ive taken the plunge!! Fresh start, advice wanted regarding oldie!!

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wildcard

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you maybe remember a post a couple of months ago about a green eyed monster who thought it necessary to vandalise my saddle with a knife, and i was in real turmoil as to how to handle the situation..

well having got absolutely no where with the police, confronted the girl and yapped at the yard owner with no joy out of any of them i have taken many peoples advice and have found myself a brand new yard and will be after 14 years on this one moving them home.. :/

the last few weeks have been a nightmare at the yard and have found myself going later on an evening to try and avoid the childish snips and from myself burying either of them in the muckhill lol...

but what im wondering is any help and advice on how to help my old man settle in, ive got friends on the new yard already and so have taken the youngster out for hacks up their and she seem to love it, but im worrid moving the old boyo will affect his health has anyone else moved their oldies and found any problems?? he's 26 now and only ever been on 2 yards since weve owned him one for just over 10 years and the one im on now for nearly 14..

im really looking forward to the new yard, its absolutely gorgeous with amazing facilities, hacking and even a lovely log cabbin with kitchen, and seating including warm fire place for the liveries just to use which come winter and cold mornings will be so nice to have make a brew at the yard.
i guess im just nervous at been somewhere new been such a long time since i was the newbee anywhere... and have forgotton what it feels like :(
 
I moved my old girl at the age of 25 from Belgium to England. She was absolutely fine - had the youngster with her (also now sadly passed over the rainbow bridge) so 'somebody' she knew. Kept routine similar and brought feed & hay over whilst I switched them to the British stuff.

Only issue I had was hacking her in England - after over 20 years on the right side of the road, she found it impossible to switch to the left so we ended up going on the pavement facing the traffic!

Good luck with move and hope the future is much brighter for you!
 
Can't offer much help here as my new lad is only 5 - although he's settling in very well to give him his due! In fact, he has taken to it with such aplomb, he's making me look bad for worrying and also for being shy, when he has stepped up and made friends with all the other horses already.

I remembered your saddle post and am pleased you've found a new yard. I hope you have much happier times there!

I suppose it's a case of sticking to your old routine as much as possible, maybe find just a couple of other OAPs to turn your lad out with if you can. I think they like to get together and talk about the war, and rations, and how music these days hasn't got good lyrics or a tune etc.
 
Good luck and well done. I've just moved yard and appreciate how awful it must feel after so long in one place - i ofund it incredibly stressful after only a few years on the yard I left.
I just wanted to say that I really believe your horse will take its feelings from you - Deano wasn't himself at all the last week on the yard and i'm sure he was feeling my nerves and tension - as soon as we moved I breathed a big sigh of relief and Dean went back to his chilled out self. He has settled in new yard as if he has been there all his life. My only tip is to bring some of his old bedding along to new stable so that it smells like home.

I think you are doing all the right things to make the transition as smooth as possible and hope you will both be really happy x
 
Im sure if he's moving with you and his horsey buddies he will be fine. He will no doubt turn into a young 'stallion' again and enjoy impressing all his new friends with how young and feisty he is. I honestly don't think the majority of horses care where they live, as long as they have food and friends I'm not sure they're capable of worrying about anything else :)
 
I moved my old boy twice in 2 months due to mental cases on yards, and he was fine. Took him a month to settle properly at our new yard, but he is so happy and chilled out now! I think because I was more relaxed he became so as well.

Best of luck, your new yard sounds fab!
 
I was terrified when I moved my 31yo in the spring, she did start eating her haylage quite quickly, and looked settled, bit did drop weight (which at her age takes a while to get back on!) but she was fine x
 
Just wanted to say good luck, your new yard sounds great. I think the advice of sticking to a routine and taking some bedding with you is good, also I wouldn't rush to clear out any poos from his stable as I think this also helps. them to feel at home.
 
I moved my 22 yr old in April after 5 years on the same yard. I was so sad taking her out of her little herd but she settled in really quickly and happily - knew I'd made the right desicion after 3 days when I found her lounging about in the sun with her new buddies. They can be more robust than we think!
 
Sorry, totally failed to give advice...I made sure to keep our routine the same and got her working straight away. As others have said, I think me being more relaxed helped and the,yard as a whole is more laid-back which I swear horses pick up on.
 
My oldie lived on our old yard from 5 to 27, when I moved area.

He moved happily with our little mare who was much younger and took ages to settle.

Unfortunately due to circumstances we had to move yard another twice in the next two years. He took in all in his stride.

Then 4 years ago we had to move again as I moved area. This time it was him, little mare and new warmblood.

Guess who settled in straight away and enjoyed the change of scenery at 32 years old :D :D

I really would not worry about moving him again, and he's 36 now. As long as he has us, a field, a stable, lots to eat and his friends he really does not care.
 
Have very similar experiences to rockysmum. Never had a problem moving an oldie and if there was a problem keeping a similar routine to the one used on previous yard helped a lot.
Good luck with your move and do not worry too much. :)
 
Truly wild horses would be fairly nomadic so I should think the stability of their herd is much more important to them. I never saw your post about the saddle but it sounds awful, good luck in your new home.
 
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