At the end of my tether

LadyRascasse

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 September 2008
Messages
5,263
Visit site
ok this might get long for that i am sorry but i really need some advice.

i own a 16.1 TB gelding who is 18 this year i have had him 5 yrs and he has been very good up until now. i moved him on to a small yard with just him and another horse in september this has been fine and worked really well up until a month or so ago. he went lame again (had a longterm lameness due to foot issues but all resolved) this time due to his hock (1/10th maybe 2 on a very bad day). since this time he has been awfully clingy with the other horse, he hasn't done any work in this time as i want him to rest.

we tried boxrest and he barged out the stable and sent me flying on 2 occasions and he looked quite stiff being in 24/7 so we turned him back out and has now got to the point where he won't stay calm in the field when the other horse is removed even while they are grooming tacking up. he is charging round the field like an idiot. so we get him and and he box walks and calls. today the other horse went for a hack and i tried to lunge him to see how his hock was doing. he proceeded to drag me across the field in an attempt to follow his mate (bridleway runs next to the field) the jumped onto of me so i called it a day and went to put him to bed. he wouldn't stand still to be rugged (sodding bandaging it when its being like that i would have been trampled) kept pawing the ground and calling. i tried to put him in the stable and he refused and took me 10 mins to get him in and then he tried to barge back out. he is getting riduclaly distressed for no reason at all there is another horse with sight.

what should i do, try and put him back light work? i am worried about asking his sharers to ride him at the moment as i would say he is dangerous, or would you call it a day and have him pts as he is so distressed?

sorry to waffle but i really don't know what to do for the best with him anymore
 
Shetland or sheep as company? I would ask them to lunge before hand due to him being abit fresh. You could always consider moving back to a bigger yard. It sounds like he has transferred his trust into the other horse. I bought a pressure halter when my new boy showed similar behaviour.
 
Pair bonding is a pain and it is quite upsetting to see your horse behaving like that, but its not unusual. The best quick fix is to get a field companion, so when one horse is removed, the remaining horse doesnt get stressed. But I know this isn't always possible. I don't like keeping one horse on his own in a field when his mate is removed, even if there are other horses nearby. Unless you can add another horse to the pair, you are going to have to work with the other horses owner and arrange a routine, whereby, your horse is left on his own for a few minutes, other horse then returns. Once he remains settled after a few minutes, increase the time. This will take time and patience but it can be done. My mare pair bonded with another mare, but over time, with the other mares owner, we gradually improved her behaviour when she was on her own. Keeping two horses together most of the time is not ideal and will lead to the behaviour you are describing, but it can be remedied. Don't despair and most definitely don't consider pts.
 
Get firm with him and bring him to you with some ground work! Works a treat with my two, they need to be reminded sometimes that you are the best thing in his life and noone else matters, but do the ground work when he is relatively calm, dont get into to a battle. I dont mean lunging as such but more yield front and hinds, backing up and loads of it, but firm and fair is the key, be ascertive, I know that can be hard sometimes, stay safe.
That way he is gaining your respect, you get confident, he does not damage his legs and he may learn something new!

My instructor always says make them work where they want to be and rest where you want them to be, that way they associate work with standing next to their mates and turns out to be not such a good idea if you get my meaning,
Good luck
 
i can't afford 3!!!! what i really don't get is he has lived on his own before, he has lived with just one other before and never ever been like this at all. he is doing himself more damage by working himself up over it all. stupid bloody horse.
 
Sounds like you are both getting stressed out, could you bring him in with other horse,so he's stabled when other horse going out, put a feed in with him. My youngsters have done this, when their friend is going out and sometimes they rear up and try and climb out, so put a bar or plank across top of stable door, after a couple of times they realise the other comes back, so stop but neigh alot for a few times more and they are not daft as realise they get extra feed usually full of carrots and apples and a short time later, no problems, but it depends on horse.
 
but horses have their favourites like we do which would explain why yours has paired so strongly with this one and wasn't bothered previously. So you can either persevere with the advice you were given or try to find a companion - or offer a field space for a pony? My old mare fell head over heels with an incredibly elderly pony mare in a previous yard and they were devoted to each other - equine hinge and bracket. Yet my mare had never been that bothered any time before!
 
clingy horses are a pain, if he has lived alone before he is being a pansy. be firmer with him, get his attention with something, carrot strecthes or something similar. if he starts barging you about then tell him off like you would any other horse. he is to big to be pushy. dont feel sorry for him coz hes been left alone as it will make you soft lol. but at the same time, put him where he is more comforatable, leave him out if hes box walking in his stable. put a really tasty lick in the field when the other horse goes out to see if it distracts him, but only put it in there when hes on his own or it wont be interesting for him, i can recomend the garlic or original horselyx tub. very sticky =D
 
i can't afford 3!!!! what i really don't get is he has lived on his own before, he has lived with just one other before and never ever been like this at all. he is doing himself more damage by working himself up over it all. stupid bloody horse.

Yes you can!!! small ginger pony costs about 20p a week to feed!!!
 
Mt three mini shets live on air and have never had a day sick or sorry between them. And they are not for sale so this isn't an ad :)

No shoes, so only a trim when needed.

They are also super natured, sensible animals. Mine are doing a brilliant job giving confidence to an ID foal. Nothing frightens them and, so far, nothing frightens her.
 
Top