help with my houdini horse!!!

digitalangel

digitalangel

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arrgghH!

so my boy keeps escaping from his stable. He has a sliding bolt at the top that is pushed across and a kickbolt on the bottom.

I dont know how but he keeps getting out - i buy trigger clips which i fasten to the top bolt, but he breaks them pretty quickly.

YO will not allow any other kind of bolt on the door - have just ordered some carabina clips - another idea would be to get some spray to put on the lock that tastes bitter - but cant find any online?

Obviously, hes now eaten everyones breakfast and aside from the embarassment of it all, im worried about his health as well

does anyone else have any ideas on how i can stop this happening?????
 
I have one of those! He doesn't stay in his field either - pretty much free range!!

We have a strap accross his doorway (one of those rubber things that are for you being able to leave horse in with door open) That is up all the time, he plays with it but the combination of the bolt kick bolt and the strap do the trick 99% of the time!
 
when ytou say rubber strap, do you mean one of those webbing stall guards?

if so, we would not be able to put one up as it requires drilling and YO would not be happy with that

if its something else, i would be interested to see a pic or something!

im desperate hehe!
 
I think your YO is being pretty inconsiderate tbh - What harm would putting up extra safety features do? Would you consider moving yards? If you can't find a way to keep him in that comes under your YO's approval, then for the safety of your horse it may be something you have to consider.
 
i think there's something wrong with your YO, if they'd rather have a horse loose on the yard (with all the danger that encompasses) than let you alter the door to make it horse-proof!
i'd swap the top bolt for one of those horse-proof ones, it's like a small metal box with the mechanism inside, you have to put your fingers in to lift something to push the bolt across. i have never seen a horse that could do anything with 1 of those, it requires 1 human hand and manual dexterity!
 
thanks guys,

moving is not an option and YO's reasoning is that why should she have her stable doors defaced when its obviously my problem that my horse keeps getting out.
 
Why is moving not an option?
It isn't 'defacing' stable doors - it's adding extra security, which is a bonus not a minus.
It will be her problem when the other liveries start complaining that your horse is eating their feed, or your horse breaks something whilst on a nightime excursion, because she is the one refusing to do what is necessary to resolve the problem - not you.
 
i just made the yards breakfasts up again, called all the other liveries to let them know as well, and swept and tidied the yard.

I live at the yard, its the cheapest and best facilities in the area.

they way this yard is, i would probably get kicked off if other liveries complain.

my horse is part livery.
 
Don't know about the Effol stuff. Okay if your YO won't let you drill your door how about putting something heavy in front of the door so that your horse can't push his way out maybe?

Seems nuts to me that your YO isn't considering the safety and welfare of your horse and the others though.
 
Have you tried a thicker clip? Like one off a lead rope, these are harder to brake than trigger clips.

You could also mix pepper or chill in water and spray that on it.Don't know if it would work. (Works with my cat, attacking the sofa!! LOL)
 
Worse case scenario, how about a door\anti weave grille. A bit OTT, but if he really can undo anything.

I feel your pain as recently we had to move all our light switches as they had been put in within nose reach of the stables and my 'independant thinking' CB decided that he could turn his on at will. He can do stable doors too, and then proceeds to let everything else out too. Fortunately, he hasn't worked out kick bolts from inside his stable yet!
 
piconicole - yep tried both small and big ones - have also tied the lead rope around the door as well and he can still undo it!

The latest clip/leadrope he had on his door went missing last week. I havent been to see him for the last 3 days as ive been bedridden :^( but YO says he shouldnt be able to get the kickbolt up anyway so shouldnt *need* a clip, but its obvious he does.

ive just ordered some caribinas and the effol spray, hopefully this will work. Otherwise i just dont know what else i can do.
 
because of the way the stables are, we cant putin anti-weave grills either :^(

they say its a sign of intelligence, and i really should be happy about that, but it is dirving me around the bend!

i totally feel your pain hehe.
 
he'll get the kick-over bolt to flip over by kicking the door, i bet, i've seen them do this. beware a really strong leadrope clip, i've heard of horses ripping their lips really badly with them.
you could sit patiently to the side out of sight, and zap him with a water pistol every time he tries to fiddle with his door bolt. not ideal though as he could hit his head in shock.
i'd definitely change the bolt for a horse-proof one, done carefully it'll hardly be noticeable, esp if you treat/paint the door afterwards if any bare wood is exposed...
 
Could you set up a video camera to watch him one night, if you could work out how he's getting out then it would be easier to work out how to stop him.

I can't understand how he's getting the kick bolt undone.....

Is it possible that someone (possibly someone with issues or possibly just inadvertently) is leaving his kick bolt undone?

A heavy object in front of the door is the other option. Or does he have a top door? You could close that last thing at night.

Or could you mount a chain/webbing guard across the door and agree to make good when/if you leave. Or sell it to her on the basis that lots of people with ponies have these so their pony can see over the door so that it would be a future selling point. You could agree to do it at your own expense and offer to leave it for her in future. The horse i used to share had one of these as he was a bit of a houdini too, after he left his box was in heavy demand from pony owners!
 
there is absoloutely no way i can make any changes to the door or install any webbing guards ro deal with this issue.

There is always the possibility of human error - hes been doing this since ive had him and im sure ive left the kickbolt undone once which led to him getting out - but since then, i ALWAYS triple-check before i leave in the evening. In any case, i havent even eyeballed him in 3 days anyway, so unless the staff or someone else left the kickbolt undone, i dont know and im not about to point fingers!

i have a video camera, but i dont think i have the charge onit to leave it running all night ... :/
 
This probably isn't the kind of suggestion you're after but if he is really that bored in his stable and you can't do much about making it more secure due to YO's restrictions could you try to make him *want* to escape less?

Have him turned out more (espec if you are currently ill and not riding he'll likely be even more bored)?
Perhaps get some stable toys (swede hanging from ceiling, treat ball, mirror, swiss ball - whatever you feel is safe & convenient)?
Perhaps cutting down hard feed in favour of lots of bulky forage (in small-holed net if you think safe although personally I'm not a fan) so he doesn't stand around with heaps of energy but nothing to keep him occupied 'grazing'?

Also - is he better if he has lots of things going on around him to look at? Some seem to really suit being at the centre of things so perhaps you could ask to swap him to a stable with more 'yard traffic' going by? Would help with people noticing when he'd gone AWOL if nothing else!

Good luck containing the monster!
 
no tickles, this is a great suggestion! but ive already tried some of them - he has 2 big small-holed haynets, and a snackaball - perhaps i will try more treats though. Hes already got loads of yard traffic coming in and out and a window to look at all the yard comings-and-goings.
 
Digital angel, - It seems a great shame that you don't put as much effort into securing your doors as you do attacking your YO on this forum.

Unfortunately, as a yard owner too, I can see their point, as if everyone were to modify their own stables to suit their every whim, the place would be wrecked. Yes go and buy a carabina etc and clip that on, spray some crib-box on it if you must, and use the kick bolt, and there is no way your beast can get out.
Forget the video camera too, and if I would be very careful about slagging off YO before they show both of you the door!
 


I really must follow up on this, and point out that it was NEVER my intention to slag off the YO. in fact the suggestions for clips/sprays in my orginial post were ones she had given me. She also was straight up the yard to check on him and put him on the walker as soon as she knew what had happened. The YO in this situation does care very much for the welfare of the horses on her yard.

I posted here because i do not want the situation to happen again and was wondering if there were any other tips or tricks other HHo'ers might be able to pass along.

Im very sorry if my post had come across in any way as slagging off the YO.
 
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