Weird behaviour in the field

Bec26

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I am hoping someone might have some advice or ideas why mare is acting so strangely.


I bought her in the summer and was told she was a cribber but ONLY in the stable and it was controlled with a collar also that she also would sometimes take off as soon as you took her head collar off in the field (but never when being led)
For the first 2 months she never cribbed in the field - she would occasionally when tied up outside the stable. I don't use the cribbing collar if I do have to stable her.
Initially she was out in the field with my other mare but in a separate fenced off area and then after a month they were in together.
She then started to occasionally crib.
I moved them into the winter field together and she was fine no cribbing and would graze around the field happily but then after a month she started to crib again.
She then started refusing to move past an 'invisible' line in the field when grazing even to the point where if her water or dinner was 1cm over that line she would leave it (she is a horse that loves her feed).
I tried leading her over the invisible line and she got past it and then bolted to the other end of the field. She then wouldn't leave that end of the field.
She has a huge field full of grass but will not move past a 40 meter circle which is now mud and she is obsessively cribbing(she grazes for a few minutes then cribs and continues like that)
I understand that this could be stress or ulcers but I don't understand why she was fine for the first 2 months when I would have expected her to be more stressed as she had just moved to a new yard and I don't understand how she has gone from moving round the field happily to refusing to move from the corner.
It makes no difference if my other mare is with her or not.
I did stable her when she hurt her leg but she was restless and was keen to go back out.


A bit of info about her:
She is a 12yr old TB mare, been out of racing since 2009 and keeps good condition.
I feed her Ad lib hay, grass nuts and fast fibre and she lives out 24/7 with other horses in paddocks next to her.
She doesn't show any signs of discomfort when being ridden and is very sweet natured and sensible.

I know this sounds a bit pathetic but I feel like she really isn't happy in the field and I accept that I cant stop the cribbing but I don't know what to do about her refusing to leave the tiny patch of field.

Any advice or ideas would be appreciated.
 

*hic*

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What is she cribbing on? Are there power cables nearby or could the field be in range of recently installed wi-fi?
 

Shay

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This could be a bit off the wall... could there be an underground electric cable? I had a pony a few years ago who suddenly refused to move past a - to me - invisible line in the field. To cut a long story short it turned out to be a buried electrical cable that had been damaged and was leaking (is that the right word with electricity?) into the soil when it was wet. When it finally disintegrated and an engineer came out to it he said the pony might have sensed it as a tingle. (He also said we were very lucky no-one was standing on or near it when it blew...) The others were not so bothered but in hindsight never actually stood there although they did go back and forth.


Cross posted... wi fi - good idea!
 

Bec26

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She cribs on the fence posts - the fencing is post and electric.

Thats a good idea but She has done it in 2 different fields and the invisible line changes - at first she wouldn't leave an area by the gateway, then randomly after 3 weeks there she bolted when I let her go one night to a different corner and and wont leave there now - she grazes about a 40 meter circle and will not cross it even for hay or feed. it makes no difference if there are other horses there or not.
 

_OC_

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This looks like she has created a zone area......and maybe the smallest thing has unsettled her outside this radius something so unnoticed by you, and very subtle ......can you not try fencing another part of the field with high electric fencing and feed her in there.....then let her out and do this over so many days then re-fence a new area and do the same routine with feeding her there and repeat......would there be any thing outside this 40 meter circle that would have upset her.....with quick snatching and then cribbing it quite clearly has , but it is finding what it is....could be something as simple as the wind in hedges, trees, etc......while in the temp paddock you have made up I would really praise her and would consider putting her on a Magnesium supplement possibly? Just an idea......I had this in a stable with a TB cross Cleveland mare I owned when I changed her bed to paper....she would not move and clung to the side of her stable.....possibly she feels safe in this area.....best of luck,I hope it resolves soon.
 

Bec26

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This looks like she has created a zone area......and maybe the smallest thing has unsettled her outside this radius something so unnoticed by you, and very subtle ......can you not try fencing another part of the field with high electric fencing and feed her in there.....then let her out and do this over so many days then re-fence a new area and do the same routine with feeding her there and repeat......would there be any thing outside this 40 meter circle that would have upset her.....with quick snatching and then cribbing it quite clearly has , but it is finding what it is....could be something as simple as the wind in hedges, trees, etc......while in the temp paddock you have made up I would really praise her and would consider putting her on a Magnesium supplement possibly? Just an idea......I had this in a stable with a TB cross Cleveland mare I owned when I changed her bed to paper....she would not move and clung to the side of her stable.....possibly she feels safe in this area.....best of luck,I hope it resolves soon.

Thank you - I think you are right about something subtle upsetting her - she is very sensitive. I will give your suggestion a try.
 

fatpiggy

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My friend had an ex racehorse. He was sensitive and on his bad days would only go backwards, but on a good day he was fine. He started being very odd in the field, wouldn't go away from the gate, pacing up and down all day so they brought him in and he was just as unsettled in the stable. He was early 20s by this time. My friend's mum, a very experienced and not easily rattled rider, hacked him out and he took off with her on the road. They consulted the vet who said he had seen this sort of thing in ex-racers before and said it was a sort of nervous breakdown. My friend felt that as the horse was clearly so unhappy and now unrideable their best course of action was PTS.
 

be positive

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Stress shows in many different ways, sometimes moving to a new yard/ field breaks a pattern of behaviour and they appear to relax, explore the new surroundings then revert to type, in her case she seems to be "safe" within one area, there may be something physical causing it but it is likely to just be in her head that the area she has now decided is safe is the only place to be, I suspect she may be a happier horse living in a herd rather than in a field with just one other or alone surrounded by similarly isolated horses, whether you can move her and give it a try I have no idea but it may be what she requires to be "normal" and not get worse, which she is currently doing.
If she has ulcers, which I think is likely then they need treating but her management needs changing at the same time otherwise they will just come back.

As an example of herd dynamics but far less severe, my ISH is the leader in his herd, he has been turned out with various horses and ponies and appears relatively settled but he remained on high alert if he was out with a weak follower, he spent a couple of months with one such horse and I saw a deterioration in his behaviour, he became more stressed, more on the alert until I moved him in with a group of mainly older ponies that were a really established group, he is now much more relaxed, he is still the boss but is able to switch off as they are all happy to take watch and he is less responsible for the others, getting them in the right group/ field can make a huge difference to their life.
 

Doormouse

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My friend had an ex racehorse. He was sensitive and on his bad days would only go backwards, but on a good day he was fine. He started being very odd in the field, wouldn't go away from the gate, pacing up and down all day so they brought him in and he was just as unsettled in the stable. He was early 20s by this time. My friend's mum, a very experienced and not easily rattled rider, hacked him out and he took off with her on the road. They consulted the vet who said he had seen this sort of thing in ex-racers before and said it was a sort of nervous breakdown. My friend felt that as the horse was clearly so unhappy and now unrideable their best course of action was PTS.

I have an ex racehorse who has essentially had a nervous breakdown. He is happy at home most of the time and is used as a nanny round the roads for my youngster and to lead my little girl and her pony. We can't take him anywhere, he simply flips and the kindest horse in the world turns in seconds into one of the most lethal I have ever dealt with, it is awful and sad to witness.

He can be odd at home, never when ridden, but certain days his weaving becomes frantic, he fly bucks round his stable, chomps and salivates producing nearly foam, sweats and blows etc. Different triggers, sometimes because he wants out, sometimes because he wants in, sometimes because he thinks supper is late and so on. We tend to just ignore him these days, he gets over it but if you didn't know him you would probably call a vet!

The pressure that tb's come under in racing can often be too much for them, they are sensitive souls and once they have reached a point of not coping they are very hard to turn around.
 

Bec26

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Stress shows in many different ways, sometimes moving to a new yard/ field breaks a pattern of behaviour and they appear to relax, explore the new surroundings then revert to type, in her case she seems to be "safe" within one area, there may be something physical causing it but it is likely to just be in her head that the area she has now decided is safe is the only place to be, I suspect she may be a happier horse living in a herd rather than in a field with just one other or alone surrounded by similarly isolated horses, whether you can move her and give it a try I have no idea but it may be what she requires to be "normal" and not get worse, which she is currently doing.
If she has ulcers, which I think is likely then they need treating but her management needs changing at the same time otherwise they will just come back.

As an example of herd dynamics but far less severe, my ISH is the leader in his herd, he has been turned out with various horses and ponies and appears relatively settled but he remained on high alert if he was out with a weak follower, he spent a couple of months with one such horse and I saw a deterioration in his behaviour, he became more stressed, more on the alert until I moved him in with a group of mainly older ponies that were a really established group, he is now much more relaxed, he is still the boss but is able to switch off as they are all happy to take watch and he is less responsible for the others, getting them in the right group/ field can make a huge difference to their life.

I would be happy to try her in a herd its whether people would be happy to have their horses out with a cribber. Although when she picks her 'corner' it is often away from where the other horses are.
 

Goldenstar

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No but good suggestion, I have the vet out for vaccinations next week so will get him to have a look.

She really isn't in any other way strange or difficult - she is a dream to hunt/xc/hack/school.

I sold a hunter to a friend when I was badly injured he was hunting and jumping the only thing we noticed was slightly increased spookiness ( which we put down to reduction in work )and not going far from the gate on the field.
When he was vetted he was damn near blind poor boy.
 

Bec26

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I have just received an email from the previous owners and she was previously stables with just a few hours turnout a day - could she be struggling with living out 24/7, this behaviour started in the autumn so maybe she isn't used to being out this time of year
 
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be positive

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I would be happy to try her in a herd its whether people would be happy to have their horses out with a cribber. Although when she picks her 'corner' it is often away from where the other horses are.

Horses do not copy cribbing, I have turned a cribber out with others and never been concerned about it, they usually relax far more in company although it may not stop it may reduce it.
Seeing your last post she may well be finding living out 24/7 rather odd if it is her first winter but most cope if they have everything they need and are really well rugged, I did have a couple of mares at livery one winter that were both similar about going out, they really did prefer the stable, they hardly moved when they went out and both had a couple of minor azoturia attacks due to it, I had to force them to move into the field properly rather than stay near the gates.

It is worth checking her eyesight next time the vet visits.
 

Bec26

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Horses do not copy cribbing, I have turned a cribber out with others and never been concerned about it, they usually relax far more in company although it may not stop it may reduce it.
Seeing your last post she may well be finding living out 24/7 rather odd if it is her first winter but most cope if they have everything they need and are really well rugged, I did have a couple of mares at livery one winter that were both similar about going out, they really did prefer the stable, they hardly moved when they went out and both had a couple of minor azoturia attacks due to it, I had to force them to move into the field properly rather than stay near the gates.

It is worth checking her eyesight next time the vet visits.

I agree with you that they don't copy but most people at my yard unfortunately disagree. I have a friend with a herd and will have a chat with her about trying what you suggested. Thanks
 

CanisMinor

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This could be a bit off the wall... could there be an underground electric cable? I had a pony a few years ago who suddenly refused to move past a - to me - invisible line in the field. To cut a long story short it turned out to be a buried electrical cable that had been damaged and was leaking (is that the right word with electricity?) into the soil when it was wet. When it finally disintegrated and an engineer came out to it he said the pony might have sensed it as a tingle. (He also said we were very lucky no-one was standing on or near it when it blew...) The others were not so bothered but in hindsight never actually stood there although they did go back and forth.


Cross posted... wi fi - good idea!


I second this. We also had a horse with the "invisible line problem" and it turned out to be leaking electrical cable in the ground. Horse was a sensitive TB and probably felt the "tingling" more than the others. Well worth investigating. In any case I hope you find the problem and a solution, all the best.
 
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Bec26

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I second this. We also had a horse with the "invisible line problem" and it turned out to be leaking electrical cable in the ground. Horse was a sensitive TB and probably felt the "tingling" more than the others. Well worth investigating. In any case I hope you find the problem and a solution, all the best.

There is a huge pylon in the field behind hers - in the rainy weather it will buzz - do you think it could be that?
 

CanisMinor

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There is a huge pylon in the field behind hers - in the rainy weather it will buzz - do you think it could be that?

Unfortunately I don't know if pylons can leak electricity, it is probably safest to ask an engineer/professional about that. At our yard the leak came from a small underground cable. (Unfortunately said cable went across underneath field and then continued right across underneath our school, which made for some very interesting schooling sessions with the TB in question, especially in wet weather.) The leak was confirmed and repaired only after a lot of arguing with the company that owned the cable (and gently reminding them they would be liable if anyone got injured as a result of the broken cable... :mad:).

Btw this is what National Grid says about noise from pylons. Amongst other things it says they will investigate undue noise from pylons.

http://www2.nationalgrid.com/uk/services/land-and-development/grantors-and-land-owners/noise/

I really hope you get it sorted out whatever it is in the end. We were at our wits end with our TB when we finally found the answer, so I really feel for you. Fingers crossed for you and your horse.
 
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