Filly hates to be stabled :(

L&B

L&B

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Unfortunately the yard where myself and my little girly livery doesn't have 24/7 turnout on the summer fields until the beginning of April.
She came to me weaned after living out with her mama and whilst I try to give her as much turnout as possible, because the grass is sparse atm she is waiting to come in at 3pm for her tea. However hates to be in once tea is done :(

Can anyone think of any ways I can make being in her stable til the morning more interesting for her? I hide carrots in her haynets, she has a treat hexagon, a jolley ball, I hang up bits and pieces for her to mouth, she has rock salt, I have also bought her a door guard so she doesn't feel as trapped in.
Roll on summer aye? I hope it doesn't spoil her in the meantime! Any suggestions welcome. No nasty comments just trying to do my best for my beautiful filly!
 
Stable mirror?

Mine hates being in, but only due to the fact she is hardly ever in, and when she has to be, she is alone. I can't blame her for her tendency to jump out. (full door grille, and she just has to cope - she does settle after a bit of a tantrum!)
 
Quartered or eighthed (is that a word?!) apples in the water bucket for apple bobbing.
A swede to chase around and chew.
Mine has a treat ball as well as a hexagon - slightly more challenging.
Hay bricks (I use either Halleys or Simple) - my filly loves these. If she could applaud as I approach the stable door with one, she would... :)
More than one haynet so she has different views while chewing..
Sprouts on a stalk were another big hit with mine - originally hung up like a pinata, but she was so enthusiastic the string broke so she just chased it around the stable!
 
Tbh, if I were you I'd want her out at grass. I've seen a lot of youngsters develop problems through being stabled from an early age. Probably not very helpful but I would move her if she were mine.
 
SpottyMare said:
Quartered or eighthed (is that a word?!) apples in the water bucket for apple bobbing.
A swede to chase around and chew.
Mine has a treat ball as well as a hexagon - slightly more challenging.
Hay bricks (I use either Halleys or Simple) - my filly loves these. If she could applaud as I approach the stable door with one, she would... :)
More than one haynet so she has different views while chewing..
Sprouts on a stalk were another big hit with mine - originally hung up like a pinata, but she was so enthusiastic the string broke so she just chased it around the stable!
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Love the apple bobbing idea and the hay blocks!! Are they molassed? :D
 
Clare85 said:
Tbh, if I were you I'd want her out at grass. I've seen a lot of youngsters develop problems through being stabled from an early age. Probably not very helpful but I would move her if she were mine.
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What problems could she develop being in 12hours a day? I find that ludicrous! She has a balancer feed and access to unlimited hay/haylage mix whenever stabled. I dont know know about your area but pretty much all of England what with the floods at the moment has mud and no turnout til April. There's nothing wrong with the yard at all. There is acres and acres of beautiful summer grazing. Unfortunately the relentless rain hasn't done much for our winter grazing. I'm not sure where I'd move her to that would be any different and I'm not relocating abroad!
 
Fools Motto said:
Stable mirror?

Mine hates being in, but only due to the fact she is hardly ever in, and when she has to be, she is alone. I can't blame her for her tendency to jump out. (full door grille, and she just has to cope - she does settle after a bit of a tantrum!)
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Stable mirror is a good shout!
 
How old is she now? If weaned this year, or late last year, she would do better with a companion the same age.assuming you don't want to buy another foal, advertise for a companion, there maybe a few people in the same situation and you could help each other out.
 
L&B said:
What problems could she develop being in 12hours a day? I find that ludicrous! She has a balancer feed and access to unlimited hay/haylage mix whenever stabled. I dont know know about your area but pretty much all of England what with the floods at the moment has mud and no turnout til April. There's nothing wrong with the yard at all. There is acres and acres of beautiful summer grazing. Unfortunately the relentless rain hasn't done much for our winter grazing. I'm not sure where I'd move her to that would be any different and I'm not relocating abroad!
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I'm just saying that a youngster needs to be kept in as natural environment as possible. They need to be able to move around freely to aid correct growth, development and health. IMO to be cooped up in a stable 12 hours a day is not good for a very young horse, even if it has toys to occupy it. I know a lady who had to have her 2yo pts last year due to OCD - he had been stabled every night from 7 months. The vet advised 24/7 turnout once diagnosed but unfortunately it was too late and there was nothing to be done.

Obviously this has been a tough winter for everyone with all the rain. I'm just saying that if I was in a situation where I had a youngster I would want it turned out 24/7 or at least 90% of the time. I'm sure your yard is lovely, it's just that if my yard could not accommodate that, I would move. That's just what I would do, you don't have to listen to me if you don't want to.
 
Clare85 said:
I'm just saying that a youngster needs to be kept in as natural environment as possible. They need to be able to move around freely to aid correct growth, development and health. IMO to be cooped up in a stable 12 hours a day is not good for a very young horse, even if it has toys to occupy it. I know a lady who had to have her 2yo pts last year due to OCD - he had been stabled every night from 7 months. The vet advised 24/7 turnout once diagnosed but unfortunately it was too late and there was nothing to be done.

Obviously this has been a tough winter for everyone with all the rain. I'm just saying that if I was in a situation where I had a youngster I would want it turned out 24/7 or at least 90% of the time. I'm sure your yard is lovely, it's just that if my yard could not accommodate that, I would move. That's just what I would do, you don't have to listen to me if you don't want to.
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It's a case of me looking for practical solutions to keeping my girly occupied whilst in on the eves for 3 and a half weeks until summer turnout starts, not about whether I'm listening to you or not.
I find moving a filly from where she is settled to another yard for the sake of 3 and a half weeks highly impractical. Not only that but everybody is in the same boat at the moment, we are lucky enough to have muddy but relatively flat turnout, some yards locally are knee deep and being turned out only in sand schools for a few hours per day (to give an idea of how bad it is).
Your friends youngster is tragic, did the vets say it was due to being in of an eve? And not due to over feeding or anything similar? Or part of her genetics /breed type?
In effect though their horse was in from 7months to 2years that's one year and 5months. My girl has been in of an evening for 7weeks and has another 3 and a half to go. I don't see that worth moving for really and just want to keep her ticking over in the meantime.
 
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L&B said:
Love the apple bobbing idea and the hay blocks!! Are they molassed? :D
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No molasses in the blocks. Mine goes a bit loopy with added sugar...

Incidentally, I bought my filly as a weanling in October 2012, she went straight into being stabled overnight, then went out 24/7 in May 2013, coming in overnight again for the winter. She's been absolutely fine, and no problem. In fact, she loves her stable :)

Edited to add: I'm on a yard that breeds a few horses, and all their foals are in overnight during the winter as well, and none appear to have suffered for it.
 
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L&B said:
Unfortunately the yard where myself and my little girly livery doesn't have 24/7 turnout on the summer fields until the beginning of April.
She came to me weaned after living out with her mama and whilst I try to give her as much turnout as possible, because the grass is sparse atm she is waiting to come in at 3pm for her tea. However hates to be in once tea is done :(

Can anyone think of any ways I can make being in her stable til the morning more interesting for her? I hide carrots in her haynets, she has a treat hexagon, a jolley ball, I hang up bits and pieces for her to mouth, she has rock salt, I have also bought her a door guard so she doesn't feel as trapped in.
Roll on summer aye? I hope it doesn't spoil her in the meantime! Any suggestions welcome. No nasty comments just trying to do my best for my beautiful filly!
Click to expand...

Can you borrow a diddy pony? whenever I have to keep one in, I tie a hay net outside the box and let the captive horse share it with any little ponies knocking about. This provides hours of companionship.
 
SpottyMare said:
No molasses in the blocks. Mine goes a bit loopy with added sugar...

Incidentally, I bought my filly as a weanling in October 2012, she went straight into being stabled overnight, then went out 24/7 in May 2013, coming in overnight again for the winter. She's been absolutely fine, and no problem. In fact, she loves her stable :)

Edited to add: I'm on a yard that breeds a few horses, and all their foals are in overnight during the winter as well, and none appear to have suffered for it.
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Agree with this.

OP don't worry about bringing in overnight. Plenty of youngsters come in at night with no issues.

All of mine come in overnight across winter, and horror of horrors actually wear rugs when its cold. None have had issues of OCD.

Mine have all taken to their stables well. But all mine come in and go out at the same time. whats the routine on the yard ?
 
I seriously would not worry about her been stabled! That argument can stand for any horse!

I have a foal who was weaned too early at 4months boxed with her mum, arrived following her mum off the box walked to stable and the man made me close the door on the foal. Thank you and goodbye? Urge what???
She was taken straight from her mum and shut in the stable. She climbed the walls was terrified everyone thought I was mad! Turns out she learnt she had to trust me or she'd not get fed lol and within a day or two she was settled. This was back in November.

From December we have had a total turn out ban. Again she's absolutely fine! She has turn out in the school twice a day with another young mate, walks around the yard. She's happy as larry! Loads of attention, ties up like a dream. She has pony agility once every two weeks playing with balls and all sorts of scary things!

Perfectly fit and healthy! I did worry her lack of socialisation would hinder her but she's fine.

She went through a naughty daze of about a week but the girl has grown a hand and 2inches in 4months lol think she was feeling uber brave! Popped her in the school with a bossy mare who pulled a few faces and squared her up and she was again back to behaving! She's not missing out on anything!

Were now on to 4 hours turnout every other day, popped her out with 4 mares shed never been with before and was there any problems? Nope. They love her and the boss of the field just ignores her. They know a baby and know how to treat there own kind. So to say shed suffer at the hands of other horses as many have is silly.

Over the summer she will be out 12hours a day and will be stabled over night, despite the fact then we will have 24hr turnout I don't want her arguing with her stable at the end of summer!

She too has toys and a mirror she's fed ample forage and has a balancer with literally a handful of molasses free hifi.


Stabling horses isn't wrong. Eventers, dressage, and show jumpers you will rarely see at grass. So long as they get some social time and are excersied they are fine!

Good luck with your filly, she'll figure out her stables a luxury and not a punishment sooner or later. X
 
Thankyou all for the now more sensible and practical ideas :)
Good to know a few people have had issues with youngsters in stables and I'm not the only one who has to stable of an eve for a few hours atm!
Someone asked about routine. Atm my girl goes out around 7am and comes in again about 4pm (though if the weather isn't great she can sometimes be waiting at the gate from about 3pm), though it's getting longer now we have more light. Some basic handling is done most eves and sometimes if we have light we go for a walk in hand down our fields, shes then fed tea, given a groom and settled with haynet/toys etc for the night. This can vary on a weekend when I have errands to run.
Usually at our yard there is something in most times in her block of stables, but people come and go as they please due to it being DIY :)
We have a no horse out - alone policy though, so if yours and another are the last horses out, you must bring both in so nothing is left alone if the field :)
Sometimes we have to do our best with what we have, I for one LOVE to see horses out 24/7 but sometimes it's not always possible so we have to make the best of what we have which was missed the point of a wee bit with one or two comments here!
I have now bought a mirror and a box full of hay - blocks as suggested above ^^
 
It's tricky isn't it as not like you can ride or lunge, I got a lot of flack when I moved my then 18 month old to a yard and had her stabled overnight as was being told I should send her to youngstock livery, well I felt very selfish and did look around but there wasn't anything less than an hour away, I'd had her since 9 months old and had developed a bond. However, I found that stabling her overnight helped develop a great routine and helped with manners. When she was out 24/7 she was definitely more uruley, I wouldn't dare turn her away as she goes a bit 'wild' if not handled regularly!

Now at nearly 3 I have her in a corral over winter with stable attached, as she's a high energy type so stabling 24/7 for more than the odd day would really stress her out.

I think we just have to adapt and try to find solutions to make it easier over winter, of course depends on the horse also.

Lots of inhand walks and hand grazing, I use the Lucy brix as they have less natural sugars than the others I believe.
 
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