pacing by the gate

[lolly10fi]

my mare always paces up and down by the gate but ever since we moved her to another field with more grass she has got better but when someone is at the yard she will start again
she comes in every night and has unlimited grass/hay. does she just want atention or is she stressing over something? has anyone else had this problem?

 

[*hic*]

If she's out by herself she probably wants company. If she's out with other horses then it seems as though she'd rather be in.

 

[FoxTrotx]

I used to have this problem until my field mate moved and left us on our own. Now I'm the first person at the yard she's grazing happily when I arrive although she does gallop up when I walk up to the gate. I think mine is just happy to see me (and get her feed of course ).

 

[Chestnut mare]

I used to have this problem at all yards I've been at apart from my current one. She had plenty of company, food etc but she would always start pacing when there was movement on the yard.

Current yard she is totally chilled out and settled and will stand at the gate waiting but doesnt pace about. Even when the others have started coming in.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

It's just a habit If you make a fuss of her, or feed her, she will continue to do it. If you (and everyone else), ignore her she will eventually stop.

 

[Caol Ila]

My mare used to have this problem and what stopped it was moving yards. I can't say for sure what caused it, but I'm about 80% certain that constant changes in routine are what sets her off.

Pacing is stress behaviour and I would rather try to figure out what's stressing them than hope that it stops if you ignore it. Maybe in some cases it will. Ignoring it didn't stop my mare, and until I moved her to a place where she did not pace, she was pacing off tons of weight.