Thursday, November 12, 2009

Ergent help needed about chestnut gelding?

i own a chestnut gelding, and he wont go out into the paddock, he has been like this since he was a yearling, ive tried everything, ive used treats, bum ropes, i even used my other gelding to lure him in, but he doesnt budge, he gets half-way to the gate and stops dead, putting all his weight into the halter, and im finding it hard!





he cant stay stabled all day as he is 16.3hh and needs loads of exercise as i go to collage and dont have the time to ride him everyday.





ive had professinals out to look at him, vets, friends everything nothing seems to help.


its getting to the stage were im not going to be able to do anything about it.





and being a thoroughbred i dont wont him to be cooped up un-touched and firey.


please help!

Ergent help needed about chestnut gelding?
First suggestion - I'm assuming that you are able to take the horse out and ride him, as you stated "i go to collage and dont have the time to ride him everyday." How do you get him out of the stable to ride? Try riding him into the paddock (have someong get the gate for you) then unsaddle him in there and let him stay there for a day.





Second suggestion - Do you absolutely have to stable him? If you could put him out in a field where there was a three-sided shelter or a copse of trees for shelter from the elements, and you were able to feed him there (the other horses would have to be stabled for their feeding, so he would be alone in the field to eat), he would sooner or later become accustomed to being outdoors.





Third suggestion - have him vetted again (I know you say you've had vets check him, but you may want to try again) - make certain that there isn't anything wrong with him that would make being in the paddock uncomfortable, like an abnormal sensitivity to sunlight. I doubt that this is the case, since you said he is a chestnut and not an albino or grey, but I would still wonder why he is so reluctant to enter the paddock.





Last suggestion - is he and your gelding the only two horses in the paddock, or is there a bully horse in there...or maybe dogs that chase the horses around? He may associate that paddock with something that scares him, and he needs to be reassured that nothing there will hurt him (which means you need to remove any bullies in the herd, and keep the dogs out of the paddock, if that proves to be the source of his reluctance - if they remain, his fear will not be overcome.)





Good luck!
Reply:What a different type of problem. Personally, I'd try finding a time when you have 5 or 6 hours and I'd lead him as far as he would go and just stand there. I wouldn't let him turn away but I also wouldn't ask him to go forward. As soon as it felt that he leaned a bit toward the paddock I'd turn him away and go do something for a minute or two and then do it again. And keep doing it until he wanted to go forward. For some reason he's certain that he should not go there and you just have to give him enough time to see that it's ok. Have other horses in the paddock if you can and give them a little hay to munch on.


I've loaded horses this way a number of times. It might take 3 hours to get them loaded the first time and 15 minutes the next but by the 4th or 5th time it only takes seconds.


It would be interesting to figure out what is bothering the horse about the paddock.


No comments:

Post a Comment