Ideas needed.. horse wont stable!

[jhoward]

neddies history..

4 yr, in general fairly laid back. shes new to me, ive had her nearnly a month.

when i first got her she formed a pair bond with my other horse, in the field the 2 were seperated within a few days. Ellie is now out with 2 other mares, and other mares on the other side of her.

the problems are coming when bringing her onto the yard.

problem 1. tying up.

fine whilst your with her but take a step away and all hell breaks loose, we had been making progress on this but shes gone back a step.

originally she would pull back to snap the rope, or stick her head under the rope to hang herself, given half the chance she untied her self.

i stopped these issues by attaching a chain to the top if the stable connected to a bit of string for safety ( we have open monarch stabling) this has stopped the shooting back, hanging herself etc. i then started to move away from her for a few seconds at a time, building it up to i could sit by the barn doors and she was fine.

the clever minx has now started to rear whilst tied up. (this is only if you move even a couple of steps away from her.)

problem 2. the stable.

if shes next to my mare she settles. any other horse then she doesnt, shes spinning around, and generally really upsetting herself. ive tried tying her with a hay net,. ive tried leaving her for a long period of time and staying out of sight.

i had also been bring her on the yard when its empty, tying up, working her, then just feeding her in the stable then turning out.

my major issues here are a horse that wont stay in a stable is no use to me and is causing major issues for myself and other liveries.
whilst im understanding shes young, unsettled etc, i need to start making progress with her.

we have corner boxes which are filled in, so im thinking maybe putting her in one of these with a stable mirror.
other than that sedation, and then weaning her off it.

she is totally fine to take out and work, has a look around but gets on with what is being asked of her.

previous owner is surprised im having these issues with her, as shes normally so laid back.

the only thing im not willing to do on either of these issues is to leave her alone to get over herself. purley because of safety, id go and give her a good hiding but i honestly dont think it would make any difference barring adding to her stress...

ideas on a postcard?

 

[mineon]

My mare which I recently bought had never been stabled she was 5 this time, she was the same spinning barging at the door would not settle.

I know you said you would not leave her on her own to sort her self out but they are cleaver animals and she will know your still around and she may just be playing up as she know you will come back to her and then put her back in the field.

Have you tried leaving her in stable whith someone you trust on the yard but you leaving the yard even if you park down the road few mins away far enough away that she thinks you have left and see if she dose settle it may take a while but if a trusted friend is there checking her then if she gose mad you can come straight back, tey it for an hour then longer.

 

[jhoward]

yes, all of our stables are in a large barn,. ive dissapeare doff wound the back when i can hear her but she cant see me.

she doesnt settle she gets worse, by the time shes been left for 5 mins, shes pooped and peed so much the stable is a hazard... we have average size stables and large stables. if she goes in a large one she gathers speed.. in the small one she stomps.. not paws.. you can hear her a fair distance away, this i cant risk due to the danger of spints etc.

it was another reason why i was thinking of lighty sedating her.

yesterday she was in for over 3 hours beside another horse 2 horses opposite and mine at the end,. durign this time she was worked groomed etc aswell. there wasnt an ounce of improvement,

or a may be putting her on a calmer??

 

[mineon]

Sorry maybe i didn't explaine self prop, Horses are very clever and they know when you still on the yard even though they can see you they your close by, my boy used to start winning bout 3 4 mins before i pulled on to the yard every one knew I was on my way.

With my mare I did just leave her she prob was not as bad as yours sound but after a while she did settle down, even now if i'm on the yard she will pace the stable shout to me and not settle but once i had drove off with in 10 mins she happy eating and not pacing round, she just wanted me to put her back out.

The other week all the horses on our yard had to come in to be wormed for 24 hrs she was one of the last in and even when I was there she not pacing she was just happy eating her hay, she knew they were all in. the next day when they started putting horse back out she was pacing again.

 

[jhoward]

no i did understand, she had been bought in and left on her own whilst i wasnt there, the state of her stable pretty much told me the state she had been in.

i really dont think it matters if im on the premises or not, the general idea is that if your stood with her if your not then she wont have it.

i dont doubt its something that needs more time, BUT i do need to be moving forward with progress, my other horse is now for sale, once shes gone then im really up the creak.

to be honest i dont trust the girl that owns my yard, or really any of the other liveries to deal with her. there judgement isnt my judgement if you know what i meen,.

 

[mineon]

Prob with horse there all so diffrent.

Hope you somehow get her sorted, what type of yard did she come from...maybe it's the yard she dose not like or indoor outdoor stable may make a diffrence.

 

[jhoward]

intresting you say about the yard, ive also consider this, you can turn her loose in the indoor school and shes fine. .. i may actually try closing the stable block off opening up most of the stables and letting her wander.. see if a good sniff about helps.

she has been on various yards before and has been moved etc. so its not totally alien to her.

 

[Kayfm]

my friend had a horse like this, she then put her on light sedation and she was ok. without it she would do much the same as your horse. Have a quick word with your vet.

 

[jhoward]

i cant do the sedation forever as show affliated/county level.. but short term then i think i need to try it

 

[Chumsmum]

Is there anyway she can live out 24/7 for a while longer until she gets used to the yard more?

My new pony (3 weeks) stressed at first when bought in for just a few minutes even though I had bought my other pony in but literally in the last few days has calmed down considerably - can bring him in first now and he calmly eats his feed and then moves on to his hay until I turn him back out though keeps checking that nothing has changed on yard while he has been eating lol.

I think I can start bringing him in on his own for a short while now but wouldn't want to leave him in overnight on his own yet. However, lots of people have suggested that I should do this and just walk away. I'm in a position that I have other ponies I can bring in so fortunately I'm in no rush to do this.

I bring him in every night for a feed even though he will be mainly living out 24/7, I want to know I can stable if neccessary.

Incidently my boy is far better tied up outside stable than in it - falls asleep while being tacked up

Good luck, hope you find something that works.