How to Deal With the Horse Pasture Bully

A herd or pasture bully can wreak havoc on the other horses with which it lives. Bullies can injure other horses by biting, striking, and kicking them. They can run them into things and through fences. A bully can adversely affect the condition of submissive horses by preventing them from getting to hay. They can wreak havoc on turnout blankets by shredding them, as they bite at the horses wearing them.

Sometimes herd bullies act on their own, and sometimes they have a partner (or partners) that joins in terrorizing the rest of the herd. Bullies can even be mares or geldings, big or small, and can be any breed or age. They’re difficult to deal with because you can’t control what goes on in the pasture when you’re not around.

Horses in a herd have a hierarchy. There is often one horse that is the leader, a few that may find favor with the leader, and sometimes, one submissive soul that takes the brunt of any abuse handed out. Little can be done to influence this pecking order.

When You Are in the Pasture

One thing you must do, however, is to make it clear to every horse in the herd, that when you are present, you must be respected. No horse should ever present its heels to you, lay its ears back, or bite at you when you are in the pasture. If you are just socializing, every horse must know that you are the one that chooses when the social time is over. You are the one who decides when the interaction is over.