Hi. How very sad that your mare has been abused. I am so sorry for her & you. I'm assuming from what you say that you are with the mare for the next few days before you travel. If that is so then firstly make sure the barn owner has no more contact with her. I also assume that there are a number of horses held loose in a single area. If it were possible to separate your mare, even if for a short time, do so each day. Take time to simply stand, very calmly, near her. Do not approach her, overt your eyes & slow your breathing down. With your shoulders on a 45 degree angle to her she should work out for herself that you are not a threat but a friend, albeit one who left her in a bad situation. Once she has worked that out she has started on her journey back to you, mentally. Make slow movements. Invite her to you & when she allows it, rub her head. She will be so relieved to find you again. Do not try to catch her - keep it very quiet & calm. Given the limited time scale a bucket of food or apples & carrots may help the initial approach, her to you. If you work consistently you will get her home as planned & with trust building your mare will overcome this experience in time. Wishing you well. Keep us posted on your progress. Cheers, Jo.

Than you so much. I wish there wasa place to keep her by herself. There is only her box stall. We live in eastern Canada and have had some major snow storms and another on the way tomorrow.
I honestly am at a stand still.
I appreciate your input so much. I'll try my best to do this.
My fear is if I say something to the barn owner she'll tack it out on my horse.

I forgot to say, she is now head shy. And as monty says horses don't lie!!!! I also saw a few cuts on her nose. Oh my! Poor little girl.

Hi. Box stall should do. The trick is to let her decide to come to you & there are the elements from Join up to help her. Try & be really still or really slow in moving - the opposite of the barn manager. If the mare wants to be further from you allow her the space but keep inviting her back. Don't feel bad about using food to cheat - you have a tight schedule. Bear in mind you don't need to fix all this to travel her home. You just need a little trust to get her loaded & safely home. Then you can work with all the rest of it at your leisure, & the mares. Keep us posted. We'll do all we can to help. Cheers, Jo.

Hi. We were at the barn this morning. She was in her stall as requested. It was like having her home again. I took off her leather halter, they always keep them on 24/7. We don't do that!
I then got her grooming tools. And was able to groom her for a very long time. She kept letting out her breath in long sighs. Her head was so low by the time I was done, it was wonderful. We cleaned her stall, put down fresh shavings, gave her an apple and carrot in her fed bucket and two flats of hay.
She was very content.
She even allowed me to rub her ears, as before!!!
I am so happy. Can't wait to get her home.

Hi. I am soooo pleased for you. Sounds like your mare just battend down the hatches & waited for rescue. Now you've come to get her she knows all will be well. Safe journey home. Cheers, Jo.

Thank you Jo. I was there again today. She was a bit anxious about not being with the other horses. I just stayed with her and kept her calm.
She started licking my swede coat. Walk in a circle and lick again. She did this until I had to leave.
Can't wait to get her home.

I don't think you're the only one who can't wait to get home. Perhaps that's the reason for her anxiousness today, the thought that you may go & leave her behind again. You may find she only really settles once you're on your way, together. Horses are really intelligent. Your mare is now really worried that you have come to visit only & that you won't be taking her with you. Keep your cool, keep reassuring her & get out of there & back home to normality as soon as you can. I'll bet she will give the BIGGEST sigh of relief when it's clear to her that she is going home. Let us know if I am right. She sounds an absolute honey. Cheers, Jo.

She is home. Getting her loaded was a breeze. They practiced last night and this morning straight on and 10 minutes later she is in her own barn.
It is so funny to watch her. Her hay bag hangs from the ceiling and she started banging that thing around laying it across her back to eat from it. She never did that before, its so cute.
She almost seems more self assured than she did before.
Jannah was od great help. She loaded her and unloaded her walked her into her stall closed the gate and the mare called out for the others but settled easily.
We came in to get warm but will go out again soon.
There you have it.

She is home. Getting her loaded was a breeze. They practiced last night and this morning straight on and 10 minutes later she is in her own barn.
It is so funny to watch her. Her hay bag hangs from the ceiling and she started banging that thing around laying it across her back to eat from it. She never did that before, its so cute.
She almost seems more self assured than she did before.
Jannah was od great help. She loaded her and unloaded her walked her into her stall closed the gate and the mare called out for the others but settled easily.
We came in to get warm but will go out again soon.
There you have it.

Fabulous! She will be such a happy mare now. What you may find is that she gets a bit concerned about travelling so address that by taking her somewhere, to visit a friend maybe. Go for a nice ride & then take her home. She will worry about what is happening but you will show her that travelling doesn't mean removal from her happy home. Very soon she will put her unfortunate experiences behind her. Good luck. Cheers, Jo.

We have been going out to see her more than normal. Doing the things that need to be done in there and she is a bit shy then we let her see or smell whatever we have in our hands and then she is fine.
As I'm grooming her I noticed she has a lot of bite marks on her nose and over both eyes. There was one horse there that was a real bitter, towards horses and humans. I wonder now if it was the horses bullying her that made her so nervous.
She has been raised all by herself since she was a baby, perhaps.
When I just groomed her now she was her old relaxed relaxed self!!!!!
I would love to load her to take her places but we don't have a trailer. That would be nice.

Hi. I have a question. I don't understand why you sent your mare off to this wintering place. It's not something we do in Scotland. Most horse owners use a livery yard all year round so when their horses are turned out in the fields they share grazing with other horses with various owners. Sometimes there are issues. In summer they may be out all the time although some livery yards have all horses stabled at night. Your mare has been raised alone so why now did you decide to change her circumstances. This is not criticism! I just want to understand. It seems this is the first winter she was away from home. Don't worry that you do not have a trailer. Just bear in mind that she may have some worries should you trailer her again, especially in the autumn as she may well fear that bad things are about to happen to her again. It is my task to open your eyes to how your mare may view things relating to travel from home in the future, so that you can avoid being unfair to her. My herd of 4 has an outsider with them just now, a pony I rescued. He chases my filly foal & 2 year old colt. They have never been chased or threatend before. They live out 24/7/365. I rent 2 fields, one next to where I live April to October & a much bigger, better sheltered field November to March. They are natives & hardy. I have no picture on the Uni as I cannot bring myself to choose which one to pick - all 4 would be too much for a small space! My youngsters are level headed & avoid confrontation. I will have them separated from the rescue pony in 2 weeks. Hopefully, he finds his forever home this summer as a ride and drive. My babies will have learnt from the experience & be better able to deal with general life as a result. We have saved little Bo & that is worthwhile. Cheers, Jo.

Because of health problems we thought perhaps it would have been best to put feelers out in hopes of selling her to a good home.
We also have very harsh winters with snow so deep it drifts completely over the barn.
This is a lot of work to snowblow a big enough paddock for her to move about.
The young women has been wanting to buy her for a few years. She has two geldings that are middle aged and wanted a younger horse.
We had an agreement, if she cared for her during the winter and my mare grew close to her we would agree to sell her.
As you saw from the above it did not work out.
We live on 183 acres and there is lots of room for her, also she has a rubbermatted box stall that has entrance directly to her paddock so she has a choice as to whether she wants to stay in or go out.
I hope that's not to confusing and helps you to understand a bit better.
Feel free to ask anything at all. And I agree with you she too has learned from this experience. She seems even more calm and accepting than she was before.

Hello jpdbergeron, I just read all of your conversation with Jo. I live since 7 years on PEI and have had some troubling experiences with boarding my Icelandic which I had brought with me from Alberta. This winter was another challenge. What I have learned out of all this, is to spend quiet time with my horse when problems come up. I am fortunate that my Icelandic is like a loving pet. I can be close to him and that helped me to work his ears, let my hands moves slowly all over his body. This calms me and him and I was happy to read that you have your mare safely home again. If you don't mind, let me know where you live. There is no place better than home. The 5 places where my horse was here on the island, had all some wonderful features and still, some to me important things were missing. In this winter the horses are way too much locked up in the stalls. I hope the snow melting will go fast , so that they can be out side more.
All the best to you, Hiltrud Hengst.