Horse absolutely TERRIFIED of wind noise

[fivestrideline]

Has anyone had a horse just…. petrified by wind? And did you find anything to help?

My gelding is terrified by the whistling of wind through the barn and around the shelters. Like, full blown meltdown with spinning, shaking, and CROUCHING DOWN in his stall. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. It’s not the wind itself, or things being blown over (if he spooks at that it’s predictable and reasonable). It’s 100% the noise. This happens with every big storm we get, and at two different barns for sure. One other barn I suspect as well, but he was in the back row and very few staff were around enough to notice and tell me.

He’s on stall rest for an injury so turning him out isn’t an option, and the reality is he’s going to have to be in a stall during bad weather. We are trying dorm but idk if he was already too ramped up this time - and I doubt I can go tranq him for every storm or random cold front.

It breaks my heart knowing he’s absolutely terrified, but I don’t know what else to do! Earplugs? He hates them but I can try. Stitch a soundproof bonnet into a fly mask? Calming supps seem unlikely to touch this, and he’s pretty chill 99% of the time otherwise.

[xQHDQ]

Ear plugs have been a lifesaver for me (literally). I spent hours (literally) being thrown against the stall walls before he would accept me putting them in and taking them out. Once he realized he liked the ear rubs that accompanied the plugs, he’s been great. I can put them in and take him out without even a halter on him.
Sometimes I leave them in when he’s in his stall if the wind is particularly bad.
The goal with any intervention is to PREVENT them from becoming agitated. Once they get worried, it’s a downward spiral. Stuffing the earplugs in there stops the anxiety in its tracks.
Good luck.

[lintesia]

This is a shot in the dark, but is there any chance he’s a headshaker? Headshaking can flare up in windy environments and the randomness of the trigeminal nerve firing and causing pain can result in dramatic behavior.

[cayuse]

Can you try a radio or a fan to muffle the sound? These helped my mini who was terrified of loud noises. He’d spin and shake, too.

[punchy]

It might help if he had an open window so he could stick his head out to see for himself what’s not out there.

[IPEsq]

100% earplugs. And put fly mask on in case he wants to shake them out. On really bad days I had one who would love to have both his ear plugs and soundless bonnet on for a ride.

[carman_liz]

Maybe after this insane weather is over get a noise maker machine that has wind sounds and play it when it is feeding time to try to help desensitize him to the sound. I don’t know just an idea? My pony does not like being in the barn when it is windy either since it is a metal carport and it creaks and makes noise but he just has to deal with it. As long as he has a bunch of hay in front of him, his fat butt gets over it real quick thank goodness lol.

[clanter]

could he have a companion horse that he likes stalled next to him? We have all of horses in pairs that get along pretty well with each other, they often get support from their buddy

[fivestrideline]

Let me answer a few questions:

@lintesia As far as I know, he’s not a headshaker. Never had a reason to go down that road. He does throw random 10 second tantrums of the Roll, Rear, and Fart variety, but those aren’t anything like this.

@punchy He has unlimited access to a whole stall sized runout (12x24 of space, half in half out of the barn). So, a room with a view, of sorts.

@clanter He has friends in the barn with him, including his current bff whose paddock is next to my horse’s stall/runout. Bars are on the stall dividers so he can see everyone. The other horses have been completely unfazed by the wind and noise, as well as his theatrics.

He also has hay 24/7 in a big tub, and gets to go handwalk or tack walk everyday. Fireworks send him spiraling, and the noise inside a (well built and minimally rattly) trailer too. Obviously those have additional factors in his fear, but the wind thing is a first for me. Mostly he’s a chill little guy.

I’ll have to try the earplugs again. He hates them, hates having his mane pulled especially by his ears, and clipping his ears or bridle path is a no-go without drugs and/or twitch. I can bridle him fine and touch his ears briefly, but Doing Stuff to his ears is offensive.

[clanter]

@fivestrideline

He has friends in the barn with him, including his current bff whose paddock is next to my horse’s stall/runout. Bars are on the stall dividers so he can see everyone. The other horses have been completely unfazed by the wind and noise, as well as his theatrics.

thanks for the follow up, ours will stand along the joint wall parallel to each other …

[IPEsq]

My horse I mentioned above was very head shy and awful about his ears at first. First time on a field trip to a show (not to show just to hang out), my trainer friend who was helping me neck twitched him and shoved the ear plugs in. He wore them a few days straight. He was kind of appalled at the noise when I did take them out. He was perfect for ear plugs after that. When he had to rehab he could be explosive because of noise. Needed to walk on a treadmill, which was totally fine except for noise. Rehab barn said they needed to ace him. I asked, did you put his ear plugs in? No. Well I gave them to you to use, put the plugs in! He didn’t need any drugs after that.

Horse I bought this year doesn’t really need them (nowhere like horse above anyway), but they help him focus, and he was not head shy but ear shy. And he liked to use his head as a weapon. I had to always wear my helmet around him. Very food motivated so we did a lot of R+ with treats for the ear plugs and very quickly he became fine with them. And I can clip in the area. Mane is still a little touchy but not bad…he’s just tall. At least no more bashing his head into me. He will put his head down for plugs.

It can be done and may well be better to do the leave them in a few days at first method.

[fivestrideline]

Several hurricanes, a few tornadoes but nothing that pulled down the barn or anything. Same as most horses in this area. He did get left out on the 4th of July by non-horsey barn owners one year until they finally thought to bring him inside hours after the fireworks started.

[AmyGrace]

Hi, I’m just wondering if you have tried any desensitization training?

I rescued my mare last year and she would initially shy and spook at so many different noises, including the wind.

I have been using lots of reassurance, positive reinforcement as well as some treats. I also have some objects/toys that make noise, such as a rain stick, jingle bells and wind chimes, I introduced my horse, Grace to them by letting her sniff them, then asking her to “touch” them with her nose. I then reward her with a treat. She has found it to be a fun game and isn’t bothered by the noises as much.

We still have some things to work up to!
I would like her to get used to a Mylar blanket or balloon, or a plastic bag, but she is really scared of those. She has a tendency to rip her fly mask off and this summer, I want to introduce her to fly boots and try to get her to not rip them off, especially with her arthritis flares.

My suggestion is to just take your time with it.
When Grace got upset by the wind, I would rub her neck and say, “It’s okay” in a soothing voice. If your horse doesn’t react to the wind, I would personally praise him, “good boy” and give a treat.

I remember when I first adopted Grace, she was petrified of a blanket. Now she still doesn’t like it, but with lots of patience, reassurance and praise, it’s not so scary.

Sending you positive thoughts!!
Take good care!

[fivestrideline]

It’s funny because he really doesn’t care about anything else. It’s specifically wind whipping through/around the barn. Fans are fine, dropping stuff is fine, leaf blowers are fine, guns are fine, etc. It’s a hard thing to replicate. In fact, fireworks are scary but he gets over that LONG before he gets over a windy day.

Just this past week we had a high wind thunderstorm pop up, and my horse is standing in his runout (under the overhang but out of the barn) spooking and refusing to come in. His friend is in the barn getting meds and my horse is screaming his head off looking for his friend. Mind you, he can come in the stall and see everyone, which he does EVERY DAY.

I wouldn’t mind trying to desensitize him, but I can’t replicate the situation very well, and he gets DANGEROUS in the stall when it happens. No way I’m going in there. Standing outside and talking to him or whatever doesn’t even ping his radar cause he’s busy spooking.

[walktrot]

If you are going to try ear plugs, spend a little time on it everyday. You should break this down into as many teenie-tiny steps as you can. ALWAYS stop at a good point. Stroke his ears quietly every day when he is turned out, leading him, grooming or before you mount, whenever you can. Don’t push it, though, because you are interested in his good behavior. Ignore what you don’t want, When he stands quietly, love all over him, tell him he is a good boy, sometimes give him a treat. “Don’t do that” gets you nowhere. Dangerous behavior - kick, bite - is the only exception. If he gives you 5 quiet seconds today, that’s ok. Tomorrow? Who knows. 2 steps forward, one step back is fine.

When he is comfortable with the attention to his ears, try the plugs. Once. If he takes one, love on him, remove it, and reward the good behavior - “Good boy.” Make a big deal about the behavior you want… If he won’t accept the ear plugs, move on. Groom, ride. Do a similar routine when you finish so he gets used to contact on both ends. Remember the 3-second attention span. When we overdo something they can get confused and upset. The more we push, the harder it is for our horse to figure out what we are looking for. I watched a woman’s mare break the crossties 4 times in about 15 minutes. She kept going after the mare’s head and the poor horse was terrified. I have no idea what the original “problem behavior” was that warranted that response.

Is it worth the time and effort? I think so. We had a new young boarder with a young Mustang mare that wouldn’t stand quietly in the crossties. Move your butt this way, no the other way, not forward. wait, etc. I couldn’t stand it and finally offered her a few tips I learned in my younger days (before I turned 70)… We spent 10 minutes or so and she picked it up quickly. Ignore what you don’t want and love on her. The following weekend that horse was so relaxed in crossties. 'The next time i saw them the mare was standing quietly in the indoor. Then I watched her leave the horse to get her gloves, and the horse didn’t flinch. The best part was that her riding softed up also.