At my wits end.

[Shantara]

Please, please, please be kind. I'm too hot and bothered and really NOT in the mood!!

Ned just will no stay anywhere I b****y put him!!! Honestly I just don't even want to see him at the moment. I'm so cross!
He's always jumped fences, but NEVER this much! I put him in with the ponies, he goes in the horses field. I put him in with the horses, he goes back to the ponies! I put him in by himself, he goes back to ponies/horses, I put him in with ponies/horses and he jumps to be by himself!!

I tried putting him in his winter pen which has a 6+ft high fence with electric tape 7ft high over the gate (about 2ft gap between top of gate and tape) and guess what? He put his head under the tape and jumped the high metal gate from a stand still!!! The poor woman who was at the yard called me in a panic, not knowing what to do with him! So, he's back out in the field with the horses.


Please, what the hell can I do?!

 

[*hic*]

At least four strands of fencing on each post to a height of five feet, two rows of such fencing five feet apart. Too big to jump as one, too narrow to bounce. As you have added so much extra to the fence you will need to check that the energiser has sufficient oomph to give him a good shock if he tries.

 

[Foxhunter49]

Sell him to a show jumper!

Horses like this are real PITAs as there is not a lot you can do. The only thing I have heard of is to tie a heavy log to their halter but I have never tried it.

 

[Wundahorse]

Sounds like a horse who likes to choose where he goes,so why not give him the option every day.Perhaps he likes to mix with different groups,mot the same old each day..Hope he performs like that in the ring though.

 

[Parachute]

Please, please, please be kind. I'm too hot and bothered and really NOT in the mood!!

Ned just will no stay anywhere I b****y put him!!! Honestly I just don't even want to see him at the moment. I'm so cross!
He's always jumped fences, but NEVER this much! I put him in with the ponies, he goes in the horses field. I put him in with the horses, he goes back to the ponies! I put him in by himself, he goes back to ponies/horses, I put him in with ponies/horses and he jumps to be by himself!!

I tried putting him in his winter pen which has a 6+ft high fence with electric tape 7ft high over the gate (about 2ft gap between top of gate and tape) and guess what? He put his head under the tape and jumped the high metal gate from a stand still!!! The poor woman who was at the yard called me in a panic, not knowing what to do with him! So, he's back out in the field with the horses.


Please, what the hell can I do?!

Sorry you're stressed at the moment, Ned seems to be becoming a pain in the bum!
May be a stupid reply but could you possibly put him in a field with one of the ponies? or one of the horses? It may help but I don't know
Just a suggestion!

 

[Mince Pie]

No advice but at least yours goes OVER the fence - when I still had my TB I was getting a phone call every other day to say she had gone through it...

 

[Palindrome]

ahah, you've got yourself a great jumper, sign up for some competitions . Sorry, not much help, they do hobble train their horses in the US, that could be a final option if desperate and you think he will be sensible enough. Not sure how long for you can hobble them though.

 

[FlyingCircus]

At the RS I rode at as a kid there was a horse notorious for switching fields. They just let him in the end, seeing as he wouldn't stay put no matter what they did (though they didn't try leccy fence). Trying to bring him in for a lesson was a nightmare, you'd have to guess which part of several acres he could be in!

 

[Shantara]

The problem is, he doesn't do it once or twice - I was there for an hour yesterday and in that time he went from Horses, to ponies and back again!
I wish I could open it all up and let them all in together, but sadly that's not possible

I get told every day "Ned's done it again! I saw him twice!" Urg!!

Haha, he has a real ping on him! I wish I was brave enough to take him higher I did 4ft (single jump) on him once and I know he could have gone bigger...but alas I just wasn't brave enough!

jemima*askin - I might see if I can get my hands on more tape and maybe section off a bit of the field for him and a friend.

I don't know why he still does it! I thought he would have scared himself out of it when he had a nasty fall over one of the fences, but apparently not!!! He never usually comes close to touching it, but he has jumped in with the lead horse and his mare Lead horse didn't take kindly to Ned flirting with her and chased him out. He went too fast and flat and didn't quite make it!


ETA: I didn't used to mind him jumping, he's always done it and I'm actually very impressed about how gracefully he does it! But he's got a sore fetlock at the moment and it's getting no better because of the jumping That's why I put him in the pen, to try and rest it, but no luck!

 

[Wundahorse]

Sounds like it's a straightjacket then,either that or super glue him to the ground.

 

[horsesatemymoney]

No tips but just to say don't get too demoralised look how far/well you have come with him

 

[kerrieberry2]

how much do you do with him? could it be that he's bored?

my young horse jumped out of the field in to the garden of the house 2 weeks ago, so I just put up some 4 foot posts about 5 foot from the Fence around the garden, so its too much for him to clear, and he's not attempted it again. but obviously means you lose out on some grazing!

now I've made it bigger and put my Shetland in that gap!

 

[Shantara]

how much do you do with him? could it be that he's bored?

my young horse jumped out of the field in to the garden of the house 2 weeks ago, so I just put up some 4 foot posts about 5 foot from the Fence around the garden, so its too much for him to clear, and he's not attempted it again. but obviously means you lose out on some grazing!

now I've made it bigger and put my Shetland in that gap!

At the moment, nothing because he's got a sore fetlock

Before he went lame I was riding him most days, hacks and jumping etc

 

[kerrieberry2]

At the moment, nothing because he's got a sore fetlock

Before he went lame I was riding him most days, hacks and jumping etc

was he jumping out as much when you were riding?

 

[Shantara]

was he jumping out as much when you were riding?

Pretty much! Though perhaps it is a bit of boredom.

Though it's a vicious cycle. The more he jumps, the more he hurts himself and the less I can ride him, so he becomes even more bored!

 

[asbo]

Want to swap for one that doesnt catch?

Feel for you, nothing worse than having a issue you cant find a way to deal with x

 

[GlamourPuss86]

Not helpful but this is what came to mind!

 

[lazysunday]

Had a similar problem with a 15.1 who would jump ANYTHING to leave the field.
His previous owner had him in a high hedged field and parked a van across the gate and he jumped the gate landed on the van and walked back to the stable yard!
The only time he would stay in my small field was if the gate were left open!

Anyway took him showjumping (previous onwer gave up because he would always stop). The lorry broke down on the way and we had to hack 2 miles and were too late to warm up. He zoomed to the first fence then put in a dirty stop. Organisers were really kind and stood behind him with a lunge whip for the next two fences, he then jumped clear.

After that he competed regularly and always went clear and guess what, stayed in his field.

Can you keep stabled in an enclosed yard area so he can walk in or out and take him jumping when his fetlock is healed?

 

[MurphysMinder]

Murphy is the same, would change field when it suited him. The only way we have managed to contain him is by putting a double row of tall electric fence about 5 foot apart, and most of the time he does respect that.

 

[crazyhorse37]

My mare used to do the exact same thing, she would jump from her field to the other, back and forth dependant on how she felt at that moment. Goodness knows how many times she did it. She would even jump the fence to get to me sooner!! In the end she just stopped as she got older. Is it really important that you stop him from jumping out? I think the more obstacles you put in his way the more chance he has of injuring himself as there will be new things there that weren't before, which he may not realise till it is too late. Is there a reason that it is such a problem? As long as he is not causing any problems in each of the fields I would let him be a horse. I would also advise more turnout if possible so he is not in such high spirits. He will grow out of it eventually as he gets older, my girlie did

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Sorry for this pointless post, but:

Pray?
Get a horse communicator to talk to him?
Leg shackles?
Tie him to a bungee cord that pulls him back to where he belongs?
I'm not a fan of electric collars for dogs, but get one, re-design it to fit your horse, take the week off, spend every day in the field with him, as soon as you see him near the fence, tell him NO and buzz the collar, then remind him of the right option (= being anywhere in the field except up close to the fence) and give lots of praise, repeat as many times as needed.
If I take a really long walk, I can pass a golf course and their driving range, the later has a fence that due to its height and the huge tree trunks that they've used as posts, usually makes me think that it looks like something from Jurassic Park. Much more impressive than this example that I found on my internet search:

Sorry again for not being able to post any useful advise, but since it must be a very frustrating situation, perhaps you can let out some steam by imagining yourself e.g. buying a driving range fence for your horse?

P.S. Is he interested in treats? I don't know if there is any "brain training" (that's what I call them) toys made specifically for horses, but I've just looked at Nina Ottosson's page, and it says that some people have bought the large Qulan plastic to their horses.

 

[MurphysMinder]

My mare used to do the exact same thing, she would jump from her field to the other, back and forth dependant on how she felt at that moment. Goodness knows how many times she did it. She would even jump the fence to get to me sooner!! In the end she just stopped as she got older. Is it really important that you stop him from jumping out? I think the more obstacles you put in his way the more chance he has of injuring himself as there will be new things there that weren't before, which he may not realise till it is too late. Is there a reason that it is such a problem? As long as he is not causing any problems in each of the fields I would let him be a horse. I would also advise more turnout if possible so he is not in such high spirits. He will grow out of it eventually as he gets older, my girlie did

Hmm, well Murphy lived out, and is 20, didn't stop him.

 

[RobinHood]

Sounds like he needs to live in an aviary!

 

[RunToEarth]

At least he is jumping into other fields, my last horse was a fence hopper and was regularly found on the lawn, down the lane, next to the main road and on one awful occasion a mile away in the vicarage Garden...!

We moved him to a Paddock with 12ft hedges and put a top rail on the gate - did the trick and his dayjob was hunting in hedge country!

 

[smellsofhorse]

Is he bored?
Does he need more exercise?
Or is he just a character that although annoys you makes him extra special!

 

[Nicnac]

I put him in with the ponies, he goes in the horses field. I put him in with the horses, he goes back to the ponies! I put him in by himself, he goes back to ponies/horses, I put him in with ponies/horses and he jumps to be by himself!!

Sorry but this made me giggle. He's a sociable boy isn't he?! I'm assuming he doesn't have a best friend which is a PITA. He's not doing his leg any favours either. I know he has a varied life and you do loads with him normally. Can you keep him on box rest until his leg is better or would that send him loopy(er)?

Apart from 7' high stallion fencing, not sure what you can do. I wouldn't do the two strands of strong electric fencing personally as if he gets stuck between the two and panics it could be nasty (having had a horse get tangled in electric fencing and the ensuing time off work and vets bills it incurred, not to mention the pain for the poor horse.)

 

[Shantara]

Crikey RunTOEarth!! Yes, I'm glad he NEVER goes near the gate that leads onto the road. I can't even lead him near it thank god and I'd like to keep it that way!

Nicnak - No box rest I'm afraid I can keep him in a stable to tack up/groom, but he would just jump the door or break it off. He's done both before!

blucanoo1990 - He could well be bored, as I've not ridden him for 5 days due to lameness. I wish I could give him more exercise, but since he's lame, I can't

crazyhorse37 - He's got 32 aches to run about in (well, 2 fields of 16) and he's out 24/7. It caused no problems before, but now he's lame, he just makes it worse.
That's the only reason I'm really annoyed about it, because I can't ride and he gets no work

 

[CobsGalore]

What about putting boredom buster toys in his pen while he is resting? May keep him in there for longer!

 

[Shantara]

What about putting boredom buster toys in his pen while he is resting? May keep him in there for longer!

I gave him a likit hanging from a rope and a treat ball similar to the one mentioned above. He didn't even look at them
He might stay in there if I could put a friend in with him (big enough for 2) but persuading someone to take their horse off the lovely grass we have...easier said than done!!