Clingy ex racer

[zoon]

I have an ex racer who is very clingy. I have only had her a short while, but she is in a rigid routine as this seems to chill her out a bit. She is out with another mare and they seem very closely bonded. She was on individual turnout before this and was fine like this, but still had the issues below.

If I ride her straight from the stable in the morning she is fine as long as she hasn't seen any of the other horses being turned out. If any of the others go out before her she will box walk and call. If I try to ride her like this she takes ages to settle and can be quite dangerous to tack up as she box walks right through you. If I try to bring her in in the middle of the day or slightly early to ride her she will be the same if none of the others are in already. It is so difficult working around other horses going in and out. I had the farrier the other week and another horse went out while she was being shod and she flung herself around making it very difficult for farrier to finish the job. She'll be out 24/7 in the summer and bringing her down to the yard to do anything will be a nightmare.

How can I get her used to coming in? Or am I always going to have to live with this behaviour? Will going out in a small herd help her do you think so she is not closely bonded with 1 other? Or back to individual turnout again (other horses all around her and can touch over the fence). The behaviour is driving me mad and I am keep considering selling her because of it, even though she is great in all other ways.

 

[Firewell]

Oh god my late mare was like this and I really feel for you as it did my head in!! If one horse went out before her in the morning she would be rearing, throwing herself around ect. Same in the field if she was left out, nightmare!
Being on a really big DIY yard helped, bit odd I suppose but there was so many horses that she was never alone and she could also see the fields from the stables that helped.
Mine did settle down as the years went on but she was always prone to it. If I brought her in midday for a lesson or something and she wasn't used to coming in, tacking up would be awful! I would literally have to throw on the tack and take a flying leap on to her back as she was pratting about and pooing everywhere!

The moment I started working mine though she would settle right down and this is why I kept her. She was lovely to ride, even if shed had 3 months off she would be fine. She always looked after me, did her work and she wasn't that clingy being ridden.

I sort of just got used to it and worked around it, she gave me so many good times under saddle it was worth it.

My god she would be a pain though, such a nightmare I would literally want to throttle her.

My current horse isn't like this at all, he's so chilled out on the ground and couldn't give a toss where the others are, it's such a relief but he has his moments in other ways.

No horse is perfect, just got to figure out what you can and can't put up with, if it's worth it and go from there!

 

[zoon]

The pooing everywhere is very annoying! There is no option to move yards - the yard I'm on is great and I don't want to move. It is weird that she is happy to leave the others in their stables to go off and work. But if she leaves the others in the field to go and work she stresses out - very inconsistant!

 

[maggiesmum]

It will improve with time, look at it from her point of view.. chances are she was born into a herd of broodmares and foals, weaned off into a group of youngsters then went off to be broken on a yard full of others, she'd have then gone into training where she'd have gone on the walker with others, hacked with others and worked up the gallops with others, she'd have gone to the races with other horses too and now you're asking her to do something by herself and she's feeling a bit insecure about the experience of being alone.
Its not uncommon for ex-racers to suffer from separation anxiety and one thing i'd highly recommend doing is working on building up a good bond with her.. because she's not actually on her own she's with you, so if you can get her to trust you and feel safe in your company then things will improve massively.

 

[Milanesa]

I have an x racer he is exactly the same if the rigid routine changes all hell breaks lose, box walking, generally going mad etc etc. Sorry to say in my experience after 5 odd years he has not really improved :-( I have just had to adjust to keep him calm, ie be first to turn out, not try and bring in alone etc etc. Sorry not much help but I am just being honest xx

 

[Tammytoo]

What Maggiesmum says!

I have two mares - one ex racer, one tbxwelsh. If I want to ride I always have to bring them both in because one stresses if the other isn't in as well even though there are two horses in the next paddock! I have no trouble going for a ride, and my OH will let the other one back out when I've gone without any problems. Horses are herd animals and being sperated spells danger (in the wild) but the instinct is always there, but some cope better than others.

 

[Jesstickle]

My last mare (not an ex racer FWIW so they don't all get tarred with the same brush!) was just like this. She stayed like it for probably the first 6 months I had her, even jumping out of her box one day and hanging herself up by the stifles.

Then she eventually settled and ended up being absolutely unfussed by what the others were doing. How long have you had her?