I am at the end of my tether with Bruce

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Agent XXX999

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I am completely at the end of my tether with Bruce. In the past two weeks he has destructed

1 fal turnout
1 Niksi Turnout
1 Mark Todd stable rug
1 poly warm
1 Fleece
1 Indoor stable rug (its now a summer sheet)
1 Polo bandage
1 brushing boot

He has also caused the following injuries whilst playing in the field

1 Tail flap removal
1 scraped face
1 Cut leg
1 Cut leg with 4 staples.

The above are not exactly his fault as all the young boys play play play all day but as he is so big they always seem to come off worse....

He has also managed to

Loose the lid to his snack ball (beacuse he uses it as a football and his closed door as a goal)

Rip his feed manger off of the wall

Sit on his new hay bar so it needs to be re screwed. He had the hay bar as he used to pull the haynets off the wall/pull the hay out of the top of the manger when we screwed that on...he seems to LOVE treading his hayledge into his bed. Even if it is in a manger, he just pulls it out from the top.

URGH. I am completely at the end of my tether. He is not bored, he is not stressed. He just needs an asbo.

Any suggestions? He is costing me a fortune.

The thing is he is the most well mannered individual when you are handling him....its just when you are not looking he is such a turd.
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i think i'd leave him naked in a field on his own, and feed him lots of hay to keep him warm! sorry, can't recommend anything more helpful!
have you tried coligone or something... just an idea to make sure he's not in any pain and that these aren't symptoms of fury etc!
 
How is he destroying his rugs? Is he chewing them? If so, isn't there something you can buy that makes them taste nasty?

Other than that....ditto kerilli about leaving him naked!
 
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i think i'd leave him naked in a field on his own, and feed him lots of hay to keep him warm! sorry, can't recommend anything more helpful!
have you tried coligone or something... just an idea to make sure he's not in any pain and that these aren't symptoms of fury etc!

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He is not cross, I have watched him do it and he is completely happy with his ears forward....it is just too much though. It is like a destructive vice! As soon as I am fussing him he is fine...he stands and kisses and everything. It hough it might be a jealousy thing but he does it when I am not there!

Thankfully I have kept the green rambo you sent me for 'best. but the fal is somewhat unrecogniseable.

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hehe no suggestions, little turd hehe
actually lock up his legs and scew up his mouth.
done
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I am seriously considering this as an option.
 
Is he destroying his rugs with his mouth or by other means? I had a horse that did this and it is -really- frustrating. There is something you can get to attach to a head collar, its like a cup that fits around the bottom of their mouth so they cant get to the rug, but can still eat. If he isn't clipped, perhaps introducing him to nakedness is the answer?

In the stable the only thing i can suggest is to give him lots to do, it seemed to distract my old horse. Swedes hanging from twine is a good one, and obviously the snack ball.....

Its difficult, good luck!
 
I think I might have to go for the Bib, but thats not going to solve the destruction of everything else, other horses included.

And he has got no hair..so nakedness may be a little chilly.

Though he seems to like it.
 
Ah, thats what they are called!

It could be a start, as for turnout can you not get him turned out alone? perhaps in the paddock next to the others so he can see them? or with electric fencing?

With the hay rack, can you not mount it higher so that he cant sit on it? if its high enough it might stop him pulling it all out the top too?

Just trying to give you a fe ideas...
 
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Ah, thats what they are called!

It could be a start, as for turnout can you not get him turned out alone? perhaps in the paddock next to the others so he can see them? or with electric fencing?

With the hay rack, can you not mount it higher so that he cant sit on it? if its high enough it might stop him pulling it all out the top too?

Just trying to give you a fe ideas...

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He is nearly 18 hh and it is as far as it can go....hence the haybar which he sat on.

It really is a nightmare.

My next horse is going to be a Shetland.

He is not allowed to be on his own. Hopefully when my parents move he can go there with another couple of horses so I wont have to worry so much....

Naughty pony!!!!!!!!
 
As far as the rugs are concerned you can buy, or make, contraptions that sit along the neck and prevent the horse from bending the neck round to their side, we made one for one horse out of broom handles. They can still raise and drop their heads, so can eat etc. It may sound extreme but would hobbling him be an option when out? And instead of a stable make a stall for him? We've been conditioned to turn our noses up at these arrangements for horses, but it did well enough for generations of working horses - a very well-run riding school down the road from me still uses stalls for their RS horses.
 
sorry to hear that about the Fal! umm, on further reflection, and at risk of getting howled down on here, maybe ask for recommendations about horse whisperers. i know there's a lot of charlatans out there, as in every field, but i reckon some are the real deal. i heard of a horse that ripped its boots off very regularly, and eventually started stopping xc, and a horse whisperer said the horse hated them, and would rather have none on... the dubious owners took it xc with none on, and it was back to its old self, going clear. i know it sounds mental, but it might be worth a try!
 
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sorry to hear that about the Fal! umm, on further reflection, and at risk of getting howled down on here, maybe ask for recommendations about horse whisperers. i know there's a lot of charlatans out there, as in every field, but i reckon some are the real deal. i heard of a horse that ripped its boots off very regularly, and eventually started stopping xc, and a horse whisperer said the horse hated them, and would rather have none on... the dubious owners took it xc with none on, and it was back to its old self, going clear. i know it sounds mental, but it might be worth a try!

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I am really not into anything like that but I might give it a go....!!!!!!
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He sounds extremely frustrated in someway. There must be a reason for his behaviour as he has friends, food and things to occupy him!! Unless he is just a bloody stereotypical warmblood and always has to be doing something, as long as its destructive.
Are you sure hes not overheating/itching in anyway? Anything LOL
 
A stallion I used to ride was the same, and in the end they installed infra red lights in his box and kept him naked.. I would turn him out with something vile sprayed on like frontline that tastes disgusting, if that fails get one of the mouth guards as suggested above, it would at least keep your outdoor rugs in one piece.
ps I had a Welsh cob who's record for eating a sweat rug was under five mins, all he was left with was the neck and the roller holding it on!
 
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i think i'd leave him naked in a field on his own, and feed him lots of hay to keep him warm!

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Yes that's exactly what I would do too. Sounds like he is thoroughly bored.
 
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i think i'd leave him naked in a field on his own, and feed him lots of hay to keep him warm!

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Yes that's exactly what I would do too. Sounds like he is thoroughly bored.

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Any ideas on bordeom release?

He is turned out/occupied in stable/loved/paid attention too/worked - this behaviour is in the field and in the stable also.....

He is a right pain in the bum!!!!!!!

I think prittsticks idea of destructive warmblood is quite accurate.
 
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Any ideas on bordeom release?

He is turned out/occupied in stable/loved/paid attention too/worked - this behaviour is in the field and in the stable also.....

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You've missed playing off of the above list

They don't have to be Parelli games, just use your imagination and get him to use up some brain energy
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Perhaps he is too hot which is why he is trashing the rugs?

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Dont think he is, he is only in a heavyweight in the field, and if anything is cooler rather than hotter.

Hmmmm

Any ideas on bordeom busters?
 
Is he sporting a full clip?

If not, I'd turn him out naked in cold dry weather and put him in a lightweight or no-fill rug when wet. Some horses do get hot even if clipped and especially if rampaging round which he sounds like he's doing.

As to entertaining him, chuck his feed in his bed, hang haynets from the rafters and put up a stickle- rail for him to scratch his bum on! Bolt it to the wall though!!!!
 
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