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Topic: Settling in My Mare To A New Barn (Read 1799 times)
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helloagain
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I LOVE Trakehners!
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Three weeks ago I moved my mare to a new barn to begin her jumper training. Jumping she likes very well. She is out in the pasture for about 3 hours a day with other horses. Other than that she is in her stall which is over-sized (about 14' x 12' with a big window). The stall floor is covered in a thick layer of wood shavings. My big concern is at night she must spend most of the night circling her stall as the barn owner says he can see her big oval track every morning. When she is in her stall she can hear the other horses, but she can't see them, and she has been used to seeing other horses. Previous to coming to this barn she was at my daughter's farm, and she and a 17-year-old TB mare were very close; almost to the point of mare/foal relationship. I'd appreciate any suggestions as to how to help her.
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TwinGates
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Performance Matters!
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If stall sides are wood boards slid into metal frames, ask if barn owner'd consider removing a few boards to allow her to see other horses. That's what we did in our barn - immediate relaxation. If stalls have metal sides, perhaps there are paddocks w/run-under sheds? If so, ask about pasture-board.
Also suspect your girl will need some form of supplement for ulcers. A large % of competition horses suffer from ulcers and you've just thrown 3 BIG changes at her:
1. Full-time jumper training
2. 21 hr/day stall confinement
3. Separation from her 'herd'
Let us know what you can work out w/the barn owner & how she's doing.
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Joy
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I always think of stall confinement for long periods as being equivalent to being locked in the bathroom or a walk-in closet. A gelding I bred was at a barn where he was confined 23 hours a day. They told his owner "he couldn't adapt" and she sold him. It's just not a natural thing for a horse to be stalled and especially kept from even seeing the other horses. I second the suggestion of getting her in a walk-in stall with a paddock. You'll find that will solve a lot of the problems. If they don't have a setup like that, please think of finding another training barn.
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helloagain
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I LOVE Trakehners!
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I was out at the barn Saturday and today. I gave them a couple of suggestions (one from Kim) and said I would pay for the remodel, but they weren't too keen on those ideas. However, he did suggest he could take off the stall door and put up a cloth closure (I don't know what you call it.), so she can hang her head out and see her neighbors. I am hoping he goes through with it, and Tschadina is happy with this arrangement.
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Joy
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I love Trakehners!
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I think what you're talking about is a stall guard. If the other horses have the same stall setup, she still might not be able to see them even if she's got her head hanging out. Still, she'll be able to look around and see more than the four walls of her stall, and that's got to be a plus.
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acottongim
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Uggg... finding a traiing or boarding barn that does it EXACTLY like WE would do it is soooo hard to find!!!! Horses are MUCH happier when they can at least SEE and smell their neighbors - even when they have to be stalled for long periods of time (injury/extreme weather etc) they do better when they can see the horses around them - even better when they can touch noses. That is why when I designed my barn I have the heavy duty/small space mesh above the boards (above 4'). THey are seperated, but they can see and even sort of touch. They are much much happier. But getting something like that at a training barn is almost impossible (ditto the open stall door where they can hang their heads over the doors).
I've been in show barns like that where they keep them in for so long (heaven forbid that they get sunbleached or nicked  ). My one mare was used to it - been that way her whole life (had the opposite prob of having her adjust to life outside her stall when she retired), but my gelding and Preston had NONE of it. I ended up making more time to turn out myself and do more with them (grooming, handwalking, riding, whatever). I became their "herd" and just had to do more with them. You can try stall toys of various kinds - the lick it treat thing, jolly balls, whatever. May or may not work. Try to go out and do whatever you can with her - they may not want you riding her if she is in training, but you can certainly hand walk etc. Ask them if she can be turned out for an extra hour (by you or for a fee) or more everyday and gradually decrease the time out so she is more used to being stall bound. What about a radio on? Or - and this might be too out there - what about a mirror in her stall? up high where she can't break it... I dont' know, just thinking of ideas since the BO are "anti" the VERY good and best suggestions by Kim and Joy.
Your final option even though it is not one that you will prob like is to find anohter barn - maybe you can haul her in for training? I know that one sucks, but if she is that upset that may be your only option.
Now that all being said - I will say that if the "track" in the stall isn't really disturbed or deep, it may just be her walking around. I have one horse that while she eats she has to circle - she'll do it in the field or in her stall. I think she is lookign for "predators" LOL. I have another one that turns circles before lying down just like a dog. It MAY be her normal behavior. Some horses are just... ummmm... weird like that LOL.
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