Mare suddenly very anxious in Stable!

[VWScully]

Hiya everyone;
I live on a Smallholding in Oxfordshire and keep my Pony at home in the Spring to Autumn. (We just have no Indoor school so she goes to a Yard that has one for the Winters). Anyway, I just brought her home from her Winter yard last weekend. She has a Stable in a small American-style barn with a window overlooking the outdoor school and paddocks, and gets turned out all day.

I have had her for over 3 years and she has always lived in that Stable. Well, last night and the night before, she acted like she had seen a bloody ghost or Doctor Who Monster! Obsessively gawping out the window; (even in the dark), snorting, pawing, pooing frequently (like she'd just gotten on a lorry), and generally acting like there was a dragon somehwere nearby that was about to eat her! When I went into her Stable, she tried to barge out and nearly ran me over. I took her outside to the tie-up and groomed her a for a bit and she was fine! When she went back into her Stable, she was a nutter again!
I stayed with her for about an hour last night and then she finally started to eat some Hay, but she was still really on one. For the first 3 nights, she was perfectly normal!

She had a Vet and farrier visit just before she came home and everything was tickety-boo!
The only thing I can think is that the neighbour cat was out there (who frequently wanders around our Yard spooking the pony from behind shrubs or buildings ) but the mare has never been quite that bonkers about it!
How can I get her to just settle down and realise nothing is going to kill her in her Stable (that she used to like!)?

Just to add; this mare is very sharp and has some history of abuse (though I don't know what happened-only that her training had to start from the beginning) before I got her so could she be having some kind of PTSD? :/
Help!
Thanks .

 

[PurBee]

At the winter yard was she stabled? Is it a case of her just being a bit stable-green this year?

My other thought is, has the stable been used by another horse she can smell, and doesnt like the smell? With her wanting to be out of it rather than in, makes me think its something thats subtle to us, thats changed about the stable. If another horse used it, i’d give it a good wash down of the walls and especially the door inside with a not too strong disinfectant. Lavender disinfectant may help calm, as thats meant to be calming!

When mine see new creatures they will snort in the direction of the ‘new weird thing’….and see their shelter as their safe zone. But they will be more rushing in and out of their stable if there’s a new wild animal sound theyre not familiar with. Maybe there’s the spring mating calls of a wild creature she’s not familiar with. If it’s something like this they usually settle once they get used to the new sound/creature and realise it does no harm to them.

 

[J&S]

On her own, shut in, and windy weather, these factors could make her nervous.

 

[Nasicus]

Assuming you're not keeping this horse on it's own and it does indeed have company, could it be that rats have moved in over the winter? They often unsettle horses if they're scurrying around the stable.

 

[Goldie's mum]

Maybe got used to more company over winter?
Or hormones perhaps?
Horses are not my thing , well they are but I mean I've never worked with them. My work and training is with dogs. I remember a behaviour expert telling us about adolescents (canine ones) having a weird reaction to a big burst of hormones where they suddenly became afraid of a familiar thing as if it was new.

ETA My old mare saw dead people but then she was Welsh and chestnut, so bound to be a bit fey.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Rats?

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Are you keeping her alone?!

 

[Ratface]

Another one for rats. Old Horse goes mental in his stable if he hears/sees/smells them. But he is a bit of a Drama Queen.

 

[PurBee]

Another one for rats. Old Horse goes mental in his stable if he hears/sees/smells them. But he is a bit of a Drama Queen.

Yes, i forgot about rats…mine go silly around rats in the stable. Its been a cold spring and theyre scurrying around still trying to find food/warmth. They love hay seeds so are attracted to stables. I found a pile of timothy hay heads hidden by a rat as a winter stash!
Theyve been going after my stored seed potatoes too, so are definitely still very active on the hunt for food sources

 

[eggs]

Rats was my first thought too. One of mine can get quite silly in his stable if he hears/sees/smells them (or any other animal he considers to be a rat including my dogs if they are sniffing around in the next door stable!)

 

[onemoretime]

Assuming you're not keeping this horse on it's own and it does indeed have company, could it be that rats have moved in over the winter? They often unsettle horses if they're scurrying around the stable.

This is just what I am thinking - rats. Many years ago we kept our horse in a farm building and one morning my horse was going bonkers and snorting and seating and very upset, had always been fine before. There were rats around as the farm had pigs and other animals. We think a rat landed on him from the rafters or certainly frightened him somehow. He calmed down and got over it but its always worth considering.

 

[VWScully]

Hiya everyone;
Sorry for the delay! She is back to her normal self, but I am wondering if it was rodents. My OH put some traps down and did catch a few mice.
The neighbour's ginger cat has been lurking around the Yard every night too, but Pony seems to be used to that now. I have been riding her (between rains as my school isn't well drained ) but she's been her usual self . I hope the neighbour cat has caught some rats!
Thanks!