Bored, Lonely or just plain Naughty?

legaldancer

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A friend has her 11yr old WB gelding with us in return for help with our horses, which has generally worked out very well. He is a 16.2 big, solid type.
During the summer we bought our son his first pony, a Sec B mare. All was ok, with the pair being separated by electric fencing for 3 weeks in the same paddock. However on letting the pair together all hell was let loose with WB chasing pony through elec fence twice, biting at her sides & ears flat back. I seriously thought he would kill her had she not run through the bungee into the yard & I managed to shut the gate in front of him. I should add that he has previously been turned out with another mare & a 12hh gelding with no probs.
This evening as I prepared to bring them in they were all together at the gate, WB in one field, other 3 in adjoining field. After some cavorting about & playing, WB attempts to jump post & rail, & ends up smashing his way through to others. I managed to get pony out & phoned friend to come & help.
To cut this long story short, I told her that i thought he was bored as he has been jumping the electric fence all summer & there have been several other incidents. I got a mouthful back from usually lovely friend who disagrees, saying he's lonely. I should add that he's ridden once a week at best due to her having had a baby last year.
What can we do with him? I don't want to fall out with her,but could do without the hassle. Should also add that he's a very clever horse & a brilliant jumper!
 

legaldancer

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I've suggested that too. She says she likes being able to have him available to ride & she lives in the same village so it's quite handy for her. Don't think she'd be keen on loaning him.
 

GirlFriday

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Are all your riders little? I'm guessing your son and whoever has the 12hh gelding are but, if you do hack the mare the WB gets on with would it be possible to ride & lead to get him out more?

*Not* saying this is easy but there was a thread on here a while back about safe ways to try this. I see it regularly with RS horses who need to get out on quiet days and everyday with the cavalry (who sometimes lead two!).
 

NeilM

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If he can see the other horses / ponies over p & r or tape, I would not think lonely, but I would think bored and frustrated, especially if he has been active before this enforced lay off.

Just like people, some horses are happy to wander about eating and snoozing all day, others prefer a bit more excitement in their lives.

How does he behave when he is ridden?
 

SnowandSunshine

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I had a similar problem with my gelding. He was turned out in a seperate field but had contact over the fence. He was constantly prancing about with his tail in the air, running through the fence or jumping it. He was also very spooky to ride and constantly spinning.
Problem was if I let him in with my others (mare and gelding) he would fight, (proper stallion type fight) with my other gelding.
I moved yards and he is now out with a big herd of geldings - he is so chilled and happy. He plays with the other horses loads, has never broken/jumped out and is now lovely to ride.

I think some horses just need to be out in the same field with others and it becomes difficult when you have a small number with mixed sexes. Hope you find the solution.
 

legaldancer

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Thank you all for your replies. I do agree that he's frustrated & bored, as he's a very intelligent horse & has time on his hooves & not much grass at the moment.(Have upped the hay). Oddly enough, he's always good to ride, anyone's ride infact, but should mention he's always hacked, seldom schooled as no school.
He sounds very much like your gelding Alexe. He's very definitely Alpha Male here & behaved much better before he achieved this status! He play fights with my 21yr old TB gelding who actually quite enjoys it, but last year he ended up with bite marks all down his neck & I'm terrified he'll break his leg as it gets quite serious at times. Keeping him separate prevents injuries to my animals & also prevents the field getting churned up as much, but has also created this problem.
He knows he can simply jump over or break through now & apart from keeping him in, which would make matters worse, I'm at a loss as to how to control this behaviour.
 
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