Exploding Colt

T

Toast

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Is anyone elses horse so completely and utterly overcome with elation at breakfast/tea time that they fall on the floor? No?

Mine is...

My rising 2yo colt gets so excited he cant control himself and literally bounces around and wofts his head about til he slips and lands in a heap on the floor. Now its funny once or twice but its really not funny anymore after he slipped yesterday and ended up with both front legs underneath the door. (doors are raised about 6 inches off the floor) Once he's got the feed he's a happy chappy and thats the end of it.
Unfortunately as with many babies, breakfast/tea is like feeding time at the zoo and he is no exception. I cant really hide the feed from him until he gets it as i have to wet it at the tap before he gets it so in the time its taken me to get the feed made and damp, he thinks all his birthdays and christmases have come at once and he's gone into orbit.

Any other ideas? Do we think he'll grow out of it? he's 15hh now and will probably make at leat 16.2/3 so i could really do without that amount of horse throwing himself on the floor every day!

On the upside at least i know he'll do almost anything for food :P
 
Is it just any bucket that will set him off? Just thinking if you could get water from the tap and water the feed hiding then just take it straight out he may not notice it and not have has much time to build up his excitment!
 
have a bucket with a handfull of chaff in ready to give to him whilst you sort out meals. or get him into a routine of hay comes first,
 
I think I would want to make the stable safe, a slip like that could be a broken leg one day, could you put some rubber matting on the bottom of the door to try and stop his legs going under if you cannot drop it down.
I would take a container of water to the feed room so that the feed is mixed out of sight, I do this as one or two I have to feed get over excited and by the time I get to the last one there would be a riot if they had to watch me mixing each feed.
 
Well I'm not the only one with a dingbat,I've two a mare who rears and the gelding next door who does a tap dance,she coming up 7 and he's coming up 6, try doing his feed the night before and take a flask of water with you,so he doesn't see you near the tap, with mine you thing they never got fed the fuss they make and out of the 5 they are the worse as the others are just happy to wait, 10 minutes.
 
What about putting some water in a little flask before hand, so you can add the water out of his eye line, then you might be able to hide the feed bucket from him.
 
Toast my rising 2 year old gelding is very similar. Doesn't fall over but runs round and round and at the door as if he's going to jump out! Cool as a cucumber when he comes in, scoffs his hay quietly but the minute I put my old boy in the stable opposite he knows its tea time ... and off he goes! I take a bucket of water into the feed room to dampen feeds (almost opposite him) and have to shut the door and be very quiet mixing feeds and if I take too long he has nearly set fire to the straw in his stable from charging round and round! And if he can see you doing it then I'm in reel trouble. Just have to be quiet and quick! Quiet as a lamb once he has his grub. I hope he will grow out of it, but I'm not so sure!
 
First of I would either lower the door from the hinges or put a piece of wood or matting so that he cannot get a leg under it.
Secondly I would teach him to tie and have him tied up. Thirdly I would take some water to the feed area to dampen the feed before taking it to him and fourthly I would let him loose and then make him stand at the back of the stable before he gets his grub.
 
Thanks for the replies.. He'll go back and stand still when ive opened the door to give him his feed otherwise he doesnt get fed first and he knows it!
Nothing i can do about lowering the door sadly (looking for another yard) but i could see about sticking some rubber matting to the bottom of it! Cant tie him up because he'd just break every piece of baler twine i put up there. He ties up nicely otherwise, but tea time all sense of rationalisation goes out of the window. People passing the stable get bitten if they get in the way of tea time explosion! Not nastily, just out of excitement..
I'll put some ideas into practice tomorrow and let you know how i got on!
Stupid youngsters!
 
Prepare the feed before you bring him in.

Pop it away out of sight (but not to far), once he's in his stable, get the feed and quietly put it in.
 
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