Wise people - advice re separation anxiety please (longish)

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the watcher

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I have a horse on long term loan (effectively permanent loan) He is a 12yo IDxTB 16hh chestnut gelding who has really done nothing in life. He was bought some years ago by a novice and proved to be too much for her, was then thrown into a field to be a companion to an older horse who died some years later. he is a crib biter and a windsucker.

All this history has resulted in a horse that is seriously nappy and has extreme separation anxiety. We have worked with him and he is now almost completely happy to be separated away in human company, he is nice to ride, can jump, is bombproof on roads and great in the stable, with the farrier and to travel. In the field he is a wimp and always at the bottom of the pecking order, even with much smaller equines.

At other yards I have run him with a small herd and he has stayed in the field as long as there was some company for him. This current yard is a problem, the grazing is divided into small paddocks, initially I put him in one on his own, but with company next door. he took to jumping out of that whenever anything else was being moved, so then he went in with the mare that he appears to have bonded with. This has been fine for a couple of weeks, but last night when the ponies were being led past to be put in for the night he jumped out again and galloped around leaving his field companion behind.

The YO is quite rightly making noises about him being dangerous so unless I do something fast he will get his marching orders (I have 2 other horses at this yard)

I don't want to move yards, I love the facilities where I am and it is convenient; I am not sure I would find another yard to suit his very individual needs anyway. I do need to stop him jumping out over fences and gate though, or address his issues another way.

My current plan is to extend the fence posts with electric fence posts taking them up to about 5', and run electric tape around these (similar height to stallion fencing) to pen him in - unless there are better suggestions out there.

Help, I really want to give this horse the best future I can, and am getting a bit desperate
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I would be reluctant to try to raise the height of fence with electric fencing as if he jumps out it could be really dangerous if he catches himself on the tape. It wont neccessarily stop him trying to jump out if hes really anxious. As last post said he needs to be with more horses so he doesnt get left alone.
 
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I have a similar problem with Monty (the long colic post in December). Is it not possible to put your three horses together?

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My mares both bully him, so he is in with the one that just ignores him, and he seems to head for when he runs off.

I know raising the fences with tape is not ideal - I certainly can't get into putting in new fence posts and rails, might if it was my own yard.
 
What a situation. If he is now jumping out regardless of his field mate putting one other horse in, I dont think would make that much difference. When I read your post, I felt so sorry for you, because you have clearly looked after this horse so well and dealt with his issues to get him right.

You have two other horses and are clearly happy with this yard. You have put time and effort into this horse and could it be a consideration that you find him a home where he can be part of a herd and continue with his personal development. Do you need to keep him? or would it be possible to find him a wonderful new home where he can constantly be with other horses.
 
All I want is his happiness and well being really. His owner has asked me to look after him, he was on loan to somebody else for a short while but they wanted him back closer to where they live so that her daughters could ride him from time to time (that was the rationale, but he has been back with me 4 months now and they haven't even visited)

A knowledgable permanent home is a must, he is forward going, not a novice ride and has all these issues besides..he could so easily end up the kind of horse that is pushed from pillar to post. I know he isn't mine, but he might as well be for the heartache he is giving me at the moment.
 
I have a pony which jumps out, and on Monday jumped in the field next to the bull to say 'hello'. Thankfully he stayed there as the grass was so good. He saw my friend arrive with the headcollar and jumped back with the others so he didn't get told off. Very amusing but worrying.
I aim to put the strongest possible charge in the fence and put it up. If he has sufficient fear of it he stays away from it. (Though he tests it to see if the charge is on.)
I'd get a really strong battery - lorry or tractor or similar, raise the fence and let him get on with it.
I appreciate it's a risk and that he might panic & hurt himself, but can't see you have much option. If any of mine have been caught in the fence it's always broken quite easily, they also stay away from it afterwards.
 
Hi,
My stepmum has exactly the same problem as you!!
Except she has a mare!! She hates being left on her own and my loan pony is now a companion for her!! Which means I cant ride unless she's riding!! Its a nightmare and I know exactly how you feel as we've had this problem for months and months! Could you not move him to another yard on part livery??and keep your other two where they are??
Which side of Oxford are you?
 
I know this sounds severe, but you could re-train him with the electric fencing. You would lead him up and give him a little reminder with an electric cattle prod. This sounds horrible and will scare him of the fencing, but in your situation I cant think of anything else. He is'nt your horse, the fencing would be your expense on a rented yard and who knows if you do go to additonal expense his owners may come and take him off you at any time.
 
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I know this sounds severe, but you could re-train him with the electric fencing. You would lead him up and give him a little reminder with an electric cattle prod. This sounds horrible and will scare him of the fencing, but in your situation I cant think of anything else. He is'nt your horse, the fencing would be your expense on a rented yard and who knows if you do go to additonal expense his owners may come and take him off you at any time.

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One thing I am certain of is that they won't come and take him! They may have an emotional attachment but that appears to be the furthest limit of their interest in fact the owner couldn't catch/lead or handle him without a stick, and in the end refused to go in the field with him..he was never bad IMO, just beyond her level of competence or confidence
 
I had a silmilar problem with a mare I once owned, in summer she was good as gold lived out with the others, in winter she was a lunatic and a couple of times she jumped the fence and ran away, so I highered the fence, the next thing as she couldn't jump the fence she chose to just run through it instead (extremely dangerous) and a metal 5 bar gate (which luckily sprang open) she spent more time on box rest than out that winter with lacerations, cuts and bruises etc. Summer came and she settle down no problems til the next winter and the last straw came when she ran through the 5 bar gate (luckily it was a wooden one) she absolutely smashed the top bar which was pretty thick and it was a new gate so not easy to break, she ran through a narrow person size gap (how we never now) ran round to the yard and straight into her box! How she never killed herself I don't know. I never turned her out again that winter. We started running through all the possible problems, most people were telling me she was aggrophobic (SP) but this just didn't make sense because she would live out happily all summer, in the end I put it down to wearing a rug was the only difference and it was frightening her, she had no problem in the stable with a rug on but when they move with an outdoor rug on it makes a funny noise, so next winter I turned her out without a rug (obviously she could only go out on dry days and I couldn't clip her but she never did run through another fence or gate.
I know this isn't the same as your horse but I guess I am trying to say is that highering the fence may not improve the situation, it could like in my case make it worse. Have you tried finding him a companion of his own that doesn't ignore him or doesn't beat him up like a little friendly pony, as he is a gelding i'd suggest another gelding because I found in my own experience geldings get on much better together and mares are better together than mixing them, because gelding will play with each other when there is no mares getting in the way.
 
Nightmare! I would go with raising the fences, and try to make him respect the electric tape by re-educating him as to what it does. Is it mains or run off a battery? We have electric tape running off the mains, and Beano was leaning on it the other day.
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Some horses don't seem to mind it! It is worrying that he jumped out of his field when he was actually with another horse. If I was in your situation I would ask the owners to think about finding another home for him, or asking them if you could do that. Unless you are exceptionally fond of him, in which case I don't know. Hobbles...?
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HorseGroupie, my gelding has already done all the things you described, broken 2 gates, taken top fence rails down, galloped to his stable.......

A pony gelding would be lovely, however I am at a livery yard and have to pay for each horse. I took this one on to help out his owner, I cannot justify paying for yet another to keep him happy, and unfortunately everything else at the yard is a mare
 
I think your gelding and my mare were probably related.....
Its ashame there is no other geldings at your yard that really makes things alot harder.... Its ashame your not a little closer to me, i'd let you try him in my old coggers paddock, its got 3 geldings in, my old man (21), my friends old man (20) and her daughter old man (35!!!!), its bound by a 8ft solid fence on half aside, 8ft hedges on 2 sides, 6ft hedge on 1 side and half a side of fencing backing onto my very grumpy pregnant mare field who stand there telling the geldings off!
 
Yes it pretty excape proof! I have to admit i'm very lucky to have it, shame we didn't live here when I had my dotty mare! I rehomed her to someone on the stipulation that she never EVER wore a rug outside the stable with a 2page letter on exactly what would happen if they did, I haven't had any complaints so I assume they are getting on just fine as no news is good news right??!!
 
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