what do you do if a horse wont settle at a new yard?

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oliviacharley

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Just wondering what people have done in the past...?
Moved back to old yards?

I only moved my horse and pony yesterday to their new yard so I expected a little tenseness from them and realise it takes a while to get used to new surroundings. My horse is 6 and has spent the last 2 1.2 yrs in a field with my pony with no other horses around.

He has only known the field since I bought him and from an experience of only being with the previous owner a couple of months and previous to that travelling from france from a stud where he was breed that is all he has known.

I took my time with him when I first had him and left him for a week to settle before riding him.

I rode him today as he has had feet issues for the last couple of months and is finally sound with a grass belly and he was as good as gold despite an odd flip out on the hack to turn and run home.

I am finding he is very anxious when I bring him and my little mare into the barn where their stables are based to feed him and brush him over...he spins in the stable, looks nervous, poos and neighs even though my mare is facing him and I want to get him used to this routine so he does not become a problem in the stable.

He has always relied on my voice to calm him/listen and he seems to be looking for me to reassure him all the time - my mare has only been in fields over the 17 years I have owned her and she seems to have settled in fine and loves all the attention from fellow horses....my horse stands at the gate watching for me until I drive away....

Any suggestions on reassuring horses at new yards would be great....
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I moved yesterday and the new stable owners have still not put the dividing grills up between the two stables (not even sure they have bought them yet as they are still building and it is harvest!). My new horse bit George today - he's not a nasty horse but he kept trying to groom George over the wall and George didn't like it so warned him off and got bitten. George now has a nasty, but not severe, cut on his nose.

I'm not at the point of turning round and going back, yet! I'll buy my own grill if I have to.

I would give it at least a week, if not a few! The first night at our last yard, 6 years ago, with our now dead mare and George, Sparkle (our mare) was put next to a nosy, cheeky little pony called Ted who belonged to the YO's son. The walls were quite low down and there was no grill there; Sparkle had always been used to confinement and privacy when she wanted it, but Ted would not leave her be. She ended up kicking the wall so much (to tell him to P off) that it was practically falling down in the morning. Ted had to be moved to the cattle shed, in a temporary stable and Sparkle was moved to another spare stable. We ended up phoning our old yard that night, crying (we had moved from there because we bought G and they had no spare stables; plus it was way too far away to justify). They told us we could come back any time we wanted and they would sort something out for George. Loads of the older liveries were saying things like 'poor old Ted' etc, and that made us feel worse. We stuck it out because we felt we had had enough upheaval, and she settled into her new home. Give it a chance.
 
Background music, making sure that your horse feels safe and is not overlooked by strange horses (so many dislike stables that are only seperated by grilles), familiar food and hay and learning a new routine (and sticking to it) will all help your horse to settle
 
thanks everyone - brill advice and it has settled my worrying too ;0)
The stables are completely different to what he is used to but he does like to circle and move about quite a bit I have noticed, where my mare will just stand and sleep....

I have been using a radio before, so ill give that a try....they are also at one end of the barn facing each other so no other horses are over looking them and they are seperated by a big thick mdf board about 9ft tall...!! so they cant see other horses unless over the stable door and looking up the barn as they are lead in....

I think the stable door and frame are also smaller than what he is used to which makes him worry a little and maybe is making him feel a bit exposed....I might ask about putting up a grill or some wooden planks to make him feel a little more hidden....

ill keep you posted
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Thank you :0 Good luck to you too! The really annoying thing is that Lanky bit George just above a cyst that he's had ever since I bought him. I decided not to have it removed and cause unnecessary trauma. The vet came today (shortly after the incident) to do Lanky's jabs and said that if the bite had been a bit lower it may have burst :s Grrr!

I am sure they will get used to each other. Your boy will settle. It will take time and I know it's distressing, but it will all work out
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When I bought my horse it took him more than 6 weeks to settle at the yard. At first he weaved, kicked the stable, lost so much weight I was really worried. He'd just started to calm down when I had to move him again and unfortunately we went through the whole trauma for another 6 weeks or so!

Luckily now he's completely at home in his new yard, very calm and starting to regain condition, I just hope I never need to move again.

Good luck with your boy. He'll settle eventually.
 
Yes routine is the key and carry on as normal. Moved my two to a new yard on friday and my mare is a little bit stressy. The little grey boy has moved several times with us so is not too bad. Looks like a few of us are all in the same boat!
 
thanks tictac - yep I think there are a few of us....
Im off to buy a new wheelbarrow today and poo pick the field so im sure that will prob help that im there all morning....thanks for the advice and good luck at your new yard
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Don't worry girlies, it's far to early to worry if you only moved yesterday!
The horse will need time to become accustomed to the new surroundings and to convince himself it is safe.

I have the most laid back wee mare in the world, but when I moved her to her present stables she was bucking in the stable and twirling round like a breakdancer!

Give them time. 2-3 weeks at least, but yes, continue with your normal routine.
 
George didn't settle for weeks at the previous yard, the routine was different for him, but keeping to the new routine and me making every effort to be calm and normal around him worked in the end, but it wasn't easy at the time I kept panicing that he wasn't happy.
 
It takes a couple of weeks. One of mine goes beserk if he can smell another horse in his stable - especially if the previous occupant was a mare (he is a bit riggy). I always have to make sure that I clean out his stable with disinfectant and then spray loads of jeyes on the walls etc. I then put down a whole new bed and hang his rugs on the walls so when he comes in he can smell his own smell. He goes a bit bonkers rolling etc but calms down in a week when he has established his own smell.

I have moved him a couple of times now, so I know his routine and what works. Just give your boy a couple of weeks to settle in. I would do the above for any horse anyway - its what I have always been taught and I could never understand mixing beds!
 
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