please help me!!! new horse

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saskia11

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hi there, any ideas on how to remove my horse from the herd. she becomes distressed, going around in circles, whilst taking her away from the other 11 horses. although today she, shall we say, got over familiar with one of the herd ;) could this be part of the problem?. i only got her 3 weeks ago and thought she'd have settled in by now. she is a 16.2 warmblood.
 
When you say over familiar, do you mean mounting other horses??
Is there any way you can keep her with fewer horses, and what is she like once she is away from the herd ?
 
At three weeks in her new home she'll only just be making new friends and settling down. She certainly won't want to be leaving them to go with a human she hardly knows and doesn't yet trust! And if she's in season too she'll be feeling even more temperamental.

Give her time. Do lots groundwork with her to build up her trust and respect. Spend as much time with her as possible and make friends (which is not the same as letting her walk all over you - she'll never trust someone she has no respect for!). Don't punish her for being anxious (she's being frightened NOT naughty) and give her other things to think about when she starts to worry: that's where the ground work comes in.

Is there any way you can keep her with fewer horses,
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have to say, I've found horses are better in a larger herd - they tend not to make such firm attatchments to one horse in particular, making seperating them easier.
 
hi not really shes in a 36 acre field, stables are being built for the winter. yeah she was mounted several times today, he was gelded only recently. she gets seperation anxiety so to be honest the second the others go she is desperate to go and starts playing up.
 
thanks kallibear, ill try this and see if i get any luck, im gonna try monty roberts books too n see if i get tips there also, im waiting on them coming. should i wait til shes out of season to work with her or start tomorrow and should i let her go if shes really distressed or try to persevere?
 
Try taking her away for short increments, with no agenda of working her - just a pleasant walk.

Take her out and away for maybe 5 minutes - if she's not misbehaving, take her back (always take her back at a point when she is behaving - even if it's only a brief moment).

Next time, take her for a bit longer. This could be later in the same day. The idea is to let her know she will be going back to the others again. Since you've only had her there a short time, she is still settling in and it is stressful. Keep making the away period longer and throw in a couple of short exercises - lungeing or ground work - before bringing her back. I've found this does get the idea across that (1) when I get taken out, I do come back and (2) I have to behave and do what I'm asked.
 
hi baymareb, I tried that last week. She got 5ft past the gate & started calling for the others, became distressed and pulled the lead rope from my friend's hands. She contemplated on whether or not to jump the fence back into the field even though the gate was open, about turned and ran up the road. Should I do the groundwork before I take her out?
 
She's behaving like my 2 year old does, which is expected with a young horse.

I started off with getting to know her in the field, and didn't attempt to take her out of it once I realised it was an issue.
At first I couldn't get near her but in time she started to trust me, and I would just pet her, then got a head collar on her, and started moving her a little away from the rest of the herd and doing ground work with her in the field. Once you have her trust, I'd then go through the process of bringing her out of the field, bit by bit and buidling up on the time x
 
Does your mare get a feed? Perhaps for a few days bring her in just to have her feed, then she will associate good things with being caught & brought in! If it works & she's not too upset to eat, progress to grooming etc etc. Worth a try??
 
the woman i bought her from said she only gets grass, with hay in the winter?, i give her an apple n carrot but not everytime as i dont want her to get nippy thinking shes always to get a treat. i get to groom her, but never fully as the others leave her sight she plays up. or perhaps should i be feeding her and what on? should i take another horse with me when shes out a little walk? if we get that far lol
 
Taking another horse to begin with might work well, then perhaps as she begins to trust you, you can take her out for very short periods without & build up. But of course you could be making a rod for your own back! How old is she? Do you know much about her previous history? Is she a nervous horse by nature? Can she see the others from your yard area? (Sorry for all the questions lol!)

I feed all mine chaff & feed balancer (even the fat ponies!) as I know they are then getting all their vits & mins. Whether or not you feed will depend on her condition, workload, how much you want to spend on her etc. I've just always found that food generally helps to build up a friendship in the early days of a new horsie relationship! :D
 
If the gelding is mounting it wants taking out of the field for its safety and the safety of other horses. One kick can kill a horse!

Regarding your problem I agree with the others it does take them a while to settle. Can you bring her out of the field with another horse she likes and tie it up whilst you see to yours?
 
she is 11 n shes not really nervous although the lady told me she thinks shes been abused before. the field is 36 acres so sometimes she can see the others depending on where they are depends how she reacts, as when the herd moves towards the second field saskia goes mad
 
hi,

what is she like to ride? I had the same prolem ith my horse, he would become anxious when coming into the yard away from the herd, but he would calm down when I rode him. I brought him in everyday and rode as soon as he was in (had tack ready), after a few weeks I was able to increase the time between bringing in a riding- he is fine now.
 
hi applecarrot

well ive not even had the chance to get on her, totally gutted im gonna try gettin on her tomorrow as i was advised to let her settle for few wks before i rode her. ive had her 3 wks today so fingers crossed for tomorrow as i totally love her her too bits n hope its just a waiting game. oh and im thinking of building her stable soon as maybe that will settle her back into a routine and give me an opportunity to bond better with her. i soooo hope it works. thanks for ur input as any advise is greatly appreciated
 
saskia11 said:
hi baymareb, I tried that last week. She got 5ft past the gate & started calling for the others, became distressed and pulled the lead rope from my friend's hands.
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Why is your friend dealing with her? She needs you only to handle her.

I'd personally be looking to move her to a smaller yard, and in to a mare only field - as it sounds as if her hormones may be playing a big part in this.

You need to bring her out of the field every day, and start as you mean to go on really. She may get anxious, but once you've established a routine she should start to settle. You could also put her on a calmer temporarily to see if that helps. Relax Me by HorseFirst is excellent.

It would be interesting to know who advised you to give her a couple of weeks to settle before you rode her.....
 
I would suggest asking one of the other liveries to bring their horse in with you when you are bringing your mare in so that she is not all on her own. Give her a small feed and then turn her out again. If you think she is likely to break free when you are bringing her in with the other horse I would strongly recommend using a bridle with a long lead rein, maybe even a lunge line. Once they learn they can pull away from you it can be very hard to sort out. At this stage I think getting her in on her own and putting her in a stable could be asking for trouble as she may well try to jump out to rejoin the herd.

Our two years olds (five of them) all made a dreadful fuss when we started bringing them into stables. We would bring them in give them a feed and turn them out. We would vary the order in which they came in and went out and in a few weeks had a group of horses that were happy to leave their companions and don't fuss if they are the only one left on the yard.

As a general rule I don't think it essential to not ride a new horse for a few weeks. I would give them the day to settle in and then ride the next day.

It is worth perservering if only to make life easier for the vet, farrier, etc.
 
hi everyone
well its incredible shes all chilled out now i can bring her away from herd shes been out hacking, dont think shes keen to go alone tho or out of sight of the others but omg wot a difference in her last tuesday she was tacked up still a bit jumpy. then wednesday n thursday she was just like the day i went to see her. shes lost a bit of condition i think due to her fretting so ive out her on alfalfa and kibble its all natural so should be fine with it as everyone i spoke to said why shouldnt she have feed even in winter so im trying this to see if i can get her shine back. but all in all shes just that dream horse i went to see. ill keep u all posted on her conditioning with this feed im so grateful to all who replied oh n why did my friend have her well it was because shes my first horse n i wasnt confident enough but im glad to say im more confident now that she has relaxed n she luvs massage too suppose i had to have some perks to my job lol thanks again folks it all helped sandra x
 
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