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Post by sonrisa98 on Feb 10, 2008 13:19:54 GMT -5
anyone have any suggestions for a 19 yr old herd bound gelding. Its getting to the point now of going thru fences and over gates. I'm scared he's going to kill himself or have to be put to sleep over an injury. I always put one mare out first in her own pen then he goes out 2nd and then the 3rd mare goes out. Usually he's fine but yesterday, he went over a bull gate and folded it like a taco, cut his legs all up. I gave up and put him in with one of the mares so he would settle down. Up to that point he was totally find untill he saw her and I watched it, from a stand still right over that gate. I'm so frustrated with him and guess he'll have to be the last one to be put out and the 1st to come in, but how do you fix this?  |
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Post by DianneC on Feb 10, 2008 18:14:44 GMT -5
I'm not any help, but to mention that my friend has an older gelding who just started doing something similar. Totally attached to her filly, can't be ridden by the kids anymore. Wouldn't even eat when he was in the neighboring pen he was so stressed out. All new behavior. Sounds almost like an age related hormonal thing. I wonder if it would be worthwhile to try something like SmartCalm, or test him for Cushings?
The other age related thing is the possibility that these older horses sense their vulnerability. Maybe there is some hock stiffness or something that is going on that would make them easy prey. They know that their safety is with the herd. MSM or something to help with stiffness might help.
Once jumping the fence gets him his desired goal of herd safety its likely to be repeated. Taking him on little walks away with food as the reward i.e. his grain might work or hand treats if you subscribe to that. Something to help him focus on you instead of the herd. But that doesn't solve when he is turned out.
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Post by stlkigers on Feb 10, 2008 18:44:55 GMT -5
Is this your gelding at your own place? At a boarding facility? Someone else's gelding at another facility?
Just trying to come up with ideas for ya, but wanted the specific first....
Angela
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Post by sonrisa98 on Feb 10, 2008 20:12:03 GMT -5
he's our gelding and we keep him at a friends place. she turned him out this morning and asked how to go about it after yesterdays episode. I told her to put him in the stud stall with the chain above the door so he wouldn't try to jump out and put him out last and to put him with one of the mares. I've tried the approach retreat thing with one of the mares but if you get too far away, and he don't like it he strikes the fence with his foot. It makes it difficult to do anything with the mares without him being right there too. Most of the time he has to go in the stud stall so he can't get hurt and I thought he was over most of it till yesterday again. It so frustrating and if my friend sells her place, who knows where he is going and what type of facility its going to be.
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Post by stlkigers on Feb 10, 2008 21:35:22 GMT -5
Everything I've read about herd sour horses basically says the easiest way to break this is to move him to another place for a while...Like trading horses with a friend....Either way the buddies need to be broken apart...If you are removing him from the mares does he try to break free from you? I have a mare that can get herd bound, and I make sure that I occasionally separate her from the herd so she doesn't get too bad...She had got to the point where she was running the fence line when my daughter's mare was removed from the pasture but with the separation now she is much much better...Here's a Cherry Hill article on it: www.horsekeeping.com/Horse_Newsletter/October_2002.htmI feel for you....this can be an extremely dangerous behavior for him and it can get worse so easily...good luck and hopefully someone with lots more experience will answer you... Angela |
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Post by angelsdream on Feb 11, 2008 11:22:14 GMT -5
I'll watch this thread, because my quarter horse is buddy sour, not to the extreme that your gelding is though, he'd never go thru a gate. He eventually calms down because even though his first love is being with a buddy, his 2nd is food...  so once he runs a while, he's afraid that he's worked off too many calories and he starts eating.. ha |
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Post by fantasykiger on Feb 11, 2008 13:43:39 GMT -5
Moving horses away to a complete and seperate place works wonders. I had to do this in order to seperate my Clydesdale from my Kiger mare. My Clydesdale was so attached to my Kiger mare that she was impossible to even lead away from the barn let alone ride away from the barn. I tried several times to go out and come back and go out a little further methods but never accomplished much. Fighting with a big draft horse I never came out the winner. So I removed the Kiger mare sent her to another farm for 2 weeks and everyday spent my time with the Clydesdale riding her out away from the farm, she had no real issue leaving because fantasy was not there. Still we started off slow and worked our way up. She got so used to being ridden around the nieghborhood by herself when I brought Fantasy back and I took Claudia the Clyde out the first time with Fantasy home it was no big deal, she was just doing what she did everyday and knew she would be coming home, whether Fantasy was there or not.
Now would this work for your gelding I don't know, it works great for the buddy sour issue. But if your gelding just wants to be close to a herd and has no favorite horse in particular I don't know that removing him from his herd for a spell and then returning him would work. He might just fall back in to his old behavior when returned. Then again it is worth a try.
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Post by sonrisa98 on Feb 12, 2008 0:11:55 GMT -5
He's ok when we take him away. Alot of times when we are gaming him, we take only him because he won't listen if we take the mares too. If he can hear them then he'll constantly call. The mares don't really care whether he's around or not. Sometimes I think they call just to see if he's there still and go back to eating. But in order for me to work with my kiger, he has to be locked up in an area he can't break out of ( the stud stall). I'm scared if we took him somewhere else, he'd attach himself to whatever was there and we'd have the same problem. So I'm not sure what to do to correct this. Guess I can't underestimate what he will do even if he is being good for awhile.
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Post by fantasykiger on Feb 12, 2008 16:18:52 GMT -5
Maybe your only option is some type of calming herb remedy for his everyday normal nervous behavior then. Such as Springtimes Daily Calm at this link... www.springtimeinc.com/product/116/1 |
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Post by sonrisa98 on Feb 13, 2008 0:28:56 GMT -5
I'll look into that and see if it will help. Thanks ;o)
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so once he runs a while, he's afraid that he's worked off too many calories and he starts eating.. ha