Horse is upset in turnout about ... something?

[Knubbsy]

I got a text from my BO this morning that my mare decided to jump out of her field (cleanly, thankfully). This happened as my BO was setting up a “time out” rehab pen off her stall because she was again fence-walking in her field. This is the second time this month she’s been put in time out for fence-walking- she did this when I was out of town over the new year but we assumed she was bored since she had a week off of work. Well, this week she was in regular work so that theory is out. She has water, she has plenty of hay that she thinks is palatable while stalled, she’s bundled up like the kid in The Christmas Story…

So here are our new theories but I’m looking for any other ideas for why or how to make her happy:

• Ulcers. She had a full course of esomeprazole (6 weeks at 6 pills then taper one less pill each week after) in the fall since she tends to act ulcery around the change in the seasons but maybe they flared up again with the cold snaps. Her condition looks fine and she isn’t unusually girthy so this feels like throwing things at a wall.
• She’s unhappy being in solo turnout. She spent the last two winters on stall rest because she kept getting in fights (hock puncture and then splint fracture) so we made the decision last spring that she has to live alone. She shares a fence line with a small herd and can see most of the farm from her field.
• She’s mad that it’s cold out. The last two winters she was tucked into a cozy stall for 23 hours a day while recuperating from the injuries mentioned above so while she was on field board before that, she spent the last two years in comfort. Maybe she decided now that she’s a teenager and we’re talking about an FEI debut she’s a hothouse flower? She already liked being bundled up once it dipped below 55F. Going to Florida isn’t feasible so we are wondering if we just need to keep her in the rehab pen off her stall until spring (she can’t see any other horses from it though).

(she doesn’t care about jolly balls or other horse toys, the closest we get is she likes to tip her hay feeder boxes to eat easier)

[Demerara_Stables]

Where did she go when she jumped out? Have you tried a different paddock? Have you tried putting her somewhere where she is next to another horse in a small paddock?

[Marla_000]

Maybe she wants a buddy like a goat or burro.
Isn’t there One horse there that she likes?
Where did she go to when she jumped out?

[Knubbsy]

She hopped out and went up to the BO, so no running around, no heading to any of the herds, just “nah, I’m out”. This is a quiet farm and she’s not a spooky horse so no indications that she was running from something. As far as we can tell she’s not in heat (she’s usually very obvious about it, loves the boys, and ground manners get questionable) so that’s out too.

Her normal field is the best case scenario for having her next to horses. All of the other fields are occupied with multiple horses. The way the farm is laid out we also don’t have the option of using a roundpen as a mobile pen, everything is really well nested together. Her rehab pen has options to open into her stall and her neighbor’s stall via dutch doors but we learned when we moved in that if we left the top door open she would try to bite and strike at her neighbor. She even kicks and strikes at the fence when her “boyfriend” comes by because she was calling for him.

[Knubbsy]

@Marla_000

Maybe she wants a buddy like a goat or burro.

We tried a mini before (between the first stall rest winter and the second), on good days she ignored it and grazed at the opposite end of the field, on bad days she would chase it

[Demerara_Stables]

I’d try getting her hormones levels tested (based on her aggression towards other horses) and talking to an animal communicator.

[clburnham11]

My guy has had this issue and it ALWAYS traced back to being on individual turnout. Issues disappear when he’s with friends. Done several “experiments” to test this hypothesis and it’s very clear. I’m in a similar situation where there is no good match for him right now, so he is alone and miserable (also hates the cold!). This issue is so difficult when you can’t find a good match. I agree might as well test her hormone levels in case that has contributed to aggression. Otherwise I’d wonder about pain somewhere that maybe gets exacerbated in the cold? I wonder if keeping her in the small pen off her stall and observing her anxiety level could help. If she’s not anxious, could point you towards discomfort over the other horse thing.

[Knubbsy]

We’ve tried sharing a fence line, small herds, medium herds, either she doesn’t care about the other horses or she gets in fights with her best friends. The injuries in prior years were from her not backing down from fights, the last one the other pony backed up into her in the middle of the field and just kept kicking until the barn manager came running. The BO keeps an eye on her during the day and aside from the periodic fence walking, no signs of pain or anxiety. There was no fence walking during the summer or fall aside from at feed time, this is a recent development.

Hormone panel isn’t a bad idea anyway as she’s getting older (turning 14 this year) and she is due for some body work (try for every other month with a pro on top of daily exercises).

[clburnham11]

how frustrating. You’ve tried so much! She is lucky to have you

[Simkie]

So, she was out with friends and kept getting hurt, and then was on extended stall rest, and then went out alone with stall walking, and is now jumping out? Is that about the jist?

Sounds like a horse that’s anxious about turnout. Either because she doesn’t have a herd with her, or because she’s comfortable with her routine of being in, and being out is different.

I’d try gradually working up her turnout time, aiming to bring her in before she’s anxious, or putting her on an antianxiety med, or finding her a friend or two she doesn’t want to maim, or accepting that she just isn’t into turnout (and finding a “less” way to get her some out of stall time, like arena turnout.)

Being chill in turnout can be a skill some horses have to learn. Approach it like you would with anything else she needs to learn: start small, build comfort and competency, then expand from there.

[Demerara_Stables]

@Simkie

putting her on an antianxiety med

I was also thinking this - maybe some CBD if it works for her, or even just some alfalfa in turnout (or something she really likes) to keep her mind off whatever she’s stressing about

[Knubbsy]

There was a good 7-month gap between working up to full turnout (alone) and the stall walking. A clearer timeline is:
Jan '23 - hospitalized with hock injury
Jan-Feb '23 - stall rest with hand grazing and walking
March-April '23 - worked up to 8 hr small pen turnout next to occupied turnouts
May '23 - back in regular field with friends
Nov '23 - new mare joins field, my mare and new one buddy up
Dec '23-Feb '24 - stall rest with broken splint and lacerations from new mare, hand walking and hand grazing as much as possible
March '24 - Small pen turn out moving to a small paddock with shared fenceline
April '24 - small paddock turnout sharing a fenceline (new farm)
May '24 - present - small field turnout with shared fenceline
Dec 26ish '24 - starts fence walking (no changes in neighbors at this time), stops after a few days of “time out”
Jan 16 '25 - starts fencewalking again and jumps out

It very well could be she’s used to being in while it’s cold and now it’s winter and she’s still not in all the time, and that’s something we can work with if that’s the case, I just want to make sure that is the problem because I’d love for her to be out and moving as much as possible. In the past, she’s adapted to change really well, she travels beautifully, moved farms well, she’s not generally an anxious horse (and it’s clear when she is actually anxious about things - she isn’t one to suppress emotions).

[punchy]

Does she walk the fence etc. when there are no humans around? To know this you’ll have to have the ability to spy on her. If her antics start when she sees a human, it sounds like it would have less to do with her hating turnout and more to do with her anticipating things or wanting to communicate her opinion.

[greywithchrome]

I bought a pony once that jumped out of his field on his first day home. Problem was once he realized he could he wouldn’t stop. These were high fences, too! Its a shame I couldn’t keep him lol he would’ve been a very fun riding horse but I’ve never been so stressed in my life.

Anyways, his problems were definitely hormonal. I could put him with other geldings but he’d jump OUT of his field and then jump IN with a mare (double jump! lol). I know you have a mare but that could be an avenue for you to explore.

[Lusoluv]

I’ve only had 2 mares, at different times. I got them both when they were 5.5 yrs old and kept them at the same farm. First mare could be turned out in any of the paddocks or pastures, alone or with company. She could be the first or last horse put out/brought in. Totally did not care.

Second mare could only go in certain paddocks and pastures. I learned over the years which locations were OK and which ones weren’t, though there was no rhyme or reason. Also, she’d be fine in a certain paddock for years, and then suddenly it was NOT ok. When she started pacing the fenceline, she didn’t care if she had neighbors or company with her. She didn’t care if she had hay or not. She could panic and start pacing within an hour of going out - and sometimes she could be out all alone. I never did figure her out, but the barn guys would bring her in if she got worked up because they knew she wouldn’t settle once she started. I gave up trying to figure her out.

[Knubbsy]

The BO is usually doing work in the barn in the morning (stalls, dragging the rings, working horses, etc) and she’s noticed that when fence walking happens, it’s mid-morning after she’s been out for 2-3 hours, and it’s below 40 F.

Pony was happy on Saturday all day in her field when the high was 45, yesterday when the high was 40 but sunny, she started fence walking around 11am when she had been out since 730-8am. BO set up the paddock and pony was quite happy to hang out there the rest of the day, usually with her body in the stall and her head hanging out, eating. The plan is for this cold front is to bundle her up in 400-500g with a 200g neck and don’t even bother turning her out except maybe to do her stall.

Thankfully my BO says her job is to make sure Pony is happy (I do try to be a good boarder in all other ways)

[Dr_Doolittle]

Wow, what a fantastic BO you have!