Ziggy_
Well-Known Member
Yesterday myself, the other liveries and my YO all moved to a new premises. The 'yard' at the new place is fairly enclosed - there are barns on all sides, one of which will eventually house stables, one will be an indoor school, etc, and at present we have a covered tying up area.
The problem is that my horse is absolutely terrified of being in an enclosed yard. She was stabled overnight in an American barn last winter, and despite having all her friends around her took a good few months to settle overnight. I couldn't take her into the barn alone as she'd go nuts.
A year ago we were on a yard with a similar set up and had major problems - she would rear/pull back when tied up, or put her head down and pull until she got free. She moves around constantly when tied up, swinging her bum from side to side and will go straight into you if you get too close - meaning basic handling like picking out hooves is impossible unless you want to be trampled. When lead she'd try to escape, whether that be by pulling the leadrope out of your hands, barging into you or turning round and kicking if you hung onto her. She never did settle - I lasted four weeks before I moved her as she was just getting worse and worse.
She is genuinely terrified and stands there shaking and sweating; although she loads and travels happily by herself and loves hacking alone so I can't pinpoint exactly what she's scared of. Having company when indoors makes no difference, unless perhaps I was to bring the entire herd in, which isn't really feasible! Leading her around in a bridle doesn't help, and I can't give her a feed/haynet when indoors as she's too scared to eat it. Under normal circumstances she is well mannered to handle but she's always had a bolshy side which rears its head from time to time.
I know its only been a day and she's bound to be stressed and I probably sound really melodramatic, but I also know if I don't nip this in the bud she gets very dangerous to handle very quickly. She's 16.2hh and can swing me through the air on the end of her lead rope. The farrier is due later this week and as it stands, he doesn't have a hope in hell of shoeing her.
Please can anyone suggest anything that might help. Any ideas will be welcomed!
The problem is that my horse is absolutely terrified of being in an enclosed yard. She was stabled overnight in an American barn last winter, and despite having all her friends around her took a good few months to settle overnight. I couldn't take her into the barn alone as she'd go nuts.
A year ago we were on a yard with a similar set up and had major problems - she would rear/pull back when tied up, or put her head down and pull until she got free. She moves around constantly when tied up, swinging her bum from side to side and will go straight into you if you get too close - meaning basic handling like picking out hooves is impossible unless you want to be trampled. When lead she'd try to escape, whether that be by pulling the leadrope out of your hands, barging into you or turning round and kicking if you hung onto her. She never did settle - I lasted four weeks before I moved her as she was just getting worse and worse.
She is genuinely terrified and stands there shaking and sweating; although she loads and travels happily by herself and loves hacking alone so I can't pinpoint exactly what she's scared of. Having company when indoors makes no difference, unless perhaps I was to bring the entire herd in, which isn't really feasible! Leading her around in a bridle doesn't help, and I can't give her a feed/haynet when indoors as she's too scared to eat it. Under normal circumstances she is well mannered to handle but she's always had a bolshy side which rears its head from time to time.
I know its only been a day and she's bound to be stressed and I probably sound really melodramatic, but I also know if I don't nip this in the bud she gets very dangerous to handle very quickly. She's 16.2hh and can swing me through the air on the end of her lead rope. The farrier is due later this week and as it stands, he doesn't have a hope in hell of shoeing her.
Please can anyone suggest anything that might help. Any ideas will be welcomed!