Hey all! Sorry I haven't been around for a bit. A big thanks to all who sent condolences when our mare came down with a mysterious illness in November and we euthanized in December.... we miss our Winter terribly.

 We purchased a new horse for my daugter in late December. My daughter chose him because he was a "been-there-done-that" type. He's an 18 y.o. AQHA gelding, retired from the larger local show circuit. He was being used for kids in the MeQHA & other regional shows, as well as lessons. He is trained to the maxx.

 I bought him from a friend who purchased him a little less than two years ago. He was dead quiet, almost too quiet for some.. never a wrong step, always calm, cool & collected. Perfect horse for a rider still in need of confidence building. He was shown successfully by a 4 y.o. last season in walk-trot.

 He was very used to his "show horse" lifestyle - big stable, personal turnout off his stall, horses coming and going, lots of commotion, nothing really fazed him.

Turn the page ... we bring him home and for the first month and half I have to board him about 3 miles away from my place, as my barn was still under reconstruction. It's a small facility with an indoor arena. But more of a family farm than a show barn.

Almost immediately, this horse turns into a raving lunatic. He has become herdbound, screaming for the other horses when the are turned out, pacing his stall frantically. Dancing on the crossties, stall weaving. (He's a cribber as well, as are many show horses, but this has been reasonably controlled using a miracle collar). Plowing over his handler so that he can turn and see the other horses. When it is his turn to be turned out, he prances all the way to his pen (no longer is his turn out attached to his stall, it's about a 20 yard walk)

 Ok, so I think, maybe because we cannot see him more than twice a week, he needs more handling. So I finally get my barn finished and brought him home this weekend.

Again with the nuttiness! He panics when he's cannot see the other horses. i.e. I turn him out into his round pen and go back to get the others. The others are together in a separate turnout, within viewing distance but cannot touch noses...During the time it takes for him to be "alone" either outside or inside, he's a nut case, bolting back & forth in his turnout or stall, screaming and reeling around. Once everyone is in their places, he settles down.

 Of course, I have shared this with the previous owner, who was completely surprised by this behavior. When they bought him and brought him home, it was as if he'd always been there, he didn't skip a beat. My friend is well aware of my daughter's issues and would never had sold us a horse that would frighten or hurt her.

On the plus side, once he's under saddle, or if you put the halter and lead on as for showmanship, he remembers his manners and is pretty good. It's just when he's not "working." It's kind of like a Dr. Jeylk/Mr Hyde kind of thing going on. So, long story, sorry - but have any of you had any experience taking a horse who's been on the show circuit most of his life, and changing the scenery and routine? Have you had similar results? Do they finally adjust?

It's really quite a turn around for this guy. He was the epitome of the dead-broke kids' horse. Now my daughter won't even go near him. I have taken over the responsbility of this horse, and really do like him. He's a lot of fun to ride, and not being a western pleasure person, he's teaching me the ropes of western pleasure riding. He's that well-trained.  I just hope he settles so that my daughter feels comfortable handling him too. Thanks

He is fearful because he has lost his place in the pecking order - hence he does not see you or your daughter as the Herd Boss. Some ground training such as Clinton Anderson. Pat Pareilli etc. Will increase his trust and respect with you.

Currently he has no respect for you and this needs to be resolved before going back under saddle. The herd bound issue will only get worse if it is not resolved through training. It may get to the point where he bolts back to the barn, dumps the rider, or worse injuries you or your daughter in his quest for the herd.

And I'm sure your daughter seeing this silly behavior will make her more fearful under saddle which transfers once again to the horse - making a visicous cycle.

I agree with PonyTammy's assessment of this situation. It looks as if an accident may be in the wings if it is allowed to go on.

Often the horse that is "dead broke" is the one that gets us hurt.I remember John Lyons asking this question at one of his seminars once.Which one were we likely to get hurt on? The young horse without much saddle time yet,or the old kid-broke horse we'd had in the pasture for years? It is the latter.

Please take her advice,and launch into some ground training rules by any of the good programs that you like and trust soon.Sounds like a very good horse that just needs some work to regain his status and establish yours.

Monsterhorse - Thanks for your positive input with a happy outcome. I am beginning to bond with this guy, and I think he may be doing the same to a degree. His stall is next to the door and when I leave the barn he follows me to the end of his stall. In his turnout, (which is my round pen) he will follow along the perimeter as I move along the rail.

I really do like this guy and plan to stick out to the best of my ability! Even though I wouldn't have bought him for myself in the first place.

barstow- I am so glad to hear that your gonna stick it out with this horse. Many people begged me to get rid of my mare when she acted like such a fool, but I saw something in her that others didnot. I have only had this one horse act like this when she came here, the others really didn't give a flip where they were as long as they were getting fed and still feel that way!!

Misty (my mare) finally became real attached to me, she really doesn't care if other horses are around or not, as long as I am there she is fine. Still to this day (4yrs later) when I take her somewhere, she can be at the trailer with 6 familuar horses and thats not good enough, she wants to see me and whenies(sp?) and looks for me until she can see me.

In my opinion, if you keep working with your horse, you 2 will develop a bond like you have never known before, and I can tell you first hand, THATS A WONDERFUL FEELING!!

Just remind your daughter that her horse is scared and needs time to get to know his new family, and that it is like if she had to go and live somewhere new, it would take time for her to trust her new surrondings.

I really hope things work out as great for you as they did for me!! Please keep us posted!!

I've never been your extreme situation before, but I did have a QH gelding that stressed easily when we went anywhere, and the Quietex worked well for him.  If any horse had ulcers, I'm sure it was him.  I always allowed 2 hours for it to take effect.

Also, someone mentioned that if your horse has a lot of energy, put him on an oats and hay diet and put him to work, but my personal experience is that the oats will increase that energy level.  A good quality hay may be sufficient for him, but if required, you can maintain a high caloric intake by using vegetable, corn or canola oil instead of oats, and avoid the high energy burst at the same time.  Canola is cheapest here, so that's what I use, and my horses like the taste.  Starting with a dose of 1/4 cup to top dress on their food, you can increase it by 1/4 cup every 5 days or so until you max out at 1 1/4 cups per day.

A local breeder/trainer swears by barley instead of oats, but as it is apparently not as palatable to a horse, she soaks the barley and then mixes it half-and-half with her oats.  She says they gain/maintain better on it, and have less energy to burn off.

I wish you luck.

When I purchased this horse, he was getting 2lbs of Poulin Endurance (6% fat/11% protein), twice daily and 3 flakes of grass hay daily. He was being worked lightly, a couple times a week.Now, he is not being worked at all, and I am slowly switching him over to Equi-ProMax Pellet (12%/12%) and have cut him down to 1.5lbs twice daily. I have upped his hay to 4-5 flakes daily, though sometimes he wastes it.

I have also started giving him well-soaked beet pulp once a day. This has soy oil in it, no molasses. I have seen some weight gain and believe he's become somewhat quieter. Little baby steps, but we are getting there.

He's going to be a stall-walker forever, but at least he will stand still if I go into the stall and instruct him to knock it off.Unfortunately, I haven't been able to ride him for 3 weeks, due to weather conditions. I do not have an indoor arena - and we have been getting storm after storm. If there isn't 2-feet of snow, there's 3 inches of ice. At this point I can't even get my trailer out to bring him to my friend's indoor arena. I am probably looking at least another two weeks before I can start riding again. So when I do get on him - it's going to be interesting.

When he is handled - walking to and from his turnout, put on the crossties for grooming, etc - he is not allowed an inch of foolishness. It's all business and he is managing to focus now. I have found that you simply cannot cut this guy any slack. It's like watching a toddler. He can't help himself, but he will mind if you make him. Any other suggestions to up the weight but keep the energy low?

Edited by barstow 2008-03-06 3:00 PM

It's just in his stall, or in his turn out - he gets frantic if the other horses are not "in there place." It's s-l-o-w-l-y getting better. Though his cribbing has started to increase. He's just bored now.

I am just hoping that this behavior doesn't start under saddle, simply because I haven't been able to work him for few weeks. I expect that he will be somewhat a knucklehead, but will settle down after a few trips around the rail.

There are some things that are simply not going to change - that is once I start bringing horses in or out, he starts frantically pacing, either in his stall or his paddock. But once everyone is in their places, he's fine. He also paces at feeding time, nothing alarming there!One thing that has improved enormously is that if he is in hand, he does not over-react anymore at all. He listens, is focused and responsive. He now knows that while he is no longer at a "show barn" he is still expected to "toe the line" anytime he is haltered and with a handler.

I have switched him to a high fat grain, added Aloe Vera Juice and Vita Calm (Vit B1 and L-Tryptophan) to his daily feed. I am satisfied with the results.

I am really beginning to like this guy. My daughter isn't 100% convinced and still does not like handling him - though she does plan to show him in our local shows this summer, because, with a little effort on her part, she could potentially do very well.

Hi Everyone,

I just bought a new horse who is dead quiet as well.  She has only been at her new home for a week, but she is very stressed and has lost weight.  She is soooo nervous and I feel for her.  I have studied Parelli and plan to do some ground work and games with her. 

I am not a big fan of Parelli for every horse. Some horses are good with it, some are freaked out. It may or may not be helpful. Just go slow.

A week isn't all that long, so give her some more time. What are the circumstances of her stabling? Is she inside? Outside? Run-in? Within viewing distance of other horses? How much of her former situation can be re-created in her new home?

Are you feeding her the same stuff she was being fed before? Perhaps she doesn't need as much if she's not being worked much. Does she have free access to hay? Give us some more details and maybe we can come up with something that will work for her.