New Pony Help?

Question

My new pony arrived on friday. he used to live out, but now he is just turned out from 9am - 4pm.

He never seems happy in his stable and on the first few days, he tried to run out while the door was still open when i put him in his stable. he can see everything that is going on, because he has a chain, however he just doesn't seem very happy in the stable.. He is not rocking or cribbing, which is good - but is there any way that i can make the time in his stable more pleasent for him? There is no way that I can have him out 24/7

Answer 1

New Pony

Answer 2

Salt licks and sweetie balls l**k its and toys.  

My friend tied a tyre up in her stable and her horse loved it.  You could also put apple in her water bucket that usally keeps them amused for a while.  

Sweeds are also fab toys just give them to her whole and see what she makes of it.  It might take her a while to eat it it took my mare a couple of days to eat it but now she has a "tactic" to eating them so eats in about 10 mins!

This has some good toys

http://www.croftequestrian.co.uk/index.p...

main_page=index&cPath=1_13_43

Also it might be a good idea to put some crib ox paint on the stuff that she might decide to chew to detter her from chewing stuff.

Good luck i know its tough one to keep ponies amused whilst inside but enjoy him as much as you can.  And remember he will get used to it it will just take some adjusting to as its alot diffrent than being outside 24/7.

Answer 3

Can you put another horse in the barn with him?  Maybe he just needs some company until he gets used to it.

Maybe you could give him a little feed when you put him in his stall (even just a handful).

He may just have to tough it out and get used to it.

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

there are stall 'toys' you can get for him...lik-its..ponypops...jolly balls...peppermint scented toys etc...things that will help reduce him boredom while he is indoors.

Good Luck

Answer 5

Hey, there is no really way to make up for the lost time that the horse now spends in his stall. The horse that i board that used to be out side thinks she is to good for toys and still paces a little at night. But you need to get your horse out of the stall in the pasture for at least 10 hr a day it sounds like a lot but its really not. I know this is a pain but this is how your horse will be happy, try and make a run out padock from his stall that way he can go in and out of his stall when ever he wants.

I really hope this helps

micheala

p.s. Go easy on buffy,  they are just trying to help, buffy is not in any way telling you that you take care of your horse badly but if you read some books that  i have read and i am guessing buffy has read because of a lot of the points they brought up were from this book that i read, its called the perfect stall, or a number of other books that that woman wrote. Its just kinda scary the stuff she brings up and talks about, if i had the money i would remake my whole barn to the way she talks about.

Answer 6

Well, I don't think I'd be happy if I were him either - as an animal built to roam and run free, keeping him in a 'cell' for 17 hours a day has got to be simply mind numbing for him.

Why can't he be out more?  If his area he's out in is good enough to hold him 7 hours of the day, why isn't it good enough to hold him 24 hours a day?

If at all possible to change his situation so he can be out all he wants - best situation is to allow him to chose when he's out in the pasture vs. in a shelter.

being locked in WILL lead to attitude problems and most probably health problems as being inside - especially if he's too short to have benefit of moving air through the top of the stall, does not allow good air flow, increases the amount of dust and dander he's in.  If he's in all that time and is required to stand in a wet stall at all, he's getting damage to his respiratory system - by the time you or I smell urine or ammonia scents, damage has been done to the horses' respiratory system, no matter how minor.  Their systems are very delicate.

In addition, although you THINK he's got plenty of room to move around, being confined in a stall even if it's large can have negative affects on his joint health.  He really needs a lot of good exercise and interaction for the time he can be out.  

How would you feel if you were locked in your bedroom 17+ hours a day?  What would you want to keep you occupied?  He'll get a certain amount of attention drawn by toys and there are many of them out there, but you really owe it to your friend to find a way to allow him as much freedom to roam in the fresh air as possible.

Answer 7

get some toys - or make some for him.

buffy quit acting like your 6 and stop making accusations. you dont even know her horse.

Answer 8

put some grain in his stall before you put him in then he will eat the grain an won't wanna come out and he will look forward to his stall sometimes. also get some toys like strings and ribbons and stuff and see what he can make out of them.  horses are very creative when it comes to leftover materials. it works for my horse during horse camp because she is used to being out 24/7.  trust me!!!