barging up against stable door

[Potato!]

I have a young horse has always had a tendency to barge up against his stable door with his chest. He has stopped doing this in the spring however since the clocks went back he has been doing it again. I started bringing him in early in October so that he was getting used to it before the clocks changed (I’d get to the yard and he was waiting to come in). However since they changed he won’t come in and he will barge up against the door from about 5am onwards. Twice now he has broken the stable door bolt. Luckily the kick bolt was across so that he could not get the door open. I need to discourage him from doing this as he has not bent the metal frame of the stable door and I’ve now had to fix the bolt again.

The issue is that there is a mare next door and he is becoming increasingly besotted with her. He is not bothered about being in the field next door and he is also not bothered about being taken away from her or with her being taken away. However from his stable he can see her as she lives out. I do not want him living out 24/7 and he comes in at night. This is to save my field amongst other things. Also yes he is on his own in his field but he also seems happier without having to share his field with another horse. He has always been quite possessive and stresses when he has to share his things. However there are horses next door over the fence over the winter. He is so much more content relaxed and happy when he is alone when they go away for the summer. The horses came back early this year (end of august ) due to lack of grazing so they have been there a few months.

His behaviour has changed since the clocks went back in general since the clocks changed i.e. not wanting to come in and also refusing to load on Saturday even also refusing food. Those who know him also know that he is a greedy boy. I have however changed him from haylege to hay and now we have some left in the morning from just two slices pert night. Would anybody have any ideas as to what is causing this behaviour change and what is the best option to discourage this behaviour.

 

[AmyMay]

Personally I'd turn him out 24/7 with some company. He's certainly telling you that being on his own 'ain't for him.............

 

[AdorableAlice]

Not what you want to hear but.........his behaviour is pure bad manners and he knows he can ping the door by giving it a good barging.

I have one who did similar and I fixed the problem by putting electric tape (power on) across the door. My horse also knows if she leans on the post and rail hard enough she can push them over. My guess is mine came from a yard with poor fencing that she walked through on a regular basis !

My horse is also more relaxed living alone in the field but with others over the fence, she also lives in a stable over night that does not allow her to see other horses, she is fine, I have also noticed she is rather possessive of me if other horses are in the field with her and I go in with them. Some horses are simply happier living alone, they don't all need herd environments to be happy.

 

[Potato!]

Personally I'd turn him out 24/7 with some company. He's certainly telling you that being on his own 'ain't for him.............

Except when he is on his own he is happier. He stresses when he is shares his field as I explained in my previous post. When he in in company he becomes nappy and spends all his time guarding gateways, me, the water trough anything the other horse might want to get to. I do not want him out 24/7 as I have explained in my previous post as to save the field etc. If he trashes is over the winter I will be asked to leave. The owner of the field does not want a trashed field and he is on it all the time it would not have the chance to rest.

 

[dilbert_uk]

The "young horse" is a gelding and not a stallion, I presume. And there is only one single other horse around on that stable and that is a mare?

Even if he is a gelding that can be a bad constellation. Because one male horse forms a small herd with one or more mares. Having another gelding around would break up this "herd feeling". Not always and necessarily, every horse has a different character, just in genereral.

Another aspect is not being broken. Many horses may feel a strong desire but don't mess with the stable door.
I knew one smaller shire horse that put his butt against the stable door and then kicked consistently with the two hind legs simultaneously against the door. In the same stable a horse on box rest took down the brickwall altogether with the stable door.

One measure to prevent a stable door from being taken down is to fit a chain and leave the door open. That might not work with smaller ponies who have the tendency to squeeze themselves through narrow gaps and all the like but horses normally stay behind such a chain.

 

[AdorableAlice]

What is wrong with letting him live alone if that keeps him happy, safe to ride and settled ?

 

[Potato!]

Not what you want to hear but.........his behaviour is pure bad manners and he knows he can ping the door by giving it a good barging.

I have one who did similar and I fixed the problem by putting electric tape (power on) across the door. My horse also knows if she leans on the post and rail hard enough she can push them over. My guess is mine came from a yard with poor fencing that she walked through on a regular basis !

My horse is also more relaxed living alone in the field but with others over the fence, she also lives in a stable over night that does not allow her to see other horses, she is fine, I have also noticed she is rather possessive of me if other horses are in the field with her and I go in with them. Some horses are simply happier living alone, they don't all need herd environments to be happy.

I guessed that it is bad manners but i need to stop it. The trouble it that he does it when im not around. Personally id rather The electric fence tape is a good idea.

 

[AdorableAlice]

It worked with my rather rude mare, not had her long and she is improving.

You will need to keep the power on, they soon twig if you turn it off. My mare is young and very clever, into everything including DIY and bolt opening.

Hope it works for you.

 

[Potato!]

The "young horse" is a gelding and not a stallion, I presume. And there is only one single other horse around on that stable and that is a mare?

Even if he is a gelding that can be a bad constellation. Because one male horse forms a small herd with one or more mares. Having another gelding around would break up this "herd feeling". Not always and necessarily, every horse has a different character, just in genereral.

Another aspect is not being broken. Many horses may feel a strong desire but don't mess with the stable door.
I knew one smaller shire horse that put his butt against the stable door and then kicked consistently with the two hind legs simultaneously against the door. In the same stable a horse on box rest took down the brickwall altogether with the stable door.

One measure to prevent a stable door from being taken down is to fit a chain and leave the door open. That might not work with smaller ponies who have the tendency to squeeze themselves through narrow gaps and all the like but horses normally stay behind such a chain.

Yes my horse is a gelding a 5yo who is broken and being ridden. The mare is turned out with a gelding and they usually both ignore my horse most of the time but do occasionally talk to him over the fence.

 

[dilbert_uk]

Well, then for some reason he wants urgently to get to the field and he has been used to that specific time.

Does he still have some hay in the stable when you arrive or is he hungry? How much grass is in the field?
If there is good grass on the field and the hay nets are empty then this can be another reason for being agitated.

 

[Jools1234]

for me using electric tape in such a confined place as a stable is dangerous at best cruel at worst, horses are flight animals they cannot run away from the sting of the electric when they are confined in a stable-you may end up with a horse that is constantly freaked out in the stable if it somewhere he gets hurt.

my mare kicks the door when people are about feeding and haying their own, i have put a slip bar up so there is nothing to kick but also no risk of her getting out like there is with a chain

 

[Potato!]

Well, then for some reason he wants urgently to get to the field and he has been used to that specific time.

Does he still have some hay in the stable when you arrive or is he hungry? How much grass is in the field?
If there is good grass on the field and the hay nets are empty then this can be another reason for being agitated.

No there is some waste hay left in the morning with some hay left in his net and lots of long manky grass in the field, needed it to be topped but the field is not dry enough to get a tractor on. He is also a very good doer and therefore im watching his weight. The thing i do not understand is that i have not changed his routine in the last week but for some reason his behaviour has changed in the last week or so. Before the clocks changed he was happy and relaxed to come in so what would have changed in the last week.

 

[Jools1234]

fireworks? maybe they are upsetting him and he would feel safer moving about in the field

 

[Potato!]

for me using electric tape in such a confined place as a stable is dangerous at best cruel at worst, horses are flight animals they cannot run away from the sting of the electric when they are confined in a stable-you may end up with a horse that is constantly freaked out in the stable if it somewhere he gets hurt.

my mare kicks the door when people are about feeding and haying their own, i have put a slip bar up so there is nothing to kick but also no risk of her getting out like there is with a chain

His stable is huge (im talking 12 x 20ft stable). Also im not talking about kicking the door im talking about ramming the doot with his chest so a slip bar wont work. I would be very wary of putting a stall chain on and leaving him unoccupied with the door open as i believe that is dangerous

 

[Potato!]

Also yes i had originally thought fireworks but his bed is not stired up so i suspect that he is not stressy in the stable

 

[Jools1234]

His stable is huge (im talking 12 x 20ft stable). Also im not talking about kicking the door im talking about ramming the doot with his chest so a slip bar wont work. I would be very wary of putting a stall chain on and leaving him unoccupied with the door open as i believe that is dangerous

i agree on the chain part, he is trying to tell you something and if it is that he feels the need to be living out then maybe you need to move him to somewhere that it is possible for him to do that? i would try leaving him out for a few nights to see if he reverts back to a nice horse then make a decision from there

 

[Potato!]

i agree on the chain part, he is trying to tell you something and if it is that he feels the need to be living out then maybe you need to move him to somewhere that it is possible for him to do that? i would try leaving him out for a few nights to see if he reverts back to a nice horse then make a decision from there

Unfortunatly i have been very lucky to get the place i hacve now and with a real lack of affordable ivery yards around here. So moving is not always possible and to be honest i think he is actually just being a bit thuggish and needs to learn some manners. He has to learn that to play up for a few days is not going to get his own way. i cant give up my place just because he has decided that this week he doesnt want to come in. There are very very few places round here that offer grass livery anyway so he has to get used to coming in.

Another option is to put a metal grid over the top door so he can see out but get get his chest up against the door to ram against it.

 

[dilbert_uk]

If you could come one hour earlier then you could see if it's really the time that makes him upset or not.
If if it would be the time then you could come every day 10 minutes later until he adjusted to the new time.

 

[AdorableAlice]

Op, what breed is your horse and how big is he ?

 

[Potato!]

Op, what breed is your horse and how big is he ?

He is nearly 16h now and as far as i know he is IDXTB but mostly ID.

 

[AmyMay]

His stable is huge (im talking 12 x 20ft stable). Also im not talking about kicking the door im talking about ramming the doot with his chest so a slip bar wont work. I would be very wary of putting a stall chain on and leaving him unoccupied with the door open as i believe that is dangerous

The electric tape idea is hideous and dangerous.

How about simply putting up a full grill on his door?

 

[applecart14]

I'd ensure he is out more in the day. And when you change over from haylage to hay you still need to take into account the huge change for the gut and introduce the change gradually over a few days, but ideally 7-10 days like you would for hard feed. Hay is not as wet as haylage so you need to ensure that for a while it is soaked to take into account the lack of moisture content in your horses gut (which can cause impaction colics).

 

[Dovorian]

Please don't string me up ... BUT, I have a horse (16yo) who used to barge at the door, he had mown a few people over in the past! He also worked out that leaning on a fence with intention would probably have it down. All this happened when I had 5 in the yard. Now he is home alone and is so well behaved you would think he is a different horse, whilst accepting that being a lone horse is not the ideal, for some it works.

 

[Dovorian]

What a coincidence - virtually the same breeding as mine, although less than half the age of my chunky monster. I would also add that mine can be bolshy to handle at times - just walks off in whatever direction he fancies - not with me I would add.

 

[Enfys]

His stable is huge (im talking 12 x 20ft stable). Also im not talking about kicking the door im talking about ramming the doot with his chest so a slip bar wont work. I would be very wary of putting a stall chain on and leaving him unoccupied with the door open as i believe that is dangerous

Slip rail over the door?
I have a big, strong mare that does this, we have fitted a rail over the stable door so that she can't get her head over to ram the door with her chest. Bad manners on her part, that's all.

Full grill on door?
Is there another, solid, part of the stable that you can alter so that he still has a 'window' to stick his head through?

 

[Maesfen]

. Before the clocks changed he was happy and relaxed to come in so what would have changed in the last week.

That could well be your answer TBH!

Unlike you, he hasn't got a watch to check the time but he does go by the dawn and dusk times which don't vary for him. Would be interesting to see if you reverted back to summertime and fetched him in at his normal time whether that makes a difference.

PS, I'm with Alice on this one re electric tape, it's a good cure.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I have a young horse has always had a tendency to barge up against his stable door with his chest. He has stopped doing this in the spring however since the clocks went back he has been doing it again. I started bringing him in early in October so that he was getting used to it before the clocks changed (I’d get to the yard and he was waiting to come in). However since they changed he won’t come in and he will barge up against the door from about 5am onwards. Twice now he has broken the stable door bolt. Luckily the kick bolt was across so that he could not get the door open. I need to discourage him from doing this as he has not bent the metal frame of the stable door and I’ve now had to fix the bolt again.

The issue is that there is a mare next door and he is becoming increasingly besotted with her. He is not bothered about being in the field next door and he is also not bothered about being taken away from her or with her being taken away. However from his stable he can see her as she lives out. I do not want him living out 24/7 and he comes in at night. This is to save my field amongst other things. Also yes he is on his own in his field but he also seems happier without having to share his field with another horse. He has always been quite possessive and stresses when he has to share his things. However there are horses next door over the fence over the winter. He is so much more content relaxed and happy when he is alone when they go away for the summer. The horses came back early this year (end of august ) due to lack of grazing so they have been there a few months.

His behaviour has changed since the clocks went back in general since the clocks changed i.e. not wanting to come in and also refusing to load on Saturday even also refusing food. Those who know him also know that he is a greedy boy. I have however changed him from haylege to hay and now we have some left in the morning from just two slices pert night. Would anybody have any ideas as to what is causing this behaviour change and what is the best option to discourage this behaviour.

have you thought about slip rails which could be pulled across so he would push on that not the door??? Its what we use as some rails so doors left open??
this is the rails in the stored position they get slid across the door into another slip rail bracket

here is one

here they are across mare hidden in respect to owner and pony over the rainbow.

they stop any pressure on the door frame

 

[AdorableAlice]

Scaffolding poles are more useful than the 2x4" wooden rails. A pin is required to stop the horse closing their gullet on the rail/pole and sliding it out.

I was expecting the electric tape cure to be vilified, and for many half hearted door bangers/pushers it would certainly be over kill. However, if the horse is a stable wrecker it is the way to stop the demolition process. You may even find an un-powered piece of tape will work in time, a little trick is to use a tic toc wind up alarm clock with a loud tick, that will fool them into thinking the power is on.

If the power is on, the box needs to be big enough to allow them to lie down and roll. The tape needs to be high, I use the screw in tape holders normally used on post and rails, these fitments hold the tape an inch away from the door and walls, the energiser/battery and earth stake is outside the door allowing me to turn it off when I open the door, I also use a handle inside the box to break the connection. This set up was used for about a month with a new horse that within the first day of arriving was wearing one of my boxes like a necklace. Strangely the advert did not say rhino housing was needed to keep her in.

Three months on, she has been taught not to barge in the stable and whilst in hand. She was taught the hard way and still gets handled with half a broom handle. If I forget the broom she is still likely to take the rise and take me skiing in the mud. She now lives in a big stable, no electric and 3 scaffolding poles instead of a door, issue over.

There is nothing cruel about stopping horses barging. Both the Op's horse and mine has ID in it, they are very clever horses and soon learn both good and bad habits.

Persistent banging and pushing will injure the horse in the longer term and it is more than possible that the handler will get flattened in the doorway if the horse is not taught to get off the door. A firm hand and no fannying about will put manners into any horse.

 

[4x4]

I had to use electric tape on purebred ID to stop him from a)jumping out of stable and b)crashing through the door - without the electric (last resort) we just had smashed doors/gates. EVERYTHING is now electrified including the fences he used to walk through and it works fine - I can now leave the fence off. I use tape and connect it to black plastic insulators standing off the wall and out through a hole i the side of the stable to a connector where it connects to the main electric fence. If you want to go in/out of the stable or leave it off you just unclip it from outside. Could also be done with a battery. Good luck!

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Scaffolding poles are more useful than the 2x4" wooden rails. A pin is required to stop the horse closing their gullet on the rail/pole and sliding it out.

Sorry but our rails have been in use over 20 years and they have stopped hundred of horses barging/ getting out.

No injuries what so ever have occurred due to the rails being there.

So Op its definitely worth consideration.

Electric tape never worked with my boy on or off.