Horse wont come out of his stable

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rubyroo92

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So basically my horse goes out each morning either to be exercised or going on the horse walker, he normally comes out of his stable no problem,
However this particular day someone had put their horse on the walker and turned the electric on, my horse came in petrified shot off the walker and stood smacking his lips together
Ever since he will not come out of his stable I have to really encourage him to, has anyone got any ideas on what I can do
Tia
 
rubyroo92 said:
So basically my horse goes out each morning either to be exercised or going on the horse walker, he normally comes out of his stable no problem,
However this particular day someone had put their horse on the walker and turned the electric on, my horse came in petrified shot off the walker and stood smacking his lips together
Ever since he will not come out of his stable I have to really encourage him to, has anyone got any ideas on what I can do
Tia
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Have you tried giving him something nice to do, when he comes out? Like meet other horses, run around fields, that sort of thing?
 
sounds like he's considering his stable a save place after a traumatic experience outside of the stable. Is he still going on the walker after he was upset?

He needs to learn that outside the stable is safe again so I'd suggest hand grazing him, lots of pampering and most importantly turn out with other horses.

If I came out of my house to work or be put on a walker that's hurt me I wouldn't be to keen to leave the house either - would you?
 
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HopOnTrot said:
Don’t electrocute horses?
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Erm, is that an actual thing? Promise this is an honest question, not trying to derail the thread or be provocative. Or possibly an idiot! I've never used a walker or had much opportunity to - they don't have an electric prod built into them do they surely...?

(edited for spelling)
 
Suncat said:
Erm, is that an actual thing? Promise this is an honest question, not trying to derail the thread or be provocative. Or possibly an idiot! I've never used a walker or had much opportunity to - they don't have an electric prod built into them do they surely...?

(edited for spelling)
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I'll preface this to say I hate walkers, but worked in a place where one was in daily use. Some horses simply stood there and let the device hit their backside and every horse was then standing still while the motor whirred and screamed in protest.

The electric is like electric fencing. It is just for the panel in front and behind the horse, not for the side walls.

They keep moving if zapped on the backside. Most simply submit to the idea of keeping walking.

I don't like it. But, it is a common thing, yes. When BH is on holiday, he has a walker. I dare say he will have had the electric on at some point, depending on who is on the walker with him. I'm not perturbed as I know the person looking after him will have made sure he knows what a walker is and how to behave on one BEFORE the electric is ever turned on.
 
Suncat said:
Erm, is that an actual thing? Promise this is an honest question, not trying to derail the thread or be provocative. Or possibly an idiot! I've never used a walker or had much opportunity to - they don't have an electric prod built into them do they surely...?

(edited for spelling)
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Yes it is. Can be turned on to zap horses for not walking or not walking at correct speed.

I've never put my horse on one.

Red-1 said:
I'm not perturbed as I know the person looking after him will have made sure he knows what a walker is and how to behave on one BEFORE the electric is ever turned on.
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I wish everyone did this if they were going to use one.
 
Each to their own, but I wouldn't put a horse on a walker with electrified panels. I'm not a fan of walkers at the best of times, but electrifying it seems quite unethical to me. I don't think it's comparable to electric fencing which is stationary and doesn't essentially chase the horse around in circles.
 
Red-1 said:
I'll preface this to say I hate walkers, but worked in a place where one was in daily use. Some horses simply stood there and let the device hit their backside and every horse was then standing still while the motor whirred and screamed in protest.

The electric is like electric fencing. It is just for the panel in front and behind the horse, not for the side walls.

They keep moving if zapped on the backside. Most simply submit to the idea of keeping walking.

I don't like it. But, it is a common thing, yes. When BH is on holiday, he has a walker. I dare say he will have had the electric on at some point, depending on who is on the walker with him. I'm not perturbed as I know the person looking after him will have made sure he knows what a walker is and how to behave on one BEFORE the electric is ever turned on.
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Not directed at anyone on here before i get reported to admin again.....🙄

The trouble is when you use the zapper you have to know when a horse is generally just being an a*se and not moving forward on the walker because it can. Or when it is exhausted or has a physical issue that makes it sore or uncomfortable and it struggles to keep up with either the speed or duration of he time its left on there.

As a rule the walker will sound a little 'tap, tap' noise when the zapper is switched on but sometimes it's hard to hear if you are on a busy yard with horses calling to each other or wheelbarrows banging about or even just not expecting it to be left on.

Poor Bailey got zapped on the nose the one day when someone had forgotten to turn it off after they left it on for their poor horse and walked off for half an hour. I put her on not realising and she touched the front of the partition!
 
Landcruiser said:
I had no idea this was a thing, with walkers. How is that EVER acceptable? How would it be if we zapped dogs that lagged behind or dawdling children? I am gobsmacked.
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Must admit, so was I. I am sure mine would go mad considering how they react when they touch an electric fence and that's only a car battery.
 
Jesus wept. People never cease to amaze me in how they can traumatise horses.

OP, not aimed at you. I appreciate it's someone else who has turned it on. I'm not surprised he doesn't want to come out of his stable. Do you not have any turnout? When you say 'ever since', do you mean days? Weeks? Are you able to modify his routine so that he goes out if he's not being exercised by riding/on the lunge?
Birker2020 said:
The trouble is when you use the zapper you have to know when a horse is generally just being an a*se and not moving forward on the walker because it can. Or when it is exhausted or has a physical issue that makes it sore or uncomfortable and it struggles to keep up with either the speed or duration of he time its left on there.
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That's what makes it unethical for me. You wouldn't know until it's too late. If we carried cattle prods for riding, there'd be uproar and rightly so. Imagine if I were to run a half marathon (normally easily achievable for me) but stood on a start line with a stress fracture twinge, then get electrocuted around the course if I slowed pace as it became uncomfortable. :(

I genuinely had no idea this was a thing (despite being around horses for 40 years!) and thought the electrocution comment was out of order until the further comments! I'm gobsmacked!
 
People seem to think or not read properly that I "zapped" my horse on purpose, I know my horse and know to make sure all electric is turned off this goes for fencing as even the ticking sound will upset him,
I put him on NO electric and SOMEONE ELSE turned it on when putting their horse on I was asking for advice not a lecture in electric on horse walkers
I love my horse more than anything and seening him genuinely scared has broke my heart I do not need lectures.
Thank you
 
Fransurrey said:
Jesus wept. People never cease to amaze me in how they can traumatise horses.

OP, not aimed at you. I appreciate it's someone else who has turned it on. I'm not surprised he doesn't want to come out of his stable. Do you not have any turnout? When you say 'ever since', do you mean days? Weeks? Are you able to modify his routine so that he goes out if he's not being exercised by riding/on the lunge?

That's what makes it unethical for me. You wouldn't know until it's too late. If we carried cattle prods for riding, there'd be uproar and rightly so. Imagine if I were to run a half marathon (normally easily achievable for me) but stood on a start line with a stress fracture twinge, then get electrocuted around the course if I slowed pace as it became uncomfortable. :(

I genuinely had no idea this was a thing (despite being around horses for 40 years!) and thought the electrocution comment was out of order until the further comments! I'm gobsmacked!
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Thank you for reading my post properly, it's been about a week he won't go left out of his stable ( this is where the walker is) unfortunately he seems scared to be out of his stable all together at the moment so even lunging or just going for a walk seems to make him feel unsafe I just don't know what to do he is a nervous boy at the best of times this has sent him over the edge
 
rubyroo92 said:
People seem to think or not read properly that I "zapped" my horse on purpose, I know my horse and know to make sure all electric is turned off this goes for fencing as even the ticking sound will upset him,
I put him on NO electric and SOMEONE ELSE turned it on when putting their horse on I was asking for advice not a lecture in electric on horse walkers
I love my horse more than anything and seening him genuinely scared has broke my heart I do not need lectures.
Thank you
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Sorry OP I think your thread has been slightly derailed by a discussion regarding electric being used on a walker - I was not aware that it was a 'thing' so I was interested too.
 
As said above I would make coming out of the stable more pleasurable for now. Avoid working straight away and spend time grazing or grooming or even just wandering about. Break the routine so he isn’t anticipating coming out of the stable to mean going on the walker.
 
rubyroo92 said:
Thank you for reading my post properly, it's been about a week he won't go left out of his stable ( this is where the walker is) unfortunately he seems scared to be out of his stable all together at the moment so even lunging or just going for a walk seems to make him feel unsafe I just don't know what to do he is a nervous boy at the best of times this has sent him over the edge
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Can you ask the yard owner to move stables until he settles?
 
Poor horse and poor you! I wonder would it be worth putting him on a calmer of some sort for a few days and walk him around in the other direction for a few days, then when he seems more settled doing that gradually track back towards the walker and then away again as he adjusts to the trauma he suffered? I appreciate it could take sometime but if he has something in him to take the edge off it might just be enough for him to listen to your reassurances and gradually get over it?
 
Honestly it's not like you're holding a taser to their chests, it's absolutely no different to putting them in a field with electric fencing and most horses treat it the same way. If they don't like the zap (and it really is a mild zap, I have tried it) then they keep moving, and if they don't mind it or are small enough or canny enough, then they will position themselves so it doesn't touch them and they can still stop the walker. It's a taught thick metal wire between rubber bushels, not the whole partition that's zappy.

Whether you are a fan of the walker as a tool or not (and having used them for years I'd say they are a very useful tool, if used correctly, for a purpose, and not exhaustively) they are not instruments of torture by virtue of having electrified pushers.

OP I'd be very surprised if the zap was the only thing that upset your horse, I would bet something else frightened him as well, but that doesn't solve your problem.
 
Rowreach said:
Honestly it's not like you're holding a taser to their chests, it's absolutely no different to putting them in a field with electric fencing and most horses treat it the same way. If they don't like the zap (and it really is a mild zap, I have tried it) then they keep moving, and if they don't mind it or are small enough or canny enough, then they will position themselves so it doesn't touch them and they can still stop the walker. It's a taught thick metal wire between rubber bushels, not the whole partition that's zappy.

Whether you are a fan of the walker as a tool or not (and having used them for years I'd say they are a very useful tool, if used correctly, for a purpose, and not exhaustively) they are not instruments of torture by virtue of having electrified pushers.

OP I'd be very surprised if the zap was the only thing that upset your horse, I would bet something else frightened him as well, but that doesn't solve your problem.
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Totally this. I have had ponies get zapped once or twice and it was definitely not a big deal. Nothing as bad as an electric fence zap for sure! No aversion to the walker in future or stress beyond the initial reaction to move forward fairly calmly.
 
Mrs. Jingle said:
Poor horse and poor you! I wonder would it be worth putting him on a calmer of some sort for a few days and walk him around in the other direction for a few days, then when he seems more settled doing that gradually track back towards the walker and then away again as he adjusts to the trauma he suffered? I appreciate it could take sometime but if he has something in him to take the edge off it might just be enough for him to listen to your reassurances and gradually get over it?
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Thank you for your reply, he's on bluechip calming balancer already,bless him he's just so worked up and on edge about coming out of his stable
 
My mare got traumatised about going INTO a stable at one yard - I'll never know what happened.

All I can say is you need to slowly, slowly make life outside nice again. Can you feed just outside the stable? Gradually take horse and bucket a bit further away? Then go for a hand graze. Perhaps hack with a horse they get on with.
 
Landcruiser said:
I had no idea this was a thing, with walkers. How is that EVER acceptable? How would it be if we zapped dogs that lagged behind or dawdling children? I am gobsmacked.
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me too. I had no idea. No way would I put mine on a walker even with no electric and especially with the risk of someone turning it on (which I realise OP didn't do) . What a truly miserable thing to do with them if there is power.

JFTDWS said:
Each to their own, but I wouldn't put a horse on a walker with electrified panels. I'm not a fan of walkers at the best of times, but electrifying it seems quite unethical to me. I don't think it's comparable to electric fencing which is stationary and doesn't essentially chase the horse around in circles.
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this. If horse gets a shock from electric fencing it usually a one off and it has a choice if it want's to repeat the experience. Totally different from having an electrified panel behind sending you on.

ETA every day certainly is a school day on here. I cannot believe I am so innocent. :rolleyes:
 
SEL said:
My mare got traumatised about going INTO a stable at one yard - I'll never know what happened.

All I can say is you need to slowly, slowly make life outside nice again. Can you feed just outside the stable? Gradually take horse and bucket a bit further away? Then go for a hand graze. Perhaps hack with a horse they get on with.
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This is what would do bring him out, turn away from the walker and offer a small bucket feed. Bring him out frequently, offering the bucket feed slightly further away each time.
 
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