Angry horse advice

[mhound]

Bit of a new one to me but my 6 year old TB gelding appears to have anger issues!
he’s spent a year at a racing yard where he was stabled, hacked and turned out alone, but he then had an injury and after some box rest was turned out with 2 others. When he was ready to start work I brought him from the field and into his box to wait for the horse transportation to take him to his new yard. Whilst he was in the box he kicked the wall, smashed up my brush box with his front feet and tore down the hay bales in the corner and pawed them until he’d ripped them all apart! He’s now at his new yard and has settled nicely and made a friend, however when the yard owner took the friend away my gelding went so mad in his box that he was wet under his rug, his box neighbour also reported him kicking off, grinding his teeth up and down the window bars whilst she fed her horse.
He’s fine to ride, pretty calm really and I never have no issues leaving the yard to hack him out alone. I have about 22 years experience with various horses and disciplines but never come across such a angry horse! My OH hates him and thinks he has mental issues so I have to keep them apart ?. Does anyone have any thoughts or experience ?

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

He sounds more like a frustrated anxious horse to me. It would seem that he gets worried when he is left on his own in a stable. Have you tried a stable mirror to keep him company?

 

[Meowy Catkin]

That's not an angry horse or one with mental issues. Just a normal herd animal who has been kept in a way that was not fulfilling his social needs. He now has a friend and is panicking that the friend is being taken away. He doesn't understand that the friend will come back, the human in with his friend starts off his anxiety hence why the other horse being fed set him off.

 

[mhound]

That's not an angry horse or one with mental issues. Just a normal herd animal who has been kept in a way that was not fulfilling his social needs. He now has a friend and is panicking that the friend is being taken away. He doesn't understand that the friend will come back, the human in with his friend starts off his anxiety hence why the other horse being fed set him off.

this may be the case but I have not known of horses being aggressive with it, pacing the stable etc I have seen, but not intentionally smashing things up. I would definitely say he is anxious but when he reacts he reacts dangerously. From any of your experiences do you have any suggestions/solutions?

 

[AmyMay]

I’ve never had an ‘angry’ horse, but have had plenty that would pulled hay bales down.

As for the rest. It absolutely screens of anxiety. Poor lad ?

 

[mhound]

He sounds more like a frustrated anxious horse to me. It would seem that he gets worried when he is left on his own in a stable. Have you tried a stable mirror to keep him company?

No, I’ve not tried that but I could look into it if it would help.

He sounds more like a frustrated anxious horse to me. It would seem that he gets worried when he is left on his own in a stable. Have you tried a stable mirror to keep him company?

No I have not tried a mirror but I will look into it if it would help. He is anxious for sure but he gets distressed beyond reasoning. It would be useful for some advice on how to deal with that x

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

He is just trying to release some of his tension/frustration. He doesn't intend to cause damage, he is too wound up to plan like that and most horses aren't a ble to plan in that way. He will need lots of work on getting used to being separated from his friends in very small steps. His previous management has caused this anxiety,

 

[PapaverFollis]

Anxious not angry.

My ex racehorse really struggled with normal life because he could not emotionally cope with another horse being taken away without him. Even when he could see them the whole time. He nearly killed himself in his stable a couple of times behaving as you describe but kicking his leg into stuff and getting it stuck. You know those bars you get on indoor stables? Yeah, leg through them.

In order to manage him at a livery yard he either needed to be kept half separate from the other horses, so he could see them but not really make friends. Or he had to have a buddy who basically didn't leave his side. Neither was really good for him or us! In the end we were all so fraught with each other we got help finding him a polo home because we felt that the polo lifestyle where they always gave buddies and work very hard would suit him much better than what we could offer him.

If I had the opportunity to go again I would chuck him out in a herd for a year from the get go and he could take his chances while he learned some social skills and emotional resilience. The mistake I made was worrying too much when the big Irish gelding beat him up and so I turned him out with my mare instead. I should have let the Irish gelding knock some normal horse into him.... maybe. But it would have been a risk.

 

[Frumpoon]

He absolutely does not sound dangerous or mental or aggressive...poor horse...

Can you put him on herd turnout and not stable with only one other horse?

 

[mhound]

Anxious not angry.

My ex racehorse really struggled with normal life because he could not emotionally cope with another horse being taken away without him. Even when he could see them the whole time. He nearly killed himself in his stable a couple of times behaving as you describe but kicking his leg into stuff and getting it stuck. You know those bars you get on indoor stables? Yeah, leg through them.

In order to manage him at a livery yard he either needed to be kept half separate from the other horses, so he could see them but not really make friends. Or he had to have a buddy who basically didn't leave his side. Neither was really good for him or us! In the end we were all so fraught with each other we got help finding him a polo home because we felt that the polo lifestyle where they always gave buddies and work very hard would suit him much better than what we could offer him.

If I had the opportunity to go again I would chuck him out in a herd for a year from the get go and he could take his chances while he learned some social skills and emotional resilience. The mistake I made was worrying too much when the big Irish gelding beat him up and so I turned him out with my mare instead. I should have let the Irish gelding knock some normal horse into him.... maybe. But it would have been a risk.

Thanks for this, it’s not what I really wanted to hear but it’s reassuring that it’s not just him. I’ve taken on x racers plenty of times but this is a different reaction to any I’ve experienced. I feel I’ve taken things slowly with him as a youngster but he appears to not be able to calm when he gets into these states, it can sometimes be dangerous not just for him but for me.

 

[mhound]

He absolutely does not sound dangerous or mental or aggressive...poor horse...

Can you put him on herd turnout and not stable with only one other horse?

He is dangerous because he can be unpredictable in doing things where he would normally be fine... until he’s not. There are a few other horses at the yard but they are elderly and understandably the owners want them seperate. It’s just a small private yard.

 

[The Xmas Furry]

this may be the case but I have not known of horses being aggressive with it, pacing the stable etc I have seen, but not intentionally smashing things up. I would definitely say he is anxious but when he reacts he reacts dangerously. From any of your experiences do you have any suggestions/solutions?

I've seen anxious horses react like this, its extreme but yes, it happens.
I had one that was like this, so I never ever left her in the yard on her own.
I could take her away and enjoy solo work, but she would take everything apart with teeth and hooves if left on her own.
It sounds like he needs this managing very carefully.

 

[Frumpoon]

He is dangerous because he can be unpredictable in doing things where he would normally be fine... until he’s not. There are a few other horses at the yard but they are elderly and understandably the owners want them seperate. It’s just a small private yard.

Really does sound like the yard set up and regime isn’t going to suit him

Many ex racers don’t adapt to the average livery yard

What other yard options do you have?

Was he a flat or a jumps horse?

 

[mhound]

Really does sound like the yard set up and regime isn’t going to suit him

Many ex racers don’t adapt to the average livery yard

What other yard options do you have?

Was he a flat or a jumps horse?

He ran both on flat and hurdles. I moved him here as I thought it would be less startling for him than being in a mass livery yard with loads going on. He was turned out 24/7 for 6 weeks when he came off box rest and he just hated it with a passion.

 

[Frumpoon]

What was the injury and was he out in a herd?

 

[mhound]

What was the injury and was he out in a herd?

His injury was in his lorry. He has always travelled very well but this time he lost control and came over the partition, it was terrifying and he came away with extensive injuries.

 

[paddi22]

I had an exracer who was similar, he just couldn't cope if routine changed in the slightest or something happened that he wasn't expecting,. he would get seriously stressed and box walk. I ended up keeping him out 24/7 and that really helped him and break the stress cycle. on livery yards he was impossible as he locked onto routine and would just meltdown if everything wasn't like clockwork.

 

[mhound]

I had an exracer who was similar, he just couldn't cope if routine changed in the slightest or something happened that he wasn't expecting,. he would get seriously stressed and box walk. I ended up keeping him out 24/7 and that really helped him and break the stress cycle. on livery yards he was impossible as he locked onto routine and would just meltdown if everything wasn't like clockwork.

Thanks for this. This sounds very much like him. Can I ask if you kept him or if he went someplace else? Could you take him
Away , to shows for example?

 

[paddi22]

I kept him for years. he got 100 times better when he was out at grass 24/7. he was a nightmare on livery yards, busy ones overwhelmed him and quiet ones made him worse as he became him hyper alert waiting for something to happen. one yard had a leaf blower and all his attention revolved around him waiting for the leaf blower to start up. if a yard owner was 5 mins late bringing horses in he would nearly throw himself over gates. he used routine as a comfort blanket. as a last resort I put him out 24/7 on a really rough field with a big herd of horses, I really thought he wouldn't last long there but it was my only option. he coped brilliantly. not having a routine settled him. the big herd meant he didn't stress when horses came and went.

I could take him to shows, but I had to do exactly the same routine when we went anywhere. so I'd arrive crazy early and do the same ground work, then do exactly the same warmup. I had to keep shows very very simple for him for ages (we did toddler classes for ages hc!) because he couldn't handle any challenge on top of coping with show atmosphere. so we did a lot of in-hand stuff to get him used to going out. once he knew a venue he tended to be ok. he loved dressage as he enjoyed knowing what was going to happen, so he actually did lovely dressage tests.

when you say he hated turnout with a passion? how did he show that? mine was confused for a few weeks but settled and adapted really well. but he wasn't being brought in and out at all, I just rode him from the field.

 

[Frumpoon]

I kept him for years. he got 100 times better when he was out at grass 24/7. he was a nightmare on livery yards, busy ones overwhelmed him and quiet ones made him worse as he became him hyper alert waiting for something to happen. one yard had a leaf blower and all his attention revolved around him waiting for the leaf blower to start up. if a yard owner was 5 mins late bringing horses in he would nearly throw himself over gates. he used routine as a comfort blanket. as a last resort I put him out 24/7 on a really rough field with a big herd of horses, I really thought he wouldn't last long there but it was my only option. he coped brilliantly. not having a routine settled him. the big herd meant he didn't stress when horses came and went.

I could take him to shows, but I had to do exactly the same routine when we went anywhere. so I'd arrive crazy early and do the same ground work, then do exactly the same warmup. I had to keep shows very very simple for him for ages (we did toddler classes for ages hc!) because he couldn't handle any challenge on top of coping with show atmosphere. so we did a lot of inland stuff to get him used to going out. once he knew a venue he tended to be ok. he loved dressage as he enjoyed knowing what was going to happen, so he actually did lovely dressage tests.

when you say he hated turnout with a passion? how did he show that? mine was confused for a few weeks but settled and adapted really well. but he wasn't being brought in and out at all, I just rode him from the field.

I was going to say 24/7 herd turnout with other boys would help him, as long as you keep him topped up with hay and hard feed he shouldn’t lose condition

 

[Meowy Catkin]

My own ex-racehorse also did best when out in a stable herd 24/7. She became a nanny to youngstock and that life really suited her.

 

[mhound]

I kept him for years. he got 100 times better when he was out at grass 24/7. he was a nightmare on livery yards, busy ones overwhelmed him and quiet ones made him worse as he became him hyper alert waiting for something to happen. one yard had a leaf blower and all his attention revolved around him waiting for the leaf blower to start up. if a yard owner was 5 mins late bringing horses in he would nearly throw himself over gates. he used routine as a comfort blanket. as a last resort I put him out 24/7 on a really rough field with a big herd of horses, I really thought he wouldn't last long there but it was my only option. he coped brilliantly. not having a routine settled him. the big herd meant he didn't stress when horses came and went.

I could take him to shows, but I had to do exactly the same routine when we went anywhere. so I'd arrive crazy early and do the same ground work, then do exactly the same warmup. I had to keep shows very very simple for him for ages (we did toddler classes for ages hc!) because he couldn't handle any challenge on top of coping with show atmosphere. so we did a lot of inland stuff to get him used to going out. once he knew a venue he tended to be ok. he loved dressage as he enjoyed knowing what was going to happen, so he actually did lovely dressage tests.

when you say he hated turnout with a passion? how did he show that? mine was confused for a few weeks but settled and adapted really well. but he wasn't being brought in and out at all, I just rode him from the field.

Thanks for this it’s really helpful and actually he has taken really well to dressage but he also seems to enjoy drag hunting once he settles. When he was turned out he just appeared depressed if that makes sense, he always had his ears flat back and would kick out when I tried to change his rugs. The big horse did bully him and actually bit half his tail off (it looks terrible!) He just really seems to enjoy coming into his stable at night but maybe that’s just the routine thing. I feel like I’ve given him a better life and he hates me for it! ?