New yard, preparing a highly strung horse

Identityincrisis

Identityincrisis

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So I'm planning ahead!

My horse is pretty highly strung (7yr old Anglo Arab) at the minute he is pretty chilled and calm (for him!) and I love it!!

I'm moving house soon and therefore he will be moving yards too, he has only ever lived with his breeder then me.

How can I make the change as stress free as possible for him? I have considered giving him some Sedalin before we leave and maybe top it up for a couple of days after he arrives, to take the edge off him? Get him a teddy bear ?!?! haaha
 
I would not sedate for this, but then I try to avoid sedation unless it is necessary for safety.

If the horse is confident to travel to other places to work/compete then it may not be such a big shock. I have done stay away shows/events with sensitive horses, but as we are focused on what we are doing they have taken it in their stride. We tend to arrive and go to work. Go to bed tired, be refreshed by sleep and get going again.

Within a few days they are on a new routine.

I guess like this they don't feel abandoned as they are working with their human.
 
Best thing is to deal with him as if he’s not going to find it a problem!
Once he has arrived, try and keep him a routine as similar to the one he’s had as possible. No extra fuss, keep everything nice and relaxed. Personally, I wouldn’t give him Sedalin. If he finds himself bothered in a strange place and then feels weird and can’t ‘react’ how he would like to, he may find the whole thing even more distressing.

I’ve seen more cases of frenzied owners during yard moves than horses...
 
Will he be going into isolation at the new yard and if so will he still be able to see other horses?

In the past I've moved horses to new yards and always been very pleasantly surprised at how well and quickly they have settled in. I have very stress horse who has lived all his life with me - bar the first six months. He had to stay away as a four year old at a training clinic and he was remarkably chilled about it.
 
Identityincrisis said:
So I'm planning ahead!

My horse is pretty highly strung (7yr old Anglo Arab) at the minute he is pretty chilled and calm (for him!) and I love it!!

I'm moving house soon and therefore he will be moving yards too, he has only ever lived with his breeder then me.

How can I make the change as stress free as possible for him? I have considered giving him some Sedalin before we leave and maybe top it up for a couple of days after he arrives, to take the edge off him? Get him a teddy bear ?!?! haaha
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I'd ask your vet to prescribe Zyklene for a few days and also to put some rescue remedy in his drinking water or feed. Its virtually tasteless but good for calming.
 
I would also try not to make a big deal about it and get him into a routine asap.

It's a struggle to do that when you are also moving house ... 3 weeks ago I moved house and horses on the same weekend and it was no fun! but both my horses are quite highly strung and i knew they'd benefit from just cracking on as normal to try and help them settle.

One is an experienced traveller who stayed away at shows multiple times last year, and she thought she was just at another show to start with, she was very jolly and spirited but after a few days her adrenalin wore off and she started to feel very flat. I think she's over the hump now and we're getting back to normal.
The other has moved around a lot, reading between the lines she's been in multiple homes in quick succession and she has found it much harder to adjust, but we're just putting one foot in front of the other and keeping in a good routine. She's always tended towards a stressy tummy but that actually has improved quite a bit so it's just a case of waiting for her brain now.

If you have one like my second horse, try not to get worried if it takes a while to settle down! ;)
 
Thanks all.

I did say in my post, but it disappeared! He isn't well travelled for various reasons, mainly for trashing my box then being lame for 2 years following that! We've been backwards and forwards to the vet a few times where he stayed and was reasonably calm but hasn't really travelled since. I will be taking him on a few journeys (once the trailer has been serviced) to get him into that routine again
 
Ah, I was just about to ask if he's been out and about much. I'd just play it by ear and not over think it. Even if he's a bit sparky at first I'd just carry on as normal and expect him to be the same. Certainly wouldn't be using sedatives (I'm amazed at the number of people who are happy to drug their horses at the drop of a hat; I've only ever sedated horses - or the vet has - for medical procedures).
 
I tend to work mine fairly hard, so busy busy few days before moving. And tend to arrive at new yard, go for a planned longish hack, and then turnout after. So there are fairly tired and calm. I then tend to work them at least the next few days, so they have a focus and a routine. But mine are used to boxing out to strange places for hacking.
 
the key is probably you being calm. our horses definitely take their queue from us. my boy can like yours be very stressy. I know that he needs me to be calm - he will walk on some yards and be almost horizontal but on the wrong yard - omg!!! have everything set up for him and try to keep to your normal routine. keep calm - it really helps them - I know we are all anxious when we move them but it does help to be calm. play it by ear - I have had to put my boy out in the field to explode before he would go into a stable, at another yard he walked straight in and started eating. But that is just him
 
You say teddy bear..... my horse has a teddy bear - in fact its a unicorn - all i can say is this is the third teddy bear shes had now - she loves them and in all honesty i think they work - a bit anyway. Mine does suck hers which is a bit grim when you have to move it out of the way and its soggy! I always gave her some rescue remedy too for a while as it helps calm her also some chamomile will help, you can brew the herbal teas and add to feed or buy it in herb form from feedmark. Always helped mine.
 
I've just taken on a new companion for Rose. she's an ex polo pony who has been with her owner for several years but has been retired due to injury. Rose has had to adjust to a new companion and Millie (the new mare) has had to adjust to a new owner, new yard and a new herd of one. I've just tried to think ahead about what might unsettle them further and keep everything calm and in a routine. eg Rose is quite independent and can get agitated if another horse gets in her way or between me and her, so I've got help to bring them in together but separate so Millie doesn't worry that she's going to be left on her own and get wound up but equally she keeps out of Rose's way. We are on day four and both mares are much more settled. By next week Millie will know the routine and Rose I'm sure will feel less threatened by having another horse around as they will have established thieir boundaries then I will get them in separately. You know the sort of things that will unsettle your horse better than anyone, just think ahead and try to keep things as calm as you can. Good luck, I'm sure it will all be fine.
 
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