How long normally to settle in a new home?

[trundle]

I posted last week about us moving yards - its only been a week, so while I'm anxious, I'm not overly worried just yet. The Moose really isn't settling down at all. She is fine in her field with her friend, but as soon as she comes out of the field, she is really stressy. She won't settle in the yard at all, just spins round and round on the end of her rope and pulls back all the time. She won't even let me pick her feet up or groom her. She won't eat her feed, although i think that might just be because the grass in her field is fantastic, and she is full ! She's also really, really bargy when being led, and again, this is really out of character for her. I am too chicken to ride her in this mood.

Obviously every horse is different, but on average, how long does it take for a horse to settle into a new home?

 

[the watcher]

You have two different situations here, a new yard and then exposure to what sounds like better and more grass than she is used to. Can you restrict the grazing at all? That might solve both your problems

 

[1275gta]

Is she really stressing or could she be trying it on? I wonder weather the grass and lack of ridden work means she is feeling really well and just trying it on a bit.

 

[Holly27]

Hi trundel

Hun i know what your going through my new horse a 16.3 Cleveland bay has been with us nearly 2 weeks and is acting exactly the same , I'm nearly 8 months pregnant and i was getting quite anxious at his behaviour leading him in and on the yard acting like a twit hes to big to be doing this and I'm to big for him to do this so I've just spent the last 3 days leading him in and out every other hour , picking his feet the front ones just to start with and then the next time in the back ones
give him a bit of chaff when he comes in , and no pressure , i didn't want to do it more than i had to as i was getting worried he'd hurt me by accident
but today was the biggest turn around and he was so good he even was Carma enough to graze on the rope
and i tell you this time last week forget it he was mad , rearing bucking , spinning bargey you name it
but i don't like loosing and now he knows I'm the boss and he may get jumpy but nothing like what it was like

just time Hun
and keep doing it .... don't take the easy way however you feel
put him in his bridal for more control
good luck
hipp

 

[BackInBlack]

when i had my 1st horse on diy livery it took us about 4 months to settle in. now as the years have gone by i am a lot more confident with my horses and really concentrating on making everything easier for them it doesn't seem to take long at all. taking them out with a more settled horse helped immensly. good luck x

 

[Ziggy_]

I moved twice while trying to find my ideal yard.

First yard, I was there for four weeks. In that time my mare went from being a bit bargy and dominant to being unmanageable and dangerous. I had to lead her in a bridle and lunge line, and cross tie her to pick out her feet. She was in dire need of shoeing but the farrier couldn't get near her. She flattened me twice in the yard and spun round and kicked me in the head when I was leading her (she is 16.2hh - was wearing a hat luckily). The yard itself was fairly enclosed, and very quiet when she was used to a busy riding school -and she just used to panic whenever she was on the yard. Even four weeks in she still got stressed and couldn't get her to settle at all.

Moved again, she burst off the lorry and danced off across the yard. YO gave her a (very mild) telling off for being bargy and from that point on was a different horse. She settled straight away and hasn't looked back.

In my experience and from talking to others at the yard, some horses will never settle in certain yards and if they find the first few weeks stressful it makes it much harder. My first move was only ever meant to be temporary so I don't know what she would be like now if I was still there.

All I would say is, have a look around and try to find out whats unsettling her - can she see the other horses from the yard? if she only has one companion she might become really overattatched - that was half the problem with my mare. perhaps bringing her in with another companion might help or something similar. If the yard is quiet and she used to a busy yard, handle her at busy times of the day or vice versa. The sooner you can persuade her to chill out in the yard and feel safe the better. If you can work her or hack out in company even better as it will give her something familiar to relax into - the only way I could chill my horse out when I first moved was tack her up!! Also you badly need to do some groundwork - don't go soft on her because she's stressed as things can get dangerous pretty quickly.

Good luck, I'm sure she will settle in time.

 

[Frances28]

DON'T WORRY!!

My horse was at her yard for 7 years with just her and another. She was besotted with other horse and suffered terrible separation anxiety.

I moved her to a 40 horse yard! She was awful. Fretted for days and days, neighed, whinnied and would not go near me. She didn't eat for a week or drink and lost allot of weight.

Over the first month, she became a different horse i.e. absolutely wonderful!. She became so much more confident and happy and trusted me! I would strongly recommend Naff Apple Cidar Vinegar - it is an appetite stimulant and worked a treat - thanks God for it!

Due to a recent change in circumstance, I had to move her to another yard - you can imagine my worry! I couldn't bare for this to happen all over again. She arrived, ate! no nrighing totally relaxed and she's graxing with her other pals as we speak!

DON'T WORRY - yoru horse will be fine. Have faith.

 

[benrolo]

To save money we moved the pony last Saturday to a yard we can walk to and put him on grass livery. We arrived at midday and put him in one of the pens (outside at the edge of a field double the size of a large stable while he was wormed) he was slightly stressed when we went back to check him at 6pm as I think he thought he was coming out. Went back the next day to turn him out and he has been fine ever since, he's in with 4 other equally laid back geldings, he spotted a pony he knows in another field on the way in to be fed that night and they spoke to each other over the gate. During the week we took him to an evening show jumping competition at a venue he knows and he picked up a 1st, 2nd & 3rd, definitely settled quickly. However he is used to going to another yard for PC camp, another for RC camp and has had the odd weekend away at competitions so we expected him to take this in his stride.
My horse took about a month to come down off his toes when I moved him a few years ago and he was quite a laid back horse but he wasn't used to change.