overly aggressive, they would be haltered and worked, right then and there.  If it were one of mine, they would be saddled and put to work.  They would be given a job that occupied all of that extra energy!  When they went back to the pasture, settling down and enjoying some quiet time and hay would be grand for them.  I only feed concentrates when horses come in to be saddled and ridden.  I never feed grain or supplements in the pasture.  

If I have a horse that is more timid and easily pushed around, I would use that horse to work the more aggressive horse with.  I would be very handy with my flag or lass rope and NOT get my horse into trouble.  You can do this in hand also.  Halter the timid horse and use her to move around and work the more aggressive horse.  Remember YOU are the leader!!!  You will NOT allow any aggression or disrespect when you are around, period.  YOU will have to keep everyone safe and not allow the trouble to develop, that is YOUR responsibility.  

When you develop this routine of discipline, exercise, a real job, and respect, your herd will change, the "bullying" will stop.  How quickly things turn around will depend on how regimented you are with catching the aggressive behavior, working that horse, using the more timid horse and helping that horse develop confidence and insisting on good citizenship from ALL of your horses.

Give this a whirl and let me know how things are going.  Remember, you are the leader now and like it or not, how your herd behaves is now up to you.  You can do it!

Smiles!

Denise