Escape artist yearling gelding- also posted in breeding

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lottie940

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I have a yearling gelding. He has just turned 1 and he was gelded in February 2011. He is lovely to handle and is very bold but I have one problem with him in that I cannot keep him from trying to escape.

Previously he has climbed through fencing tape if the charge hasn't been strong enough so I put stock fence up. Today I arrived to get them in and feed them and he had pulled the stock fence down which divides his field from the other two cobs. He had got his feet in it but didn't appear phased at all and seemed hell bent on pulling it down.

He is fed twice a day, has 3 fields full of grass to roam around and he has an older horse for company who does play with him. I could cope with climbing through electric tape but now we are into the realms of pulling fences down I really am at the end of my tether and I'm worried what he will do next in his bid to escape. He poses a danger to himself and the other 3 horses on the land if he is destroying fences. Any thoughts/advice please? I am considering selling him but this is obviously a last resort. I've also looked at sending him away to live with other youngsters for a bit but I'm concerned that he will still come back with these issues but just be a bigger horse!

He is a traditional skewbald gypsy cob. Please help!!!
 
Blimey! You are having problems...
Have you considered not feeding him? Possibly he is not hungry and looking around for naughty things to do.
He will have plenty of grass and a hungry tummy is a good incentive to eat the grass and stop messing with the fence.

Best of luck,
Bryndu
 
I have cut him right down tbh. He just gets a handful of Dengie twice a day with a bit of mix sprinkled on and a bit of haylage in the evening. I really do not know what I can try next. I am having to consider selling him, he has cost me a fortune in fencing so far and the husband has quite understandably had enough. He is sick of seeing me in floods of tears most nights. Its just not fun any more. I'm now also fretting as my older horse has grown very attached to him and worry what impact it will have on him if I sell him.
 
Sorry, cant offer any advice, but i sympathise with you as i have exactly the same problem with my yearling filly! She just runs and charges at the electric fencing. I have tall posts and 3 strands of electric fencing. This morning i arrived at the yard and she'd trashed 3 posts, yards and yards of tape and pulled the wires out of the energiser. I was about to post a very similar question so will be watching your post with interest.:mad:
 
I'm glad its not just me. It's making me ill I'm so worried. Life was so much easier without him but at the same time I see so much potential in him. I just don't know how much more of this I can take.
 
Okaaay....
Re the stock fencing...how high is it? It will need to be higher than his chest to stop him pushing it over.
Is it possible to fix electric tape rings and tape at head height (his) and run along the indside of the rail so that it is in his field? This is a more sensitive part of the horse to get zapped.
I don't know if this will help, but the 1.5 - 2 inch tape gives a better 'zap' as it has a larger surface area. Also, make sure any tape doesn't come in contact with anything other than itself (other than the earth clip) as this tends to short it out.

Otherwise.....like you.... I am at a loss.

Good luck
Bryndu
 
I've got the tape on already so will have a go at electrifying it and see if it keeps him off it. he tends to do everything with his feet though and pulls it over rather than pushing it over.
 
I had one that would go under the fence but if I put a fence at knee height he wouldn't go over it.

He'd take the tops of the fence posts when the power was off - drove me insane for about 18months then he stopped the escaping.

Can you increase the power - and are you sure that the power is not shorting out anywhere.Check for long grass or hedging that may be touching the wires.
 
I'm presuming he's bored with his field mate, or finds the others on the other side a more likely source of fun.

I'd stop the feed. if there's good grass, I don't see that he'd need any extra...

But maybe try some 'toys' out in the field if your other horse wouldn't mind. Like the snack ball things, maybe some old paper feed bags for him to chuck about and paw at. A football?

Other than that, an equally young and naughty field mate for him to bug all day!!
 
I have a rising 3yo who at a year used to escape fairly often through electric fencing. I had forgotten till I read this. He did it for about 6 months. It was spring/summer and he was rising a year old. He climbed through 3 strands of electric, jumped it sometimes and was generally a pain. We did some double fencing and just sort of persevered. He just stopped one day and has not done it recently (touch wood). At the time I made sure it had a good zap on the fence and put 3 rows of electric with double fencing. I bet you boy will stop as suddenly as he started. Good luck!
 
He obviously doesnt see the fencing as a barrier. I'd get a strong electric current in the tape and pop it higher than his head. I guarantee that his hoofs will not be the first thing to touch that fence and once he has had the shock he should relent. He might test it at different sections of the fencing if his field is large but he will be a bit more cautious the second, third time around. I would monitor him the first time you turn him out though in case he does something silly. A lot of grade A showjumpers have the same problem as the horses dont see the barrier of the fence as a problem.
 
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