*EDITED name* Taming explosive gate behaviour

[Against_All_Odds2]

My horse’s paddock was involved in a traumatic experience. A tree came down in a wind storm which hit and blew a transformer and caused an electrical fire on the telephone poll above their gate to the barn. They live out 24/7 but come in 2x a day for grain. Naturally this happened during turn-in. Ever since the herd is reactive on windy days or sometimes leaving the gate. This has resulted in a blind run through people regardless of if it’s in the field, during turn in or when someone is catching 1 horse to ride. They get loose, run around the farm, and then stand eventually to be caught. It is not fun.

I am wondering if I can help my horse process this trauma or teach him self soothing techniques. And do these help at all if his paddock mates are also reactive?

[Against_All_Odds2]

Turn in= They are lead in 2x a day to eat with halters and leads on by experienced horsemen

The “event” happened 8 months ago.

The herd actively gets loose 1-3 times per week. So simply walking them by the spot isn’t cutting it. If anything they have now learned they can get loose and it’s become worse.

[FjordBCRF]

@Against_All_Odds2

Naturally this happened during turn-in.

Did they witness the event or were they inside when it happened? It sounds that way in which case Im having a hard time connecting the dots on what exactly happened and what they experienced. How are they getting loose so often?

@Amberley

Horses aren’t people they don’t “process trauma”. (my thoughts on the current pop culture use f the work trauma are a much longer post for another part of the internet).

I may have similar thoughts too

[Against_All_Odds2]

@FjordBCRF

Did they witness the event or were they inside when it happened?

The tree fell, transformer exploded and caused the fire, and then the horses were brought in for the fire department and electrical company to do the repairs. Likely 15 minutes from the tree falling to being inside with grain. They had to walk by the giant falling tree and fire. it is just behind a treeline from their gate so in a “spooky spot”

@FjordBCRF

How are they getting loose so often?

They are running through the people leading them or anyone opening the gate any time its windy, they hear a noise by the hydro line, etc. I would say these horses are in fact idiots.

[moonlitoaksranch]

I would approach this as a training issue. The event was months ago. They have successfully passed the area without incident since then, but in the process, learned how to bolt and get away from handlers. This seems to be a bolting while leading training issue. I would approach retraining by ensuring the same person leads them and works on this bad habit so there is strict consistency.

[Against_All_Odds2]

@moonlitoaksranch

This seems to be a bolting while leading training issue.

Thank you, this is exactly it. Any tips on training methods? And more specifically is there a way for me to work on getting my horse to self-soothe even if his herd mates are going bonkers? It’s like they loose focus that there are people there entirely.

They are handled everyday by the same people.

[moonlitoaksranch]

Working on leading in an enclosed place to get them to focus. There are many leading exercises online. In the meantime, is there a way they can be turned out and brought in without being led until they’re solid? Any work you do will be negated if they get away again.

[Against_All_Odds2]

unfortunately, no they switch from a day paddock to a night paddock for field rotation/rest. They need to be haltered and lead. Currently mine wears a stud chain for leading which has been 100% effective. He only gets loose if someone breaks through the gate and its open season to run through it (naked- un haltered)

My only other solution is to break up this band of 4 idiots and get my guy out with a more stoic bunch

[moonlitoaksranch]

Self soothing isn’t really applicable here. Horses react as a herd to stressors. Some may be calmer, but the emotions of their stablemates are going to distract them.

[OnAMission]

This seems like a people problem more than a horse or electrical fire problem to me.

If you work on your horse are the other people just going to handle him and keep the problem active? If your horse learns to focus on you in the situation and trust/obey that you’re not leading him into hellfire again he will of course become the calm one in the storm but that will be at least partially undone if someone leads him through with visions of hellfire and trampling.

I’m envisioning a herd of horses getting turned loose that want to do their running and bucking and woohoo’s but with people attached. lol Not fun is right! This is a horse free for all and as you’ve figured out with yours, maintaining control/trust and enforcing the rules works. I think you all need a barn meeting and front burner this situation before someone gets killed or hurt. Get a trainer in there to lead the way, you seem to have figured out how to deal with it, will they listen to you? Horses get buttons reinstalled with some basic ground handling before they, one at a time, are led to and fro. No group runs. Are these horses trained? I’m trying to picture this situation twice a day and it sounds like total scrambled eggs.

[moonlitoaksranch]

Well, I would do the exercises anyway so he’s solid with you. Hopefully, to the point where he doesn’t need the stud chain. This may mean that he will test every person other than you that leads him. If it’s that bad, and especially if he’s a young horse, I would consider moving him to another barn before this habit becomes even more ingrained.

[OnAMission]

How are they breaking through the gate?

I think the repetition of all this excitement twice a day for eight months has led to complete shenanigans and the people are the only ones with any trauma at this point. They aren’t scared, they’re juicing themselves up and it sounds like the handlers are in over their heads, other than you.

You mentioned moving your horse, I think that’s the first thing I’d do and still suggest getting a trainer type person in there to witness what’s going on and offer solutions.

[sascha]

Move the gate. Attach it in its new location (at least 100’ from its current location) so it can only open inwards to limit escape opportunities. Take horses in and out one at a time (ugh) until they have demonstrated they are ok with the new routine.

The other possibility, and who knows if it’s even a possibility, is to rotate fields so that group never has to go in that field again. Put a group in there that has not experienced the trauma. AND, remember that nobody from the traumatized group should go back in there because they may teach the non-traumatized group to behave like numpties.

I am so thankful that my horse’s BO keeps horses in on very high wind days. I thought they were a bit OTT at first, but a few months after I moved in I drove in the laneway to see a pole down in my horse’s field, wires IN their water trough near the gate, etc. Our horses were safe inside, no power, but they’re horses, lack of light and hot water is our problem lol “The staff will figure it out. Hope dinner isn’t late.” LOL!

After that experience, I have never again questioned a leave-them-in decision for high winds.

[sascha]

@Against_All_Odds2

I am wondering if I can help my horse process this trauma or teach him self soothing techniques. And do these help at all if his paddock mates are also reactive?

I’m going to add this separately, but it sort of goes with my suggestions above and a bit against the folks who are saying this is all a human problem and the horses are just playing silly buggers at this point.

I’ve known a couple of non-lethal electrocution episodes and they STICK with horses. One was a lightning ground strike - the horses were not right in the head for many, many months after. They all eventually recovered fine, but it took a long time. The other was my own many years ago who accidentally got zapped by a hot fence while standing in a wet spot, with a chain under his chin during an enormous crack of thunder and lightning. That horse was careful and safe and respectful during every day of his 17 years … unless there was a thunderstorm happening. He would literally go from his normal dum dee dum life is good self to raging lunatic that needed in his stall right now and too bad for anyone in his way.

[Against_All_Odds2]

@OnAMission

How are they breaking through the gate?

Someone will be catching dobbin A, halters and leads him to the gate, opens the gate, and Dobbin B flies through dobbin A and handler, the rest of the herd follows suit. There are 2 well trained horses in the bunch and 2 back burners. This is a small herd of 4. I feel like its very much now learned behaviour but it reads as genuine spooks. They look panicked.

I have had 1 session with a trainer that gave me homework to fix holes in this ground work. In the lesson my horse tried to get loose from him too. It’s like my horse reaches a boiling point and bolts even though the question was not hard to answer. The trainer would like to get my horse on a high line to better break him to leading with pressure but he seems to have gone completely MIA

[luvmyhackney]

Your last response sounds like bad handling.

Horses can learn to wait their turn. Might be worth adding a mantrap area surrounding the gate with some panels to add a secondary boundary and keep horses to rush the gate until training can be completed.

[Against_All_Odds2]

Hm thats an idea.

While the staff are very experienced handlers they have also been knocked to the ground a few times. They are tired of training rank horses and I get that. That’s why I am asking how I can help.

There are also less experienced handlers like part boarders that I cannot prevent from entering my horses paddock. And the herd as a whole is kind of young. I think they need an alpha to be introduced and get them in line a bit.

[Against_All_Odds2]

Also for context here is the gate. The fire was to the right of the tree line in the photo. Only visible when they were outside of the paddock due to the trees

Naughty boy band

[Arelle]

This is a human issue, not a horse issue.

If people (part boarders who are inexperienced) can’t safely lead one horse from it’s herdmates without the entire paddock getting loose, the person needs additional lessons or they need to have help any time they need to move a horse in/out of this paddock.

Horses aren’t people. There isn’t “processing trauma” or “learning to self soothe” or bringing in an alpha horse that will magically explain to them how to behave according to your standards. These horses sounds like normal horses who have incompetent handlers - period, point blank. The fact that they’re knocking people down and escaping from a small gate completely baffles me.

If these were my horses, I’d be breaking up the group and we would go in and out of that gate a thousand times perfectly before slowly reintroducing the herd. I’d also likely carry a long lunge whip (or ask a friend to) to discourage antics from horses that aren’t being asked to leave the paddock. My horses have done this to me once or twice over the last 20 years - but, it’s generally been when a large gate (12’) blows open in a gust of wind and I’m halfway across the paddock with a different horse. They see their escape route and take full advantage - they wouldn’t dare try to run me over as I walk through it.

How do they behave if they’re tied up for any extended period of time?

[Against_All_Odds2]

I went back through all of my “incident reports” and it seems the antics really started in January. The fire was in the late fall.

I have no idea how the other horses are tied. Mine will paw but is improved. He can be a foot planter when leading. That is the homework we are working on