So turning away didn't work..

Luci07

Luci07

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Any thoughts? we tried my old mare to see if she could switch to grass livery but as suspected she was having none of it. My YO knows said mare very well so she was being watched the entire time. She took no notice of any of the other mares, or haylage out but would not settle and ended up racing around the field. A lot. So was brought back up. Said mare is an exceptionally good doer, unclipped and has a good wardrobe so should do really well. There is a limit to how long you can let her race around as there are the other mares and the field to consider (though apparently the other mares just ignored her)

We are torn between thinking that if she went somewhere else she didn't know (i.e didn't know there was a stable) she might accept it and worried she might actually damage herself with her behaviour. Currently she is out for half a day as starts creating, again we know thats because said mare knows she has hay in her box. YO has started to bring her in and then not hay the mare straight away but that doesn't change the mares behaviour. Any suggestions?
 
might be worth a word with your vet. When I had a similar problem in the past the vet recommended giving sedalin for a few days to help the horse settle
 
I'd just gradually increase it by 15mins at a time, how gradual would depend on how settled the mare was at each stage. But, as Fw says, I wouldn't be too concerned over winter, I'd make an effort in spring when the grass will be out to keep her busy. Then by the time it starts going, she'll be accustomed to the idea of filling up on hay in the field.
 
Ditto what littlelegs has said. Difficult at this time of year. I don't think another place would work either as she seems to like what she likes and a new place might just really set her off. It might not but at this time if the year it's hard.

My mares live out 24/7 when the weather gets good and the paddocks have been done. They graze at night and dry lot during the day. Occasionally I'll bring them in out of bugs in the summer but just depends. The point being if I tried to leave them out now they'd be having none of it as well. But in summer time you can't really drag them in.

Terri
 
i have this exact same problem with bringing in!
horsey wont stand in a stable :( but, hopefully now i have moved yards, she will come in when we get a stable (they're airy and roomy)
sorry to hijack thread!
im not too sure about this one, but could you put her on an individual turnout in a small space so she cant gallop around like mad, and increase length of time?
 
I had a lovely mare one of my favourites ever she just never did turn out on arrival twenty minutes was max over time we got her to two hours and finally overnight in summer but you needed to have her in by eight thirty am or else all hell broke loose .
Never worked out why , she was a complete workaholic though was completly calm on stable as soon as she wanted in she just stressed so much it was unfair and dangerous to leave her out.
 
They tried for nearly an hour taking it turns to watch, but there is a limit. Not only could she hurt herself but she was trashing the grass liveries field and there was a good chance that one of the others could well take exception and obviously can't risk other horses. Might try the sedalin when the weather settles. There is actually a lot of grass in that field AND there was a blooming big round bale of haylage down there too!

Summer... oh madam doesn't "do" flies so starts creating to come in when the flies up. That is despite wearing a full fly sheet and mask.

I think we might look locally for someone to have her on full loan at home which would suit her very well. She is a truly brilliant hack and nanny and possibly the only horse I know that, the softer and more "fluffy" her rider gets, the nicer the mare is!

Another option I might try is to buy her a shelter so she can dictate how much time she spends in or out. Knowing my luck, I will fork out, it still won't suit Madam and I will have wasted my money! Thank you for the ideas and suggestions though. Much appreciated. She is a yard favourite with all (particularly the staff) because she is a true lady... apart from not wanting to be out much!
 
I know this sounds odd but I've had 2 such mares now, both highly stabled all their lives and both the same as your one - though perhaps not so extreme. I turned both mine out for 6 months with my 2 geldings (separate years though). The geldings loved both mares and it seemed to really settle them, being centre of the universe. No idea why it worked but it did, however ditto the wait till its nice weather.
 
FfionWinnie said:
Sounds like she has you well and truly pegged. Don't start something you can't finish. If you pander to her every whim then you will just make her worse.
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Ah,... you've met her....!

Completely true but this lady is 25 now, I have had her for 13 years and she has been brilliant to me and took me up to Novice before I had to retire her. She is an utter lady in all other ways and this is the only area she really puts her hoof down. Rather feel she deserves a happy semi retirement (still hacking and very very up for it) hence not really putting my foot down...though my finances could really do without it!
 
Luci07 said:
Ah,... you've met her....!

Completely true but this lady is 25 now, I have had her for 13 years and she has been brilliant to me and took me up to Novice before I had to retire her. She is an utter lady in all other ways and this is the only area she really puts her hoof down. Rather feel she deserves a happy semi retirement (still hacking and very very up for it) hence not really putting my foot down...though my finances could really do without it!
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I see. Is it just for financial reasons you want her on grass livery?
 
My new horse was like this - he'd just go in a field and gallop, just gallop until he was taken in. He wasn't used to much turnout though, his last owner basically kept him stabled all the time except 20 mins of occassional turnout. I started by putting him in a really small highly fenced paddock (I mean stable size) and then very slowly increasing the time he spent in it and also the size of the paddock - its taken about 4 months but now he's out all day in about 1/2 an acre and he's so much more chilled out, no more galloping about. Ok so you may be more limited electric fencing off a paddock when its not your own land but perhaps the YO would let you fence off a corner? Small enough she couldn't then gallop about?
 
An hour? Goodness when I bring in new competition horses to my place who have only ever lived inside for most of their lives and I turn them out 24/7 it can often take them DAYS for them to settle and stop running around. They all settle in the end but you sure need to give it longer than 1 hour. I have very large fields though and my pasture is good so I'm fine with them running around like loonies for as long as it takes for them to calm down and get into the mindset that they aren't coming in.
 
My mare is just the same, also nearly 25. She'll stay out 24/7 in the summer but when winter comes she just won't have it. She will run up and down the fence and basically not let anyone else near their horses.
I tried her one year with a herd that weren't ridden, out 24/7, horses not coming and going and she came through the fence and ripped the front of her chest open. Have just accepted I'm not gonna win this one.

She is also the calmest, easiest horse IF she is kept the way she likes.

Am guessing the shelter idea won't make much difference if yours is anything like mine!
 
To give it the best chance of working you need to set the situation up in your favour.
Wait until spring, so that the weather is better and the ground hopefully dried up a bit
Take her to a new location
Give her time to settle (as in days rather than hours)

My preference is always large acreage and herds if turning a horse away.
 
ihatework said:
To give it the best chance of working you need to set the situation up in your favour.
Wait until spring, so that the weather is better and the ground hopefully dried up a bit
Take her to a new location
Give her time to settle (as in days rather than hours)

My preference is always large acreage and herds if turning a horse away.
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^ agree with that.
very much so.
 
Ah, mares.

Mine spent a summer out 24/7. It started off well enough, but by the end of the summer, she'd gone on strike and was doing things like planting her feet and refusing to leave the shelter of the barn if it was raining and you were trying to turn her back out into her field. She also paced the field and would do so all day. Some horses are just like that and scivved class the day when they said how much better 24/7 turn-out was for their mental and physical health.
 
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