Turned my Horse Out - Worried

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NaughtyMagpie

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Hi I've just turned my horse out for the Spring-Summer in a very large field nearby. He isn't his cheery bright self & is just standing at the furthest corner, nearest to his neighbours (2 hairy cobs) and hasn't really moved. When you walk up to him, he just stands with his head up, looking into space & he has barely touched his food. There's plenty of grass (loads of grass!) and he's a 16.3hh TB. He has a full necked Masta 280g heavyweight turnout on top of a lighter 240g turnout.
The wind here is amazingly strong & there's no shelter in the field. He's wrapped up like a mummy in his rugs & he's toasty warm underneath, but not sweaty.
He's come from a yard where he was out in all weathers but came in at night.

The plan is to keep him in this field & move in some other horses & get some sort of shelter up, even if it's just a windbreak. He'll be ridden from the field as the hacking is much better than his previous yard.

Still a bit worried as he's not grazing whenever I drive past & his food hasn't been eaten.

Any tips on helping him settle?
 
Hey there

Some horses will go off their food for a couple of days when they have been moved. Just keep an eye on him, he should feel better soon.

Is it hard feed that he has gone off as well as grass?? If so then does he have a fav food?? Why not try feeding him something he likes to try and tempt him in to eating.

Hope he settles down soon!
 
If I'm reading the op correctly he's on his own but with horses next door? Maybe he's feeling insecure and will settle with company. When grazing in a herd some will have heads down eating while some keep "lookout".
 
Doesn't sound right to me, is he dunging normally? Has he eaten any grass? Does he have a high temperature?
Normally horses are excitable, not dull, when first moved.
Could you keep bringing him in at night until he is used to his field?
S
grin.gif
 
When I got my new horse he just stood at the side of the fence for 5 days and barely ate a thing, I hardly saw him graze at all. I was really worried about him but after a week he had settled in and was integrating well with the other horses and had a few friends. If your horse only has 2 other horses for company it will be more difficult, especially as they may be a bond pair. We turned a mare into a field with only 2 other horses and it took about a month before they started to get on.
Your horse sounds similar to mine so hopefully he'll eventually settle. I hadn't come across this with previous horses but they are all different.
 
I popped down this afternoon & watched him following two walkers going along the far side of his field, once they'd gone he reeled around and galloped & bucked back to his original spot next to the two other horses. So at least he's interested in something else.
I'm going to take his food to him in a minute and sit with him for a while, because he's not coming down to the gate to get his hard food. He loves carrots so I may sneak a few of them in too.
He appears to be pooing ok & yes I think he's probably very lonely. He was out with two other geldings on a busy yard & they had a whale of a time & were always playing around. I'm hoping to get a few more horses in the field ASAP so he's got some buddies. My mare will be out with him in about 2 weeks.
I'll hack him out as soon as the wind has dropped & see what he's like.
 
I have just moved my TB and Shetland (10 days ago) and my TB is usually very food orientated, he didn't touch his feed for a good few hours when I gave it to him at first other than if I had it in my hand, even then he wasn't too fussed but the following morning it had gone. He has gone from being turned out in a few acres with about 20 horses (one of the main reasons for moving him) to about the same size field. I now turn him out with the little one so he has some company and he seems to have settled fine - I would see how it goes for a few days.
 
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sounds like hes lonely to me

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Agree, reckon he wants the company so is staying as close as possible.
 
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