Please, reassure me that i am not the only one with an INSANE horse!

charleysummer

charleysummer

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 February 2010
Messages
1,084
Location
UK Midlands
Visit site
i really do think my pony is insane- she's round the twist! she is very expressive in everything she does, when the car pulls up to the yard she gallops down the field bucking in the air and then stands stamping her feet until you get out, she hates other horses, and will dismiss them- and now just to top it all of...

she's starting digging a hole in the field with her front hooves :| - just the one hole and its a working progress, i keep trying to fill it back up...

i try to keep her as amused as possible with trickle balls, hay, licks, 'carrot hunts' in the field and stable bed, and i've put her in a paddock with nettles and brambles to much on and play with rather than just plain grass... since her work has stopped after her tendon injury she's just gone loopy ! and i don't know what to do to keep her amused! i cant jump for a year and im starting dressage when she is up to it- but i don't think i need passage and piaffe at prelim ;)

so... who else has insane horses? any stories? and what on earth do you do to help! would a calmer supplement be any use?
 
She doesn't sound mad to me, just playful. Personally I would not bother with a calmer, she sounds like she is pleased to see you. she also sounds a little bored. Not sure what else you could do to keep her happy, do you ride/ exercise regularly? What about her diet, could that be making her too lively?

FDC
 
she sounds full of character to me and is pleased to see you when you arrive. :)

Have no more ideas on occupying her though.......you seem to have done well so far...lol

Now about that dressage......errrrmmmm..... :D :D......actually think that could be lots of fun
 
Look for mentally but not physically taxing activities such as short format trec comps or horse agility. Even if you only have a bash at home it might occupy her mind!
 
thanks, yes she is very playful! hasn't really grown up yet :) she's just turning 8, (apparently, i still think she's younger) she used to be ridden alot, hacking out all day and stuff and now i think she's just getting very bored! i was thinking maybe trick training- and i trained her to lift a hoof up for a treat and she would bow for a carrot but now i dont want to stress her injured leg so its getting a bit difficult to find things to do !

oh and her diet is low sugar chaff, hay morning and night and low energy pasture mix, she doesnt have a lot of hard feed- just enough to keep her vits and things up to keep her nice and healthy. she does have sugary licks however, as i like to give her a mobility lick to supply her with various mobility supplements.
 
we have a 14 yr old mare who did this all last winter. just dug and dug even in really thick mud. we assumed it was boredom and gave her a play ball and ad lib hay . she is a sensitive ,impatient mare and is best kept busy but its hard with short days . this year she hasnt been as bad probably because ive put my minature filly in with her . i did also put her on a calmer last winter and kept her on it .
 
she has been worse since taking away her field mate- but it had to be done as she used her boredom to beat him up (a big muscley 17hh eventer! shes only 14.1hh!) and both would get cuts and injuries and she went lame where she'd been kicked. so its a bit difficult
 
Our stressy TB used to do this. Sadly we lost him last year - but we still have some large depressions in the paddocks to remember him by! He would always work on one project at a time and seemed to enjoy himself. When he moved to a new paddock he would start a new "project" - we gave up trying to stop him as he seemed very happy doing it! He preferred sandy soil as I guess that is easier to dig.
 
Only thing I would add to others replies is that you could replace the pasture mix with high fibre nuts. This would have all the same vit's and min's and you don't actually have to feed as much nuts as mix. The 14.2 sec d I used to share is a whole lot saner since being swapped and it's usually the case that nut's are better than mix when it comes to feeding the highly strung!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top