Stable door barriers - Help me please

Turtlebay69

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Hi, I am looking for help first of all not an ear bashing of how bad mannered my horse sounds below! So please only comment if you can help me.

My horse is becoming a real pain, and has become extremely bargey. I have someone who helps me bring in my horse whilst I am at work, and he is just being a pain. He has been like this for around 8 months now. He is 20 years old.

He will be led into the stable, and then as anybody goes to shut the stable door, he barges it open and runs off. Now, this horse does not stop until he is out of that door. He has squashed both myself and my friend numerous times. I have tried threatening with a crop at the door as I shut it. I have tried EVERYTHING to stop him. I have shut the door behind me, and waited in his stable until he settles and starts eating, but he eats (and I have placed his food as far away as possible from the door) and then as soon as he hears the lock undo on the door he swings around and runs. Why is he doing this. It is ruining the bond I have with my friend and the routine we have, and is just really getting me down as I cannot trust him to not hurt anyone.

I need to buy a barrier for the door so that can be done up straight away before I leave the stable, then go under it so he cannot get out. I am worried he will break any wood or break the rubber chains you get. What do I do, is there anything anyone can recommend that I can use and where from? I repeat the above that he has never done this before, only the past 8 months after he happened to escape once through a small girl undoing his door. He then completely changed into the vile devil pony barging his way around the yard!! :-(

Please someone suggest something or help me as I am so down about this right now, I am even contemplating leaving one of my jobs just so I can be the one to get him in and sort him so I know he isn't messing anyone around!!

Thankyou
 
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Illusion100

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Hi, I use a wooden barrier consisting of 2 x 2 by 4 planks. It is very solid and works very well.

I was thinking of the chain but knew if my horse barged and broke it once then he would be determined to break down anything else.

He was never bargy before, I just put it up as a safety precaution just incase.
 

Bobbly

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I don't know if this would work for you but with our bargy git I electrified the doorway. I screwed the round plastic insulators into the door frame on the inside in a square, at just above rug height and around knee height then made an electric rope 'gate' also in a square which joined with plastic gate handles and ran an additional bit through a piece of hosepipe over the door and away to the kind of energiser that sticks in the ground in the nearest bit of dirt. This method kept him from banging the door (the main problem) made him politely look out over the door without leaning on it and certainly curtailed his early exit!
We also had a metal hook over frame made in the same vein that we took to places like the PUK champs to use on the temporary stables. Worked a treat!
 

windand rain

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I used a heavy duty chain across the door bolted into the door frame so the horse couldnt get out passed it. Two may be better if he is determined. Does he respect electric fencing as if he does that may stop him
 

Turtlebay69

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I don't know if this would work for you but with our bargy git I electrified the doorway. I screwed the round plastic insulators into the door frame on the inside in a square, at just above rug height and around knee height then made an electric rope 'gate' also in a square which joined with plastic gate handles and ran an additional bit through a piece of hosepipe over the door and away to the kind of energiser that sticks in the ground in the nearest bit of dirt. This method kept him from banging the door (the main problem) made him politely look out over the door without leaning on it and certainly curtailed his early exit!
We also had a metal hook over frame made in the same vein that we took to places like the PUK champs to use on the temporary stables. Worked a treat!

Bobbly this actually made me laugh! It is a marvelous idea but I just doubt I would ever get him actually in the stable first then, haha! But!! I will keep this in mind along with all of your suggestions above and below, I need drastic measures as he is making me sick with worry when I know it is time for him to be brought in!!
 

TGM

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How long have you had the horse? Has he always lived in at nights and has he always been at the same yard? I'm just wondering why he is so determined to get out of the stable to the extent he will leave his feed and barge through anything? Does he dislike the horse in the neighbouring stable, for example? I can understand you wanting to use some kind of barrier, but at the same time, if you have had him a long time and this is a drastic change in his behaviour I would be trying to work out the reason why, as well?
 

AdorableAlice

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I would take him in, tie him up with a haynet and leave him there for how ever long it takes for him to get over himself.

You could put three scaffold poles up on the inside of the door frame using metal hoops to slide them through.

As far as barging past you and you threatening him with a crop, I would not threaten I would follow through with something stronger than a crop and mean it.
 

Bobbly

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It really worked very well, he was a 16.1 WBxcob an a bolshy burger to boot, the first night he arrived he kicked his door all night and my hubby told me in no uncertain terms that if he did it again the next night I could take the bu**er back! Hence the need for a quick fix, obviously you can tuck it away on going in. The other thing I would suggest is to put a tie ring somewhere near the door, take him in, slip the rope through the ring and pull up short and hold then you can exit and shut the door then slip the rope and unclip/take off headcollar off him from the outside?
 

Turtlebay69

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Hi TGM. I have had him since a 5 year old. He has always had a slightly nervous disposition, however he has his whole life been stabled at night during the winter. He has lived with the horse in the neighboring 2 stables for years since they arrived as youngsters, and he does everything with them - he's ridden, turned out with and always together with these horses, they get on great. So it is neither of those problems. I moved to a new yard maybe 2 years ago. He had never ever been bolshy, yet had always 'tested' and 'tried'. However, I was at the stables around 9 months ago, and a young girl (the owners daughter) opened up his door to go fetch him to groom. He just noticed that he could slide on past her as she was fiddling with his head collar, and did so, and he went on a crazy rampage running around the yard, it took around 5 minutes to catch him. After that day, he was never the same. He attempted to escape everyday since then. I tried everything, headcollar over the door, secured and lead out calmly, but no, as soon as that lock is undone he is gone and cannot be stopped. I have tried for bringing in, leading him into his stable and holding onto his headcollar as I try to get out, no, he bashes past me again. I just do not know..! :-(
 

TGM

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How is he physically? Just wondered whether he was finding it harder to get up and down in the stable now he is older? Does he have enough forage to last him the night? Could there be rats in the stable upsetting him? Whilst I can understand the incident with the girl has taught him that he can get out, you still have to wonder at his motivation to be quite so forceful and determined about it.
 
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Turtlebay69

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I have smacked him with the whip and meant it, it has reduced me to tears on some occasions as i have had to use it that much, I just think why?! Why is he so desperate to go running around loose. His friends are all in their stables, there is no one else out, so why?

My father is now currently making a thick wooden door bolt for me, so we shall try that, but I am close to giving up with him currently, I just do not need the hassle of people ringing me telling me they cannot catch my horse he is running around like a looney, whilst I am 20 miles away and half way through a shift at work!!

He frustrates me!!
 

Turtlebay69

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TGM, It is with anyone and everyone, including me, he does not care who it is. He seems to loose his mind and all respect for me. I bring him in around 4 days a week, the rest my friend does whilst I am on shift till late.
 

TGM

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TGM, It is with anyone and everyone, including me, he does not care who it is. He seems to loose his mind and all respect for me. I bring him in around 4 days a week, the rest my friend does whilst I am on shift till late.

Yes, sorry, I re-read your OP and noticed he was doing it with you as well! So edited my post with some different ideas!
 

Merrymoles

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A good thick plank of at least four by two. You can buy brackets with holes in so that you can slide the wood in and then secure it with a pin on a chain. You then put it up from inside the box and slide out underneath.
It needs to be at chest height on him.
If he doesn't actually smash stable doors, this should be solid enough to hold him but getting the brackets fastened in properly is key.
Good luck - I had that being called when I was 20 miles away at work with my old horse (different problem) and it is so stressful!
 

Turtlebay69

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How is he physically? Just wondered whether he was finding it harder to get up and down in the stable now he is older? Does he have enough forage to last him the night? Could there be rats in the stable upsetting him? Whilst I can understand the incident with the girl has taught him that he can get out, you still have to wonder at his motivation to be quite so forceful and determined about it.

Hi TGM. I have thought about everything like this. He has always been on a farm, so mice in his stable are not an issue but I doubt there would be any rats in there, even if so, he has had them in his stable before from previous yards. He is fit, he is ridden for around 2 hours around 4 times a week on hacks. He has ad-lib forage, so he can munch all night, I have tied every single likit and seedy likit thing you can imagine up into his stable which he loves, it was just ever since that day, I saw a different horse, like he had discovered 'naughtiness' and he just has lost all respect for anyone handling him on the ground around stables since then. I have tried different stables, different bedding, music, staying in his stable for a while, changed the lock on the door so he cannot hear it, I have tried to do everything such as grooming and tacking up in his stable, hes had professional massages, I have just tried everything apart from a door barrier. I know it is just like masking the problem - but I cannot figure out if there even is one there, and whether he is just taking the pee out of people because he knows he can now?
 

Turtlebay69

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A good thick plank of at least four by two. You can buy brackets with holes in so that you can slide the wood in and then secure it with a pin on a chain. You then put it up from inside the box and slide out underneath.
It needs to be at chest height on him.
If he doesn't actually smash stable doors, this should be solid enough to hold him but getting the brackets fastened in properly is key.
Good luck - I had that being called when I was 20 miles away at work with my old horse (different problem) and it is so stressful!

He makes me physically sick with worry when I get these calls, and I cannot function at work knowing he may be about to cause a big riot! Everyone is now scared to handle my horse around the stable (he is not vicious but as soon as that door is open - he is coming out!), and I just feel awkward, like I should be constantly apologizing for his terrible behaviour (which I always am!) My father is a builder, so as soon as I said door barrier he is straight on it, I just do not know what else it could be.
 

The Fuzzy Furry

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Does he tie in the box?
If so, tie him up to a ring about 2 ft away from the door.
Go out the door and then unclip him and hook up the rope clip. Do the same before you go in - attach the clip to a headcollar before going in

any of the stable chains will prob not hold him, I have a lad at the moment who has done exactly the same as yours and ripped the chain fixing out as he dived for the miniscule space.
 
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TGM

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So when he is in the stable and the handler has successfully escaped and shut the door behind them, does he look settled and relaxed then? Is he just as bolshy turning out in the morning?
 

Turtlebay69

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Yes exactly the same in the mornings, as anytime. He peers over the door for a good minute and bangs the door (he has been a door banger since around 6 years old which is suppressed through a sofa seat cushion nailed to his door), and then just stomps off and eats!! Which makes me think it is entirely him just being naughty as he is straight away non persistent when the door is sealed!!
 

Tess Love

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Just wondering if he's got too much much grass if so could you turn him out in a muzzle so when he comes in he is really hungry and starts to associate his stable with a nice place with unrestricted food rather than outside. Had a similar problem with a Welsh sect D until her stable became the place with more food. Good luck I feel for you
 

AdorableAlice

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Strip of electric should work. I bought a bargy cob in 2012 and the day she came home she demolished box one. Her ground manners were abysmal she also had underlying mite/itchy issues which made her rub and push at anything she could. I used a strip of electric around her box which was a big box. She actually gave up with some handling but she is a young mare. I still do not put her in a wooden box though, she is in a barn. With a dually I taught her to yield and respect me. I have to admit to being obsessed with manners, I teach them to step back from the door as I approach.

Your joke about a tazer is not far fetched. Google cattle prod, I bet he would not run through you again if he ran onto a cattle prod.
 

TGM

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Yes exactly the same in the mornings, as anytime. He peers over the door for a good minute and bangs the door (he has been a door banger since around 6 years old which is suppressed through a sofa seat cushion nailed to his door), and then just stomps off and eats!! Which makes me think it is entirely him just being naughty as he is straight away non persistent when the door is sealed!!

Ah, that makes more sense if he has always door banged! So he has always been bolshy about being kept in, but hadn't worked out he could escape til recently. Personally, I think the scaffold poles on the inside of the door would be a sensible solution if you are relying on others to bring him in, when electric might be a bit fiddly.
 

Angelbones

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This will stop the door kicking - also works for my cribber:

http://www.quitkick.com/

You could try it yourself first by hiding where he really can't see you, and use a plant water spray bottle to squirt water sideways across in front of his face or just into the stable doorway when he kicks. Generally they don't like it at all. If it works, buy one - they are removable if you move stables.

If it works you could have a spray bottle in the stable so that if he charges at the door you could squirt at his chest or in front of his nose (I am not saying spray him straight in the face) and see if he backs off. Mine has now learned and if she sees the spray bottle raised she backs right off. It hasn't made her water shy or head shy.

Another thought is putting up a secondary door which pulls shut behind you when you leave, or like the one we have which is high enough to keep pony in but we can step out over it (on tip toe or it's a bit 'personal') so when you are in with him you close it and then exit but he doesn't see an opening, then you close the main door. We used a wooden garden gate turned on its side so it fitted, hinged to the stable wall, and then its closed by a chain on the opening top corner which clips onto the actual stable door so that when that main door is wide open it pulls the chain taut and keeps the secondary gate closed. I may be able to find a pic if that's not self explanatory!
 

Fides

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My boy was like this. He got to the point where he would barge the door and break the lock. Got a stronger lock and he just broke the door in two! I electrified the door like you would with a chain (he broke chains).

I actually electrified the inside of the door first so he would realise it
Worked and not just try and barge through...

It's not a faff - no more of a faff than electric field gates. I just screwed a ring to each side of the door and used a strip of tape with a gate handle on each side. I got a little battery energiser that ran off D-cell batteries and clipped the red lead to the ring so as soon as the "gate" was closed it was live.
 

shergar

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Could the problem be any thing to do with light ,a friend had a horse that never liked going in the indoor school which was dimly lit he would panic ,when she had his vision checked he had a cyst in one eye so very restricted vision ,as your horse is getting older may be his vision is not as good now.
 
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