New pony, walks into stable then bolts

[LittleBlueBird]

We have a new pony, she’s starting to settle and she’s very sweet until you put her in the stable. She will walk in then immediately bolt.
We tried putting established mare into her stable first but all of a sudden she’s also decided to bolt which she’s never done so only way to get them both into their stables is to take new pony first.

I don’t want to have to quickly shut the stable door making her more anxious I want to work with her so it’s her choice but it does scare me a little as she’s a bit of a rocket. As soon as she’s out of the stable she’ll stop.

Any advice how to deal with this?

 

[DizzyDoughnut]

Has she been stabled before? It seems odd the the other horse has suddenly starting departing the stable at speed too, is there anything different in there?

 

[paddi22]

that sound weird older horse is doing it? does older horse do it if the new horse isn't there? like will she go into that stable and be relaxed?

 

[InklePickle]

There must be something different about the stables, have you had a good search in them? Birds nesting? Rats? Bees or Wasps? Search every inch of each stable to be sure nothing is in there

 

[shortstuff99]

That seems like there is definitely something in there. If not an animal problem (rats etc) does the stable go over any electric cables that are shorting to the surface?

 

[paddy555]

There must be something different about the stables, have you had a good search in them? Birds nesting? Rats? Bees or Wasps? Search every inch of each stable to be sure nothing is in there

get a ladder and check out the top for wasps nests and whilst you are up there check the roofs etc. Horses do similar in refusing to go into trailers with dodgy floors. They could sense something either a creature/insect or that something about the structure is a problem. Also the floor, just make sure there isn't a broken drain/any form of collapse.
Also check any electrics in the stable, light fitting, light switch etc (being very careful)
If you can't find anything shut yourself in the stable for a while and just see if anything comes to mind. If you can find a quiet calm old horse take yours right out of the way and see if it happens with him. A process of elimination to find out what is going wrong.
Swallows nesting and swooping in and out over the horses?

 

[LittleBlueBird]

We’ve had a thorough check of the stables and there’s nothing! Older mare gets spooked easily, I think with the new pony going into her stable then rushing out set her off because she’s usually absolutely fine and loves her stable. There are some rugs in new pony’s stable that belong to another. We’re taking them out today. Could that be anything to do with it?
She’s an ex riding school pony so she has been stabled occasionally but mostly turned out.

 

[Ownedby4horses]

Does she do it if there’s something nice in there , ie a bucket with bit of feed in there?

Unless there is something as others have suggested, like nests, electrical cables (an electric fencing unit close by that clicks), something behind the stable making a noise, other horses rugs etc etc Then I would suggest that she’s just not associating her stable with nice things.

To be fair she just sounds like a mare I had who hadn’t been stabled, we solved it initially by putting a small feed and a net in her stable, so when she came in, she concentrated on that and gave us time to calmly close the door etc.

 

[LittleBlueBird]

Yes she has her haynet and we put her feed in there, she’ll walk in then immediately turn and bolt, it gets a bit hairy at times! Is there anything else I can do? Just allow her to go in and run out as many times as she wants until she decides actually it’s quite nice in there?

 

[Ownedby4horses]

Is her feed in there when she goes in? if it’s in a spot where she sees it? do You lead her in or is she being asked to put herself in the stable? I would lead her in, get someone to slowly close the door and let her have her dinner, either stand well away or slowly retreat out of the door.

shes not going to learn anything by letting her bolt out as many times as she wants, all it does is reinforce her Current behaviour.

 

[Ownedby4horses]

Also, you need to teach her to stable, don’t just assume she knows how to. Are you just bringing her in and then leaving her in all night for example?

if that’s the case, you need to teach her. catch her and bring her in at Other times. Stand in the stable with her, with the door shut, then wait and then open the door and lead her out. Then she’s not immediately associating coming in with being trapped in there for a long time.

 

[LittleBlueBird]

When we first had her she was led in and all was fine, we stabled in the day whilst it was really hot and turned out at night. For 3 days she was lovely no issues, that weekend as usual taken into the stable for her feed and groom etc (she has sweet itch) but she straight away whizzed out. Checked the stable nothing of note tried again same thing happened. Now I’m really wary of walking her in because she freaks and bolts. I don’t try and stop her but I also don’t want to be flattened!

 

[Ownedby4horses]

Ok so something has changed, I would look to what has changed in her stable. If nothing has changed in there, then you need to look at what you are doing.

I would suggest getting someone experienced to help you, she has now understood that if she runs out of her stable she gets to be free and you’re not stopping her.

 

[Ownedby4horses]

Ok so just re read your first post. It’s a new pony being asked to come into the stable first, no company on the yard. The pony has no idea whether company is arriving and in such a short time of ownership, obviously doesn’t yet understand a routine. So your other mare is also bolting when you bring her in?

If you are confident that you have address all environment potential issues then get them into a routine. Lead your other mare in, close the door and step out, go and get the other pony and do the same.

 

[paddy555]

is there another stable you can try? can you borrow someone's stable for a short while, walk her in, shut the door, feed and take out?
if you lead her into her own stable is the light on? if not try leaving it on just in case she is walking from very bright sunshine into a dark stable and having trouble adjusting her eyes quickly.

ETA try leading her in with a bucket of feed, have someone outside to shut the door behind you so you can safely go to the far side of the stable. What happens? does she eat the feed, try and jump the door? if she eats the feed then hold her for a couple of minutes afterwards, stroke her a few times, feed her treats and then get someone outside to open the door. That way you will be safe if she charges off.

 

[tristar]

we have one here that did that, as a new horse, no good locking them in they only stress and sweat, so we put up elec fence and let him go in and out as he felt like it, its been a long road 4 months now and he will go in happily i`m glad to say, so look long term, suppose its the disruption to their lives and change of environment

 

[LittleBlueBird]

Observing her this morning she was agitated, very itchy (she has sweet itch) I brought her on to the yard and she danced about until I’d groomed her and applied some of the Hedgewitch gel and fly spray we use (they’re brilliant) and put her sweet itch rug back on, she started to calm down pretty quickly after that but I didn’t try to stable her as she was already pretty flighty.
Tomorrow I’ll do some more work with her, we’ve had her 2 weeks so it’s all very new.
Established mare can be anxious if something spooks her, new pony kicked out over the fence when she first arrived lots of squealing and now she won’t go near her.

no idea why putting her in the stable first has caused such an issue, she can be a bit of a stable baby especially when it’s raining but for some reason if you try to put her in first now to show new pony all is good she’ll bolt and they set each other off.

So now we have 2 mares who freak out going into the stable. Everything has been checked nothing obvious no birds or wasps certainly nothing in established mares stable to make her so fizzy.
I’m building a slow but nice bond with new pony so I’m hoping she’ll start to trust me enough to bring her in and make it a nice place for her.
I’m not anxious around her until we go in the stable and she whips round so quickly and takes off. As soon as she’s outside she stops.
I tend to follow more natural horsemanship methods than the show her who’s boss type method. As an ex riding school pony she’s clearly not used to be stabled.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Havnt read all posts so not sure if it has been suggested but any rats ?

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Slightly different scenario but my lad came over from Ireland with a fear of stable doors and especially if they have a over hang. He nearly knocked me over several times in his panic to get in the stable. I tried a few things which failed. I now back him in which has solved all our issues

 

[LittleBlueBird]

No rats thank goodness! I’ll try backing her in see if she’s more comfortable with that.

 

[milliepops]

it sounds to me like if you are sure there is nothing untoward about the stables, some help from a good trainer would be useful now. think of it like investing in help to train a tricky horse to load etc.
There's probably something about teaching her to feels comfortable in there, and also teaching her not to run through you when she's unsure.

I have a horse that was frightened of enclosed spaces, she wouldn't stay in a stable or get in a horsebox etc. She is fine now but it was only by addressing both aspects that we could make any progress. she still won't go into a field shelter by herself out of choice, but she is happy to go wherever I *put* her.

 

[SEL]

Try a different stable. My food obsessed mare got to the stage where she was dangerous trying to get her into a stable at one of my old yards even with her feed in there, yet walked into a different one without any issue at all.

No idea why but the horse who came on livery a month later and took that stable was really messy. His owner thought that was just 'him' until they moved yards so I think he might have been distressed in there too - he just was too polite to run over his owner.

Sometimes they can sense things we can't. Any electricity wires around? Noises from trees on the roof? Anything died in there (could even be some time ago)?

 

[LittleBlueBird]

We had our lovely pony pts just outside the stable a few weeks ago, this is why we now have the new girl to keep our other one company.
I’ve been in and scrubbed the stable today checked the matting given everything a really good clean out. She was fine the first few days though. Tomorrow I’ll be attempting the stable, we don’t have another to put her in. It’s a private yard just our 2 horses.