Moving yards - Tips to help horse settle?

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special_k

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Hey All!

I have a typical stressy TB and we are moving yards this weekend. Does anyone have any tips to help settle him in his new home?

He will be in for 24 hours whilst on a strong wormer and for YO to check droppings when he first arrives. How soon after moving should I start riding him? Some people say as soon as possible, others are telling me to leave it a few days. He's been off for a couple of months over winter, so any work at this stage would be 15/20 mins walking on lunge/under saddle.

Thanks in advance x
 
When I moved my stresshead boy I took a bag of dirty bedding from his old stable and mixed it in with the new so his stable smesed like him from the start.
 
Hi, I moved mine a few weeks before Christmas. Thankfully I didn't have to keep him in as I wormed before I moved. Will the yard keep another horse in to keep him company? I think time is really of the essence. Get him used to the new routine and he will settle down. I have been moved about 7 weeks now and mine is still not 100% as he was before but he is keeping his weight well and is working really nicely in the school. Quite hyper hacking but we haven't been able to do much of that because of the awful weather! Take your time and he will be fine. Wishing you all the best. It's very stressful for us owners too.
 
Will he have company? Don't let him be left on his own if the YO is insisting he stays in! When you get him there take him for a walk around the school for ten min (pop a lunge line on if he is quite wound up) then when he has had a good look around and has sighed atleast once, then walk him into his stable with lots of hay. Hopefully the yard will be quite quiet and you can just leave him as once noone is there he will calm down (only if he has company though)

Do the bedding thing as well! (i am moving my stressy horse too this weekend!)

If he is staying in try and take him for another walk in the evening just to stretch his legs! can you lunge your horse before you travel him might make him nice and sleepy!

GOOD LUCK!

xx
 
Thank you all so much for your tips! He will have company when he is in for 24 hours. The new YO is very understanding and has told me she will have other horses in with him :)
 
Good luck!
I am moving mine this weekend too, so we can all come back and compare notes! LOL.

I am hoping as mine is older than the last time we moved 2 years ago, and i am better able to deal wth her, that it will be easier for me and her this time around!

I like the bedding idea, I am also going to have tons of hay, as mine is very food orientated, so as long as she can see other horses and has something to keep her occupied, then she should be ok! (i hope).

I think, i will ride on sunday for a little, just to show her around the schools and give her a leg stretch. she will go out sometime next week.

If you can have someone walk with you or watch you ride, i think that would help - just to have a back up on the ground should he be highly strung and a handful! but maybe thats just me, i like having people around should i need the back up! LOL
 
Try and keep your routine as similar as possible to how it was at your last yard, some people leave horses a few days to settle before riding. I moved mine a few months ago to a much bigger yard (sharp TB). Best thing I did was work him from day 1, as IMO it gave him something to focus on. Also as you say he will be kept in for a couple of days this will get him out and help with any pent up energy.

Also If you are changing to new hay/haylage, mix your usual hay in with the new stuff.
 
So how did it go for everyone?

I rented a trailer, having passed my towing test 2 weeks ago this was the first time for me actually towing a horse! She managed to bring downthe central partition in about 2 minutes and again on the way over. but none the worse for wear for it thankfully! no idea how she did it, but will be looking to invest in my own trailer very soon.

she has been a star and settled so well in her box. eating well, lying down to sleep on sat night. my sunday moring ride was interesting, in terms of how lively she was, but no harm done, she was just back to where she was 18 months ago, and some of my "buttons" like slow down and listen to me, seemed to have stopped working! LOL

i am sure it will all come back, once everything is not so new.

how did everyone else do? hope all went well and ponies are happy! :)
 
All went brilliantly, travelled great, settled well and was a gentleman when he was in for two days.

I brought him back into work yesterday, only walking on lunge but as yesterday was his first day out in the normal routine I thought I may as well start the working routine too! He was fine to lunge despite being in a floodlit school with a few scary shadows! hehe

I'm a very proud mummy :D
 
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