Rising 6 year old won't settle........

Rusty_GSY

Rusty_GSY

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Bahh......
ok, my new baby arrived around a month ago. Settled really well within his first few days, and was quiet as a lamb in his stable. Bearing in mind, I live in guernsey, new boy came from Surrey, via motorway and ferry, so yes I would expect him to he unsettled.

"Bear" is stabled in a barn with two other horses, both of which he could see pretty easily ( one is opposite, the other is next door ) Unfortunately, bear is very clingy of other horses and people, and if one or the other threatens to leave, or actually leaves the barn he gets extremely upset, so much to the point that he came over the stable door a week after he arrived. He got his leg hooked under his chain, but stuck over the door ( if that makes sense ), and scrambled around with the three other kegs which made it over, until he freed himself.

We put a full grill up at the door, so he can't come over it again and he seemed ok behind his bars.

Now however, he's started doing half rears in his stable and sticking his beak between the beam above the bars and the actual grill. Friday he took the grill off himself, this is now firmly attached so he can't remove it himself again :rolleyes:


If it's any use, he gets fed hi fi light and pony nuts and relax me calmer. Have also tried likits, which get annihilated overnight, and he gets turned out during the day.

Oh I'm also his 5th owner including his breeder.

Any advice on how to calm him down? Muchly appreciated :D
 
Some horses just can't tolerate the barn set up. I know mine can't. He has to have an outside stable, otherwise he turns himself inside out. I think it's a claustrophobia thing which is exacerbated when horses start moving around, e.g. leaving.

Do you have any outside stables you could try him in?
 
My old mare left a few days ago and he got upset, we put another horse in her old stable to ensure he had company but not really helping much.

We have outside stables, it's just seeing if I can swap, don't want to unsettle him anymore.

Someone did suggest claustrophobia, but he seemed to settle for a little while, then kicked off again.

Also have to ensure the ceiling height is high enough, just encase he stands up.

He gets upset when he's tied up outside too. I give him a hay net, but if something goes past and leaves he has a major paddy, and basically tries " box walking" on the end of the quick release bungie he's tied to.
 
Sounds very similar to my last one. He was only 5 when I got him and he had only just come over from Ireland. I had him on a small private yard with only 2 other horses on it. We had to strengthen the stable door as he was barging it to try and get out and also jumped out of his paddock to go and see one of the others in the school!!!

In the end I moved him to a much larger yard and he settled straight away, and I never had any more problems. Because there were 12 horses he also didn’t get too attached to any one. I think some cope better than others on smaller yards and sounds like yours might do better on a larger yard. Its early days for you both, and he has definitely had an unsettled life so far if he has had 5 homes already. Try moving him to a larger yard for a year or so, hopefully he will settle better there and then you can have a proper chance to get to know each other and build a bond. I know how stressful it can be with a new horse which won’t settle. Good luck.
 
Our yard has a rather, strange setup I guess. We have a main block with stables back to back, then a barn with five horses all next to each other, then the barn my boy is in which has the three. I think there's around 19 horses altogether. On his previous yard there was only him and another when I went to try him, him at one end of the block, and the other down the other end. I tried a radio to block out background noise, he listens out for people, but no luck with that either. Another suggestion was a stable mirror, but he kicks of with the other horse still in........

One thing I have been told is that his bars can't comedown, he's more than likely to do it again.

I know, five owners is a lot, was with his previous one for a year, then the one before for two, looking at his CHAPs registration.
 
He sounds really insecure bless him. I feel for you as my late mare would have hysterics if left alone and it's a right pain!

First could you swap with someone so he has a stable where he can see more of the yard and other horses? That might help. Apart from that just make sure he's never left in his stable or field alone and keep him to a strict routine. Always turn out/bring in at same time ect.

Also with my mare I found lots of work helped. Riding is the last thing you normally feel like doing when they are going absolutly psycho in the stable but once I was on board and making my mare concentrate and dispelling her adrenaline she would calm right down and be all sleepy once we were back at the stable.

I think once he gets to know you and his routine he will feel more secure and get better. Might take some time though if he's been passed about a bit.

Good luck :)
 
I can take him into the barn on his own and he will stay quite happy, he calls a bit then quietens down. Left him in there on his own for a little while, not intentionally, and he was quiet happy, same with being tied up outside.

Your right tho, exercise does make him sleepy and a he'll of a lot more respectful of me too! :rolleyes:
 
When I first got my Warmblood he was awful if ever left on his own. In the stable he would rear, buck, throw himself around and non stop call out. He was in indoor barn stabling too.

I had no choice over other people taking their horses out and him being left on his own from time to time, it was just the way things panned out. I would just ignore the behaviour, nothing I did would improve it.

He eventually got better the more often he was exposed to it.
I then recently moved him yards. I put him in his stable and the other livery took her two horses out so he was left alone on the yard. He didn't batter an eye lid. I think that was the first time I realised he's got over it.
It was nothing I did in particular, just time to settle and realise he could actually cope on his own for more than 5 minutes! It did take about 8 months though!!
 
Oh I ignore him, he's bigger than my last one and has been namby pambyed around a bit. My main worry is him lynching himself over the top of the grill!!

Sometimes he will settle, just need eyes in the back of my head to watch him with out him actually noticing ;)

Hes a very insecure baby :)
 
Sounds like he is very insecure and coming from a quiet yard to a larger yard with more goings on can unsettle them just as much as going from a large to a small yard. I was once told by one YM that they always put geldings in a prime position to see all that is going on in the yard as apparently they are very nosey and mares always go at end of rows / in corners as they like to be more away from the action – personally I think it depends on the horse – but this might work for yours. Try him in one of the outer boxes and give him time to settle. Your partnership is new, everything is strange and different for him, so work, routine and consistency would be the way I would go. If after 6 months he still hasn’t settled then look for a small yard as he seemed to cope well with that before, unfortunately I think time is going to be your answer.:)
 
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