Unhappy Horse

[Daisybelle]

Hoping to get some advice or see if anyone else has been through something similar.
So I moved my ex-racer to a new yard 5 months ago, when we moved it completely stressed him out and he became difficult to handle, he has moved previously with no issues, he has improved over the months but still he seems stressed and anxious about leaving his field. He is turned out with a herd which I believe he had never had before, but he’s been out with other horses and always been in a field next to others.
He is still good to catch but no longer walks over to me like he used to and once we are on the yard he is fine, it’s just bringing him in, he always seems nervous and stops a few times not wanting to move, occasionally he is more stressed and winnies a lot but not all the time. At our old yard he was SO calm, everyone used to laugh and joke about how chilled out he was for an ex racer and the fact he was only 5. We’ve also had more ridden problems, fidgety to mount and strong (he used to be quite lazy) I’ve had the saddler out every 3 months religiously, he’s had his teeth looked at twice in 6 months and and seen an Osteo , physio and chiropractor, so there should be no reason for ridden behaviour to change so drastically overnight?
Now sometimes I feel I can hardly trust him, I just don’t know what to do! I want my horse back!
Is there any hope?

 

[Pearlsasinger]

It sounds to me as if he has become very attached to the new herd and is reluctant to leave them/in a hurry to get back.

 

[Daisybelle]

He has been with others before and never gotten so attached but I think your probably right, is there anything I can do? He just doesn’t seem to have settled, he also comes in with a new kick mark weekly

 

[stormox]

There could be other issues here, he mightnt be unhappy.
He is maturing and might not go back to being like he was last year.
It is the time of year hormones come into play.
Spring grass is coming through.

 

[Daisybelle]

Perhaps, it has been going on since December when we moved, his behaviour changed overnight

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Is there any way you could move him back to the previous yard? If you were to move him again, to a different yard, you might find that he settles.

 

[Daisybelle]

I’m worried about moving him again and being back to square one and him be as anxious and worried as he was when we first got to this new yard. Unfortunately I can’t go back to the old yard but I could move again , just not sure if it will help

 

[catembi]

My ex racer had 9 months of being moved around as I sold my equestrian property to buy a bigger one & the purchase fell through. He was chilled at home, then moved to yard 1, where he turned loony tunes. I went there to ride him & he was so nuts that I didn't even get as far as trying to tack up. Moved to yard 2 - super chilled, rideable, back to his normal self. Then yard 3 - went so nuts that the owner demanded that I removed him. Then went to retirement livery < behaviour unknown > then to my new house. He was nuts for a few days, then went chilled & has been chilled ever since. If I hadn't seen all the changes with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. (I know that playing musical yards isn't ideal, but I was between houses, everything was up in the air, I had 4 purchases fall through, I was getting divorced again & I truly was doing my best.)

 

[stormox]

How long have you had him altogether? I am not sure that this change means he is 'unhappy' -thats a human emotion. would 'unsettled' be a more accurate desciption?....Could you keep him another way at this yard? Out in day and in at night? Or a different field with fewer horses?

 

[HeyMich]

It may be that this is his 'normal' behaviour now that he's out with a herd and can interact in a more natural way. His calmness before may have been him being shut down, as often happens to horses when they are so stressed that they can't function properly. This move may be the making of him - once he learns that the herd isn't going anywhere, and he always goes back to them, he may relax further, but with the added bonus of being able to be a more fully healthy horse.

PS I'm not saying that all horses on individual turn out are shut down, just that he might have been missing this essential part of his daily routine, and his calmness was misinterpreted.

 

[Frano]

Is he in a mixed herd? Is he ecoming attached to one particular horse. Is being bullied by a dominant horse?

 

[scats]

I find that some quite naturally insecure horses can behave this way when introduced to a herd. The herd has become his security and leaving them, whether that be to come in for a ride or just come in for a short time for a groom/feed, makes him feel uneasy. Particularly if he has paired up and formed a close bond with a particular field mate, this can make them worse.
I would continue on trying to treat him as normally as possible and do your best to ignore any daft behaviour/calling from him. If you appear stressed or anxious about it, or you behave differently, it just cements in his mind that he’s more at ease out with his mates.
Whenever my girls have a change in routine (I’ve just switched to overnight turnout and in for a couple of hours), one of mine goes really stupid and clingy about the other. She’s used to the other one going off to be ridden, but she’ll suddenly decide that she’s being left behind to be eaten and will scream and be a general idiot. I completely ignore the behaviour and act normally with her. Within a few days she accepts the new ‘normal’.