Horse has gone thru fencing again.

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silverstar

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Ive only had him a week and its the 2nd time he has run thru the leccy fence to get to the others. YO says hes ripped another rug off a horse and is causing carnage. Im at a loss as to what to do now. Im going to be moving yards soon to a bigger yard and Im hoping he'll settle a bit better. Hes on his own in the field but can see the others on the other side of the fence. He did get attached to the mare he came with but they were split up after a day because her mare was being difficult to bring in and he got quite attached to her.

Hes in at the moment and Im thinking he'll have to be in at night or during the day till we move (thats if vets say hes okay tomorrow when they come out). Also had a look at his breathing after the fighting today and he seems fine but its the noise in work Im concerned about. Arghh horses.

Any suggestions to help him settle a bit better?
 
Poor boy. Some horses take a long time to settle. They do form close relationships, imagine if you were separated from someone you love and never saw them again.

I have had difficult horses who are traumatised by yard moves.

I would try and find a horse in the yard that he can be friends with.
 
How about trying a mirror in the field & if he pulls rugs try spraying them with Bitter Apple, a product that stops dogs chewing items because of the nasty taste.
 
I have a mirror but it doesnt look good at current yard. They're not very supportive of him being aggressive with other horses.
 
I can understand that other liveries would be unlikely to want their horse in with yours in they are likely to be hurt or rugs are going to be damaged! Not being horrible, but can see from their perspective it isn't ideal.

Can the yard not offer you a field that is properly fenced on all sides? If not, how about having more than one electric fence, say a metre apart so that it is more difficult for your horse to break free?

Are you using all plastic fence posts? The odd wood one (especially at the ends) will offer a much better barrier.

Make sure the electric to your fence is good and zappy and if your horse is rugged, I'd take it off to ensure the electric is felt!

It does sound like your horse could do with some company, what was he like in his previous home iwth other horses?
 
Hi, I've posted on one of your other threads about this boy & appreciate your problem having known a similar horse.

We had a big playful horse on my yard & I'm afraid he ended up on his own in an adjacent field for similar issues. He was a clever horse & regularly broke through electric fencing & even the post & rail once. This wasn't always to get in to the others, but to investigate a pond or the muck heap which were fenced off. He would also jump the fences to get to more grass/friends, so he had to have an electric fence put in front of the P&R.

He was put on his own having beaten up a pony of mine, & generally harrassing the others.
I understand that horses need to play, but with the pony it was aggressiveness. I couldn't risk it happening a second time.

It's very difficult when a new horse arrives & creates havoc where peace has reigned before. I can see why he would get the blame TBH.

In the end the owner & I fell out over it & it was awful. However, he moved to a much bigger yard with better facilites, who don't seem to mind the fence hopping. Initially he was put in with a bossy gelding who kept him in line for a while. This could be an answer for you.

I do feel sorry for you, as having a new horse should be a happy time. See if you can find a different yard for him as it will affect how people behave towards the pair of you in all probability.
 
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I think he needs some company. His aggression at the moment may actually be because he is hyper alert and on edge because of being in a new place and he feels the need to use attack as the best form of defence, even if the others aren't attacking him? Get in there first so to speak.

Not sure of your story but hope wherever you are moving to works out for you both.
 
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