Horse anxious in stable

[FrostKitten]

I have a mare who is very anxious to be stabled (she lived out 24/7 until I got her, she's 4.5) and I'd like some advice on how to make this better for her as winter turnout (alternate days) is coming up soon, and she'll need to be in every other day. At the moment she's pushing at her door to try and escape, I do not want this to escalate as I am pretty sure she could jump the door if she wanted to!

My mare seems reserved and has only made friends with a couple of horses - none of which are stabled overnight, or when they are it's not in the same area as my mare. Both of these horses are riding school horses so come in to stay clean and dry on those days and only one of those mares is in my girls field. She doesn't seem that interested in the other horses in her group (mares).

She's 16.3 (maybe 17hh not sure if she's grown since I got her) and is stabled opposite two of her field 'mates', her stable has a great view of the yard so she can see people coming and going, and if all horses are in she can see up to 10 other horses (if they pop their heads over the door). The stable that I was given for her is either 12x10ft or 12x11ft.

I'd like to add she previously had a (12x12ft) stable in a different block during her quarantine period with only two other ponies (she never met them apart from over the door) and where there were no horses or people walking past and I hadn't seen or been told about any issues.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Dasher66]

I had a pony that did actually climb over the door when she was stabled for the first time. She never repeated it though. We just put her back in.
You could try feeding her in the stable and then turn out - increase the time between feed and turnout gradually.

 

[Griffin]

I would possibly try a stable mirror but before that, is she very food motivated? If so, I would try things like multiple hay nets around the stable, Silvermoor Swingers, hay blocks in those little nets. A friend of mine had great success when her horse was on box rest and very cross about it with using Likit toys with the licks. They really made a difference but may not be suitable if you have sugar sensitivity.

The other thing to look at is does your horse feel comfortable in their stable. Mine was never really into being stabled until I got her some rubber matting and she loves it!

Good luck!

 

[FrostKitten]

I'll give that a try (@D66) on days where she doesn't come in, but as it's getting colder and wetter the other liveries are bringing their mares in and she can't be out on her own, so inevitably she must come in regularly now. I always give her a bucket of feed if she comes in to make it more of a positive experience, she has access to hay in the stable and is fed (new haynet and a bucket of feed) about 7 am the next morning by the YO. I was told it's about 3 weeks until winter turnout starts, *fingers crossed* we have some improvement by then.

 

[jenniehodges2001]

Just a thought.... could there be something in her stable or surrounding her stable that is making her anxious? Like a boiler in a tackroom that makes odd noises, or water pipes if you have automatic waterers? Maybe birds landing on the stable roof or rats scratching around?

It's not always a 'physical' issue with a horse, sometimes it can be a behavioural due to something they hear or see and can't work out. Their hearing can hear sounds much lower and higher than the human ear, so what they might hear we might not even notice.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

12x10 is quite a small stable for a big horse, she might feel claustrophobic in there.

 

[FrostKitten]

12x10 is quite a small stable for a big horse, she might feel claustrophobic in there.

I agree that it could be a factor, but there's not much I can do but try to make it more comfortable for her.

 

[awelshandawarmblood]

I'm going through similar at the moment with my 3yr old whose been out 24/7 in a herd growing up until now, I want him to 'learn' how to stay in incase needs must (He can stay out otherwise). He's 16.2 & is in a 12x10.5 stable until a normal sized one comes up with any luck - worst case he can go in my other horses if he needs to be in for any real period of time.

He was very looky & anxious in the first few times with a net with plenty of others about, first got him in for about 20 mins then been building it up slowly over the last few weeks. He now walks in willingly & settles down eating, has tea in there & I've even caught him having a doze! We're now up to around 5hrs - I'm always about to keep an eye when hes in there. He does make a hell of a mess pooing though which suggests to me it may be a sign he's still not 100% but hes definitely improving. All I can say is do it bit by bit slowly. Good luck!