How to stop a horse fence jumping

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Ranyhyn

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*posted in here as well as you guys might have horses that love to jump as much as Ed does...*

My darling Ed is fit as a flea now and has taken to jumping out of the field at whim, although the fence really isn't high (3ft3 or so) I am worried one day he'll do some damage, misjudge or slip etc - is there any way to contain the bugger or am i destined to hear

"thanks for getting Ed in"
"Oh don't thank us, he got himself in..."
 
Why are you complaining? Surely it saves time
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Yeah, good luck with that. My old horse has done this all his life and while he's given up to a large extent now he's in his late 20's I suspect he'd still give it a shot under the right circumstances.

People do laugh about it until they have to deal with it. He not only jumps out but will jump in with other horses, once jumping into the school and attacking the horse I was riding!! He also jumped in with a colt, the neighbour's broodmares, out of a stallion pen, into a barn, and out of the window of an indoor arena.
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Needless to say we didn't think it was so funny fairly early on in the game.

To be honest, the only real solution was management. Except for the first couple of times it happened, the scariest episodes were when people forgot his quirk (he could be good about it for weeks sometimes) and on the rare occasions someone else decided not to believe me. (When he jumped in with the broodmares, the yard owner had "taken pity on him" and turned him out against my direct say so.) We did turn him out with a mare I owned for a bit and that kept him in but when she came into season he bred her.
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(No, not a rig - he was tested.) He never ran the fence then jumped out, he'd just leave. Sometimes he'd call first and you had about two minutes to drop what you were doing and go get him in.

He always went out in the safest, tallest paddock, double fenced if possible. No horses next to him and none within sight if possible. He almost never had a day off (still sound, has worked since he was 2) as he was worse if he was full of beans. No horses led past him to go out or in when he was out, particularly if they were mares and/or likely to run around when first turned out. He went out a lot in various indoor arenas. although I admit that would be tricky here. He always had hay or good grass outside, sometimes his hard feed if the timing was right. He went out on a schedule, after being worked if at all possible.

Honestly, I think once they know they can jump out it's a tough one to break. It's amazing most horses stay where they're put, really! In Tom's case, unbeknownst to me, he'd already had success - apparently he was gone for a whole day once from the home I bought him from!

Hmm, not very helpful.
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Can you do anything about the size of your fences? Are there any other paddocks available that are harder to get out of? Does he have a special friend you can keep him with that won't be taken away?
 
Ed jumps out even when his field is full of hhi friends. He always however runs to his stable and not to better grazing. He ha moved fields a few times, the best field had nice high bushes, so he came over the 5 bar instead.

He could well be hungry, hay in the field is not an option, maybe shorter turnout times? i could turn him out at lunch time til 5pm maybe? He is better in the summer, last winter he did the same at the old yard, his best occassion was jumping from a low ground over a 5ft fence into the school
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i am looking into anothher girl riding him once a week a well as my sharer, to give him more exercise!!
 
Is he okay if you turn him out less?

There were places Tom lived where the only option was very limited turnout, sometimes only in the arena for a hour or so when it wasn't in use. I was lucky as he never seemed to care whether he was out or not, although it did mean, as I said, he had to do something every day. But that's very rare and I know some horses wouldn't cope with no turnout. I'm generally a bit fanatic about getting horses out every day so its ironic that I should have a horse that didn't read the book. On the other hand, what I'm really in favour of is doing what suits the individual and I figure horses do know their own minds.

I have always wondered what he would have been like with 24/7 turnout and it might have been worth the risk if I'd had the facilities as he rarely jumped out in the dark (although never say never . . . when I was trying this option regularly I did come home from a run to the store one time to find him standing on the lawn . . .) and so didn't connect a stall with food and shelter. But he'd been on the track before so the natural living ship had well sailed.
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But he is a fantastic horse and he did a lot for me so it was worth it.
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Put up better fencing. We had a horse that used to jump out and had to use the extra tall electric fence posts, they are about 5 ft, to keep him in.
 
To be honest he usually prefers long turnout, but because the grass is a little poor now I'd rather limit it and exercise him more in the hope this satisfies him.

The fencing I know is the problem, however as the fields are rotsted, nothing I put up can be permanant, so would have to be moved regularly. Would electric fencing, placed a foot away from the real fence help? Though tbh I think he'd clear that too (arse!)
 
Daisy will happily jump out over a 4ft fence uphill in summer when she's cheesed off about being in the fatties paddock. Baring in mind she's a 15.1hh cob that's some going.

The easiest way for us to keep her in was to put a line of electric fencing about a metre away from the permanent fence line. Depends how good your horse is at jumping spreads!
 
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