NewHorseMum
New User
Newbie horse owner here so please be kind! We bought our daughter her first pony about 3 months ago. Her livery and turnout situation is quite different from where she came from. She was in herd turnout with decent paddocks in her old home but our yard is very small, she is in individual electric fence turn out and there are 2 other horses within her sight. We bought her at the end of summer when they were still out 24/7 and she seemed to settle well initially. However since we got to winter and the horses started coming in on a night she seems more and more unsettled. When I turned her out on a morning she would graze for an hour or so but would then spend the rest of the day waiting at the gate for me to bring her back in at teatime. She then moved on to not grazing at all and just pacing at the fence. She has now started jumping the electric fence within minutes of being turned out even though she has hay in her paddock and she gets given a decent strip of grass each morning. She doesn’t seem interested at all in the grass or hay and either paces by the gate or jumps the fence. I have now bought higher fencing to try and stop her jumping out but am wondering if she’d be happier kept in. Has anyone else had a pony that doesn’t seem to enjoy being out in winter. She behaves the same even on dry/bright days, not just if the weather is bad. She is only 8 so not an old girl and is a welshie so is a good doer but she just doesn’t seem able to settle when turned out. Any advice appreciated