Grr.. fence wrecking pony

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Jericho

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Our newish little 11.2hh gelding is an absolute sweetie but he is one major issue which is starting to drive me a little mad. He is kept with my other mare, just the 2 of them which means when I take my mare out for a hack he is on his own and I have found that he has absolute no respect for fences.

The last 3 times he has broken the gate twice and four lots of fencing - its all wooden post and rail so its cracking plus the posts that are concreted in are starting to become loose under the strain. Its about 4ft 6 and also 4 bar so he cant actually get his head through to push. The problem is that he keeps rearing at the fence - not lifting his legs over but getting his head over and ramming his chest at the fence, pushing his weight with his hind legs.

Not only does my fencing looking horrendous, my OH is getting annoyed and I am worried about the little pony hurting himself. I have tried putting electric fencing in front of the worse corner but he is going straight through - cue more hazard! The minute he feels it give/crack he then knows that he is going to get through and keeps working it. Does anyone have any expeirence of this and / or have any ideas as to what I can do to make the fence stronger / safer or ideas to get him to calm down??

I have tried taking her out for 10 mins and returning to get him used to the idea but he just panics the minute I take her out the first gate. I have a stable I could put him but I would have to shut the top door because of the rearing thing and I think this will really really stress him out.

The only thing I can that would work is another top rail but it would be a big expensive job that I would rather not do....
 
Could you get another pony to keep him company when she is out?
I don't think another rail would help, to be honest as he would keep rearing at it.
Failing that, then what I did with mine was to take Tilly out and keep her in sight of Fidley. Once Fidley was comfortable with this, I then took Tilly further afield. This took weeks of work and I can now take Tilly away for 4 hour hacks (although Fidley will give a couple neighs and gallop around the field a couple of times before settling down.

It's not so much he has disrespect for fences (unless he wrecks them when your mare is also in the field) as it sounds like he has huge separation anxiety and is more worried about being left behind alone.

Hope you get this sorted and it doesn't cost too much emotionally / financially. x

ETA: Fidley does have other ponies in paddocks beside her so she wasn't left totally alone as this little may be?
 
Yup, def separation anxiety. A companion would be the ideal, try using a calmer, and you could get some diluted neroli essential oil (3%) from Holland and barrat or somewhere. Start offering a few drops on your hand twice a day, and before you go out.

It may be worth a chat with your vet, and if it's drastic, try ACP. If he's likely to hurt himself, it is pretty drastic I guess.

Hope you get it sorted.. sm xx
 
Horses are herd animals, they like company in general!

Take that company away and for some horses this is very stressful for them.

I would suggest that your pony isn't being deliberately naughty but is genuinely anxious/stressed about the sitation you are asking him to cope with.

You will need to handle this carefully before he injures himself.

Obviously the ideal situation would be to ensure he has company at all times. So if you can't afford a companion yourself maybe consider offering a cheap retirement grass livery so you are assured company in the field.
Alternative is to stable him while you ride.

If that is not an option, then you need to gradually gat this pony used to being by himself. I would suggest splitting the field so that he is turned out alone but in view of his friend, then gradually remove friend for very short amount of time - during this time distract pony with a feed/nut ball etc. Try and re-ntroduce friend before he starts calling/getting stressed - what you don't want is to reward the panic behaviour by returning his friend
 
thanks for replies, yes totally appreciate that it is seperation anxiety and totally natural behaviour for him to exhibit and not just naightiness and am in no way angry about that (I guess the title of my post gave the wrong impression :-s ) and no unfortunately I neither have the time /funds / room for another pony so sadly not an option.

Amymay I do have a stable to put him but it would mean he would be totally shut in - its my last resort and one that I really dont want to do as I think it will totally freak him out. Admittedly it would probably be the safest as he could do limited damage but psychologically I think it may make it worse so was just looking how other people may have solved similar problems e.g. what type of fencing they have used that would be safer to stop him hurting himself etc. Not looking likely though so maybe shutting him up is going to be the best option.

ihatework - distracting with food not worked at all and he starts up the minute I walk out the gate so would certainly be rewarding the behaviour almost immediately.

Maybe ACP might help him get used to it after a few tries - thats definitely worth a try
 
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I don't think any type of fencing will work here as he is so genuinely stressed that he will hurt himself with any fencing you erect.

What about the suggestion above as to a "cheap retirement grass livery," have the horse on DIY so the owner must come and look after it's needs but it also gives your gelding the company?
 
Can you do this gradually? Bring him up on his own, feed him in the stable & leave him for 5 mins for a week, then keep increasing the time on his own until you reach an acceptable level.

May not work but can't think of a better solution at the moment.
 
Have to say this is one unhappy pony to be that bad, so you need to sort something out, either moving him on as a companion and getting a different companion who isn't so stressed, or getting a third pony.
 
amymay said:
Wow, does he have that much of a problem?? That is difficult to manage.
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yep I truly believe he would come out over the half door and dont want to risk it. He is a rescue pony and in general doesnt like being in confined areas as he was found half starved to death looked in a barn with lots of other dead and dying horses when he was 4 (he is now 18). Other than this problem he has absolutely no other issues and is very sweet and loving and not at all nervous about anything other than being left on his own (like a lot of horses!) and even then he doesnt get worked up, sweating, panicking, neighing etc, he just barges the fences. I just need to help him deal with this problem and stop him hurting himself and wrecking the fences! I'll give the softly softly approach a go as it looks like my only option. Do horses with this anxiety ever really get over it?

Unfortunately I really cannot take a livery on - the horses are at home, the only access is through our garden and my whole set up just couldnt accomodate another person / horse ( i have tried it once - never again!)
 
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