Introducing a horse to a mirror

[Nickyhorse89]

Hi all

I've just bougt a small stable mirror for my mare which I'm hoping will help with her box walking. I brought it out yesterday for her to have a look at before I put it up and she starting snorting and didn't really want to come any closer. Her ears were forward so she didn't seem angry that this 'other horse' has just appeared in her stable.

How do I go about her accepting the mirror? I'm worried that if I just put it up she'll freak out as she can be a stress head. Anyone else with a stable mirror? How did you go about showing your horse or did you just stick it up and hope for the best?

Thanks all xx

 

[milliepops]

I just stuck it up when I got a stable mirror. One horse was a little surprised, then decided her hay was more important. The other took no notice at all. Both sniff noses with themselves in the arena mirrors though, it's quite sweet. I think my little one must know it's her in the mirror though, rather than think it's another horse, as she strikes out at other horses given the opportunity but never does at the mirror.

I would just put it up and let her get on with it.

 

[9tails]

I put mine up and didn't think twice about it. My horse rests her nose against the mirrored nose and snoozes.

 

[be positive]

I haven't used one but know 2 people who have very successfully with stressy horses, they both just put them up although 1 had to move it a few times to find the ideal position for their mare.

 

[Nickyhorse89]

Thank you. I'll do as you suggest and just put it up and let her deal with it. I'm sure she she won't spend too much time fussing over it if she has a full net to consume.

 

[Birker2020]

Hi all

I've just bougt a small stable mirror for my mare which I'm hoping will help with her box walking. I brought it out yesterday for her to have a look at before I put it up and she starting snorting and didn't really want to come any closer. Her ears were forward so she didn't seem angry that this 'other horse' has just appeared in her stable.

How do I go about her accepting the mirror? I'm worried that if I just put it up she'll freak out as she can be a stress head. Anyone else with a stable mirror? How did you go about showing your horse or did you just stick it up and hope for the best?

Thanks all xx

i bought a stable mirror for my horse and twenty four hours later he had raked tooth marks all over it. obviously didnt like sharing a stable with himself

 

[Nickyhorse89]

Quick update.
Mirror went up and at first she was a bit tense and unsure but after a few days she was fine. Had a blissful couple of weeks of mucking out without having to take the lot of but now I'm back to square one. She's cottoned on the horse in the mirror is her and pays no attention to it.

I've tried giving her a token feed as the majority of horses at my yard are fed and she has nothing in the morning.Now I've heard she screams for more so seems I've created a new problem.

What do I do? I'm going through so much bedding 🙁

 

[milliepops]

why is she box walking? I think you need to look at the cause. Is she stabled for long periods? Is she anticipating turnout? Can she see her neighbours? Is she given plenty of exercise? Does she have enough hay in the stable? is something else making her anxious (e.g. pain).

If you can work through all that and conclude that it's just a benign habit she's got into, then I'd go with rubber mats and minimal highly absorbant bedding such as wood pellets. That way it doesn't matter if you have to take most out daily, she will still be comfortable and you will save some ££

 

[Nickyhorse89]

why is she box walking? I think you need to look at the cause. Is she stabled for long periods? Is she anticipating turnout? Can she see her neighbours? Is she given plenty of exercise? Does she have enough hay in the stable? is something else making her anxious (e.g. pain).

If you can work through all that and conclude that it's just a benign habit she's got into, then I'd go with rubber mats and minimal highly absorbant bedding such as wood pellets. That way it doesn't matter if you have to take most out daily, she will still be comfortable and you will save some ££

Yup she's on rubber matting with wood pellets. I can usually tell if she's had a stressy night if her bedding is basically mush or if she's just been ambling around so a few piles but mostly scattered instead of trampled (if that makes sense).

She's out for 6/7 hours every day and workes at least 4 times a week sometimes 5. She can't see other horses which I think might be the main problem but I don't have the option of moving her. She has 1 big net each night, used to give her 2 but she'll finish them both then trample her bed. She's on haylage so should I change her to hay?

Pain wise everything has been checked and up to date. She was back sore so was off work for 2 weeks ans once back in work I started slow as instructed and she doesn't react like she used to. The physio is due to come for a follow up in a couple of weeks.

 

[milliepops]

OK, so it sounds like she spends quite a bit of time in the stable. (can you turn her out more?) If she can't see the other horses that would def be a cause of anxiety for many horses, I know both of mine will get stressed if they can't see their neighbours. It's understandable since they are herd animals, even though we separate them for stabling they have the same need for company hard-wired into them.

You say it's not an option to move her but actually if my horse was terribly unsettled in the stable, I'd want to find another stable or move yards.

If she was mine, I'd experiment with her forage. I try to feed mine more or less ad lib, as I want them to have some fibre trickling through most of the time for the health of their digestive system, so you need to look at her condition and workload and decide how to do this - if she is a bit of a good doer then moving to hay and even soaking it if you need to take some of the goodness out of it would be an option. If she's eating it well, then the more time she is spending chomping hay, the less time she is winding herself up box walking.

 

[Nickyhorse89]

OK, so it sounds like she spends quite a bit of time in the stable. (can you turn her out more?) If she can't see the other horses that would def be a cause of anxiety for many horses, I know both of mine will get stressed if they can't see their neighbours. It's understandable since they are herd animals, even though we separate them for stabling they have the same need for company hard-wired into them.

You say it's not an option to move her but actually if my horse was terribly unsettled in the stable, I'd want to find another stable or move yards.

If she was mine, I'd experiment with her forage. I try to feed mine more or less ad lib, as I want them to have some fibre trickling through most of the time for the health of their digestive system, so you need to look at her condition and workload and decide how to do this - if she is a bit of a good doer then moving to hay and even soaking it if you need to take some of the goodness out of it would be an option. If she's eating it well, then the more time she is spending chomping hay, the less time she is winding herself up box walking.

She's out for 10 hours not 6 oops haha I can't do maths.
Thanks I'll look into soaking hay to see if that helps. She is a good doer so wary of overfeeding her.