nicole11
Member
I have had my horse for almost a year and we have struggled trying to keep him calm. He’s a 12 year old Irish draught cross.
Initially he was in a field with 4 other geldings who bullied him, he was stabled at night over winter (in a barn where he could see horses either side) and seemed to enjoy the routine of it, but was desperate to see what was going on outside all of the time and got stressed when a horse or I left.
Following the extensive bullying I moved him field, he’s now in with 3 geldings and a mare and has totally settled. He loves it. He also moved to a larger stable, which is outside so he can hear the barn behind him and see out to other horses and the fields. Initially he settled fine and I thought we’d cracked it.
However, he has become totally unbearable to have in his stable and to handle in general. He’s jumped out twice and is highly stressed from the second he walks in. He paces, rears, snorts and tries to barge out. He won’t even eat or drink at all. Even overnight. I have tried having a full grille up, mirrors, treat balls and nothing helps. It’s got to the point where even tied up outside he will scrape, stamp and try to spin if he can’t see me.
My most recent attempt at helping take the edge off was to introduce a calmer with valerian in it (we aren’t currently competing) to see if it would help him get over the stress, but it hasn’t helped at all.
I am absolutely exhausted and totally stressed by it all. He’s ridden on average 5 days a week and is on a 1/4 of PURE fibre balance per day. He’s turned out for about 22 hours per day. He is the happiest horse in the field and will wander around with you and is always sleeping. I just don’t know what else I can do for him.
Initially he was in a field with 4 other geldings who bullied him, he was stabled at night over winter (in a barn where he could see horses either side) and seemed to enjoy the routine of it, but was desperate to see what was going on outside all of the time and got stressed when a horse or I left.
Following the extensive bullying I moved him field, he’s now in with 3 geldings and a mare and has totally settled. He loves it. He also moved to a larger stable, which is outside so he can hear the barn behind him and see out to other horses and the fields. Initially he settled fine and I thought we’d cracked it.
However, he has become totally unbearable to have in his stable and to handle in general. He’s jumped out twice and is highly stressed from the second he walks in. He paces, rears, snorts and tries to barge out. He won’t even eat or drink at all. Even overnight. I have tried having a full grille up, mirrors, treat balls and nothing helps. It’s got to the point where even tied up outside he will scrape, stamp and try to spin if he can’t see me.
My most recent attempt at helping take the edge off was to introduce a calmer with valerian in it (we aren’t currently competing) to see if it would help him get over the stress, but it hasn’t helped at all.
I am absolutely exhausted and totally stressed by it all. He’s ridden on average 5 days a week and is on a 1/4 of PURE fibre balance per day. He’s turned out for about 22 hours per day. He is the happiest horse in the field and will wander around with you and is always sleeping. I just don’t know what else I can do for him.