New horse won't leave herd

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Footlights

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So, picked up the new horse last week and have been spending time with him in the field, and asking him to come in once a day for about 20mins max for a bit of hard feed, hay, a groom etc so he learns that coming in is enjoyable.

He has been a little bit nappy coming in, but each time I have given him lots of praise when goes in the right direction. Yesterday, however, he point blank refused to move, feet planted in the ground. No amount of persuasion, patience, praise etc would encourage him to move further than about 20 feet away from the herd. I felt like he was taking the mickey a bit to be honest so I went and got a lunge whip, tied the end up and gave him a very slight touch on the bottom everytime he stopped which pinged him forward into walk again, obviously with lots of praise etc when he did.

This morning, however when I went to take his rug off, as soon as he saw me he turned around and walked away. Now I feel awful that I did the wrong thing yesterday and he is going to resent me from asking him to do something that he doesn't feel comfortable doing yet.

Does anyone have experience of horses being herd bound? How did you reassure them that coming away from the herd is a good thing?
 
I wouldnt do anything with him unless hes tied, by walking away from you he learnt that he dosent have to be caught and dosent have to let you do anything. when you remove them fromt he herd you are the leader so he should follow you.
i dont think he resents you, and it sounds like you did the right thing- its what i wouldve done with the whip and encouragement.
 
It depends on the horse & its history really. Daughters pony was weaned at 3 months & kept alone without ever seeing any other animal till I got her as a yearling. ( pure sympathy buy, not with childs pony in mind). With her, we just made sure she always was within a few feet of another, until we'd built up enough trust to start increasing the time & distance she spent away from her herd. However if its an older horse who is just taking the mick in a I'd rather stay & eat with my mates way, I'd just do what you're doing, & insist he came in whenever I said, even if that is just to tie up, feed carrot & turn back out immediately, but varying what I did each day so nothing becomes habit.
 
I think the problem is stemming from anxiety, although yesterday I think he was taking the mickey too as the herd was actually pretty near the gate and he wouldn't even take more than a few steps away from them before planting his feet into the ground.

What's the best way to slowly 'wean' him away from the herd?
 
Just keep doing what you are doing, with time he'll build up confidence in both you as a leader & the fact his friends will still be there later. If he's usually ok alone then the anxiety is prob just a settling in phase that will pass itself with time anyway.
 
Do you have another field to put him in? Either on his own or with a couple of others. Is he alone in the stables when he comes in? If so, try taking another one in first so he has some company in the yard. You need to sort this sooner rather than later.
 
Yes that's my thoughts, I don't want this turning into a nasty habit.

I can bring in other horses when he comes in but I don't want him to rely on this always happening. Hopefully as he settles I can gradually increase distance and time from other horses.

Once tied up he isn't too bad (for short amount of time), it's actually getting him out of the field that has been the issue.
 
I agree that its likely to be anxiety, I have a mare that finds moving yards very stressful and becomes herd bound while settling in. She also feels vunerable being led across the field as she can no longer defend herself from possible trouble from members of the herd.
What worked for her was to basically put the headcollar on, give a treat, walk a few steps, give her a rub, take the headcollar off. Then repeat the process 3 or 4 times before leaving her.
She very much liked routine, she quickly understood mealtimes, even if she came in to work first. So, until she settled, I worked with what she could cope with. Getting a positive result inthe beginning, catching and walking a few steps etc, was better than spending a hour or two trying to catch the beastie by which time I probably had the words 'vet' and 'bullet' tatooed on my forehead.
She now comes to me as soon as I walk in the field and leaves her mates without a second look at anytime of the day. However, we're moving soon to a 20 acre field and a new herd, so we may be starting from scratch again. Fun, fun, fun.:rolleyes:
 
It's nice to hear other people have had the same problem and their horses have got over it once they had settled in their new home.

It's like as soon as I put the headcollar on him he already has it in his head that he isn't going to move.

I will bring in a friend for him tonight and see what his reaction is then.
 
I had a nightmare with my youngster. Absolutely lovely and cuddly then wouldn't leave the herd and would do anything to stay in the field. One night after all the others having been brought back in she refused to come, so I left her out by herself (checking on her). It worked to get her back in that day.

She just became an absolute nightmare and I ended up moving yards, putting her in a field a fraction of the size with one companion who was slightly higher in the pecking order but worked well together as opposed to about 15 other horses.... instantly she was calmer, no worries about coming out with me and back to herself.

Lesson learned? She's not one to be in a large herd or field right now. She had also somehow got to the top of the herd which created hell for me! She now comes to a whistle and tries to come out the gate with me like she's surgically attached!
Next year she will be out with 2 older girls (who she is desperately showing off to) but we are having this year for her to relax and play.

Pan
 
Thanks Pan. Glad you managed to sort the problem with your youngster.

I don't know what size field or herd size he was in before, but he is now in a relatively large field with 4 other horses. He is right at the bottom of the pecking order at the moment and seems to have attached himself to one other horse in the field. Whenever he feels insecure he runs to this horse for comfort.
 
i feel your pain, my mare plants all the way in from her field to her stable, sometimes its 3 steps stop all the way up an 8 acre field!! other days she will stop once or twice only!! she is just being a madam and this has only started in the last 2 months v irritating when she plants, her face is expressionless and her bottom lip is normally floppy and relaxed!
Funny thing is we have no issues going to the field!!!!
I just have to tap her with the leadrope and talk to her but its very annoying!!!
 
So he planted again tonight, but I managed to turn him round and i made him walk backwards to the gate, which he had no problem doing.

I then spent about half an hour doing lots of ground work with him, making him move his hips and shoulders over, backing up etc, but still he won't move freely forward! It's like he doesnt understand how to walk forwards when being led!

So I held my hand under his chin and applied pressure forwards, he took a teeny tiny step and I gave him the release. I carried on doing this but he was so reluctant to walk forwards and only took one very small step and then stopped again!

What reason would stop him from wanting to walk forwards while being led?!?
 
I would say he is feeling very insecure. He doesn't know you or where he is living or the other horses, and staying with the other horses makes him feel more confident.

It will sort out once he gets to trust you and to have confidence with you and in you.

Mine was a bit of a pain when we moved yards - planting etc., but we had the benefit of six months of ground work under our belts so he knew planting wasn't going to work as he would have to disengage his hindquarters etc.

Now, a few months on, he happily walks up to me out of his herd of 7 or 8 and walks down the very long track without a backward glance.

And can only suggest things you are already doing to make it 'nice for him'. Bring him in, quick feed and straight out again, gradually building up the time.

Good luck
 
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