Naughty Gelding Digging

[lalisnz]

Hi there, I finally found a boarding barn that I love. It’s very hard to find a stall with a run in my area. Well, my asshole gelding has decided to remodel his run. First it was moving a mat. Was able to secure the mat and he now leaves it alone.

But now, he has escalated to digging. I think it’s while he’s playing with the gelding next door… but, he dug down to the landscape fabric. I filled the hole back up… but, I’m sure he will try again. Any ideas on how to stop him? A couple thoughts I had were to put chew stop down on the ground? Maybe that would make the pawing unpleasant? Or, a strand of hotwire around the inside of his run (he’s very wary of hotwire). Orrrr, putting a big ol’ rubber mat down… but he’ll probably just find a new spot.

This is the best barn I have EVER boarded at. How do I keep this jackass from getting us evicted?

PS: steady work does help… this hole was dug on his ONE day off that week.

[Simkie]

Are you sure he’s not stressed, and the digging is how he’s expressing that? Addressing whatever he’s stressed about would address the digging.

If he only does this when he’s not ridden, keeping him going every day sounds like a good first step. Is he turned out?

[BrownDerby]

Your description is pretty vague, so I have no idea if this applies to your gelding. Some horses will dig to stand on a bit of an angle to relieve navicular pain or sore tendons.

[Marla_100]

What size is his turnout?
Does he ever get out on pasture
with a buddy?
Obviously he’s bored or has too much unused energy.

[anonevent]

Sounds like he needs to play. Turn him out with some buddies.

[fivestrideline]

@Marla_100

Does he ever get out on pasture
with a buddy?
Obviously he’s bored or has too much unused energy.

This is my first question - does he get actual turnout or is he living in a stall with a run 24/7? Unless the “run” is pasture sized, I’d hazard that there’s your problem.

I had one that would “dig” by pawing when upset/bored due to being confined. That stopped when he was turned out for most of the day.

[Amberley]

Are they fed in the run or given hay? He might be digging while he eats or in anticipation of being fed.

[trubandloki]

So many good answers already. It could be any of those things.

Can you ask about putting in a camera to see what he is doing when he is digging? It is quite impossible to fix a problem with no information about when the problem is happening.

Was the move stressful for him? Has he been checked for ulcers? Is he just bored? Was the horse next door just removed when it happened? Was the horse next door eating when it happened?
The question list is so long.

Edit to add - I can not see how chew stop would do anything to prevent pawing/digging.