So I thought I had everything secure

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suemahree

Active Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2008
Messages
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Location
Ogallala, NE
Well here goes another saga of Maegan and I. I have got the food thing handled and paying a lot of attention, pasture is fenced now and secure, due to getting her early things just were not ready.

Now here is the problem. Due to just moving to the new house the barn is not ready for anything to be in it yet. I have another building that had been sectioned off about 10 20 with windows for light. When I heard that Meagan was coming early I got shavings and secured the area and made sure (I thought that everything was secure).

As my husband was going to bed this evening he yelled that the baby was out, I said that can not be, the door is secure. Sure enough here she was under the apple trees eating apples.

After going out and looking (she has been in this area now for almost 3 weeks) the door was secure but she had busted out the window area and jumped out. Now I am telling you this area is 2 foot off the ground and is 3 foot high and 1 1/2 or 2 foot wide and was covered. She had to jump out on some planks and a rabbit hutch to clear the area. Thank goodness no major damage to her, small cut but nothing I was not able to patch.

My question is what would cause her to do that. There is nothing here that would freighten her or threaten her as the area is very secure.

I don't know if I can stand this until the barn is done, I just don't want her to get really hurt. Have now gone in and screwed boards across all the openings, so now it looks like a prison.

Sue
 
I'm assuming from what you said that she is in there alone? Horses are very much herd animals and she likely just got panicky at being locked in all alone, especially if it is a relatively new place to her and she's not entirely comfortable there yet. She needs a buddy....
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Jan
 
I am so very sorry to hear you are having troubles.

Ok correct me if I am wrong:

This is the 2 1/2 month old baby that lost her mama?

Now, the way I see it is that #1 this is a BABY. She is all alone in a very strange place. Sometimes it takes horses a couple of months to adjust to new surroundings.

I have lots of horses but I never put just one in the barn alone, baby or not. Any of mine would go nutty and do anything they could to be with her herd screaming their head off if I only left one horse in the barn where he/she could not see another. When I bring a horse to the barn to be stalled up for any reason, such as a clipping or bath etc. I always bring another one too so that horse won't be left stalled alone. Horses need companionship from their other horse friends

#2 You have there a little baby that was not done nursing on mama in the first place. BABY, Think BABY.......She has only been in this big old world of ours for a few short weeks. She is the equalivant as a human toddler who doesn't have a clue about anything in the world at all. #3. She now does not have her mama to teach her how to be a horse. #4. She was left alone in her barn. And because she "fled"......she did so because she was alone. This is kinda like you wouldn't leave a human baby alone at home and go grocery shopping. The toddler would go out the front door in search of someone, anyone .........Sorry this all might sound goofy or greek to you but I am trying to get you to understand this as best I can of how this baby is feeling.

On top of everything else now you have boarded her up in her stall that you said looks like a prison for her own good. I'd worry very much about air-flow and her hurting herself again if she decides to go stir crazy in there which is one of the other things I feel may have happened to her to make her go out the window. She doesn't understand why she is supposed to be locked up in a stall by herself? She really doesn't know what is going on. Making any sense yet?

I feel your baby does very much need another horse to fulfill not just that "herd" instinct but also that since she lost her mama, another horse to play surrogate so she won't be alone. I also think it is not a good idea to have this baby enclosed in a stall in a barn by herself and also unattended. I am sure you are giving her as much attention as you possibly can but you cannot fulfill the companionship of another horse in my humble opinion. I would also be sure to give hay to her for ample roughage when she is stalled and don't let her get anymore apples.

I hope you will be able to work through this situation.

Best wishes to you and good luck with everything.

PS: CMHR has a large variety of companion horses available for adoption should you get the notion

www.chancesminihorserescue.org
 
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Ah I saw this coming. She is lonesome, best find a goat or another mini for company, play a radio at nite so she at least hears voices. I leave one play 24/7 and I leave a nite lite on also.
 
I agree she's just lonely and the age just makes staying in a stall harder for her. If your mom ever gave you 15 minutes time out in the corner as a kid -- remember how long that seemed
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Our first mini got out one time and ran off our property through the woods. I could not believe it when my husband yelled in the house "Eclipse is loose" because he was double locked in his pen. Well, the gate was still double locked but we didn't at that time know the right way to hang a farm gate (with the pins pointing towards each other). We had both pins pointing up so Eclipse just lifted the hinge end up and off he went. I ran through the woods, briars, etc., barefoot and in shorts but we did get our guy back safe and sound
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Please find that baby a companion. She is missing her momma and too many changes all at once especially moving to a new place. I'm sorry they didn't keep her in familiar surroundings and conditions until she was over not having her mom. Is she on a milk replacer? What has the vet advised you to do.

If you read about CMHR's Emmy at 6 1/2 months and brought to my place with mom and just left here. I am having all kinds of issues we are having to get thru. I'm hoping you will not have to go thru this. The goat idea is great or getting another mini to keep her company. Just make sure the other horse is compatible and willing to keep her company.

I only had one that didn't try to kick the snot out of Emmy. He's now the Emmysitter.

I guess the one piece of advice I can give you is to have her vet checked immediately if you haven't. There are certain things they can help you and she with to get thru this period. Our girl has now gone thru a colic and now ulcers. It won't be a pleasent thing to go thru hopefully you can catch it before the problems start.

Please don't leave her in that building alone. This is just asking for problems. Good luck with this adventure and please let us know how she and you are doing.
 
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Well it is a sad day here for me. I called one of the horse trainers here in Ogallala that I met at the feed store who helped me so much getting the right food and some good information.

After talking with her I decided that it would be better for Maegan to go to a home where there is a wonderful babysitter pony, since I can not have one here at my place at this time. It is a very nice home, Sheryl is very good with her animals, she has mini horses, ponies, and mini donkies. She is also part of a animal rescue here in the area. She was happy to take Maegan to her place. I can go see her anytime as she is just going down the road about 12 miles.

I am so sad, I would of never took her had I known she would have been so lonesome. As I said I spent all the time I could sitting in the pasture with her because she would just winnie and winnie everytime I would go outside. The only thing more I could of done was sleep with her and spend 24 hours a day with her.

According to Sheryl that would not have been good for her either, as I am not a horse and can not teach her the social skills that she needs and did not get with her mom.

I feel lost with her gone but I do think I have made the right decision

Thank you all so much with all your help and wealth of information.

Sue
 
I, for one, am very proud of you! You put the baby's needs before your own heart. You are a true horsewoman and don't despair, there is a horse meant just for you. My offer stands Hon. Go visit her often and watch her blossom and grow.
 
Sue, I have a lot of respect for what you did for your baby. You sacrificed your feelings for doing the right thing by her. Ironically, that makes you are very good horse owner! You just didn't know, that's all and you did the right thing by finding out what to do. But don't close the door on yourself yet. When you are ready, and your farm is ready and you are not rushed, there will be more minis out there waiting for a wonderful person like you to own them and plenty of help with them. Best wishes to you Sue.
 
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. You did the right thing and it was truly brave of you. Unfortunately many would not see past their own desires to keep her but you did and she is much better for it. Yes, you truly are a good horseperson and your time will come! Big hugs to you!!
 
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YOU GO GIRL!!!! So VERY proud of you for doing the right thing by that beautiful little girl!!!
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Please go visit her often and give her big hugs and kisses from all of us!!
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UPDATE: Well Maegan made the ride to Sheryl's real good. She was unloaded and was happy to see other animals. Sheryl's vet is a Equine speacialist and she has other horses and small goats at her place also. She feel in love with Maegan. They could not believe how well mannered she was and how much she enjoyed the attention. She also has a young daughter that she has been trying to get interested in horses. Well guess what? Maegan went home with the vet to live with her. I will be going there this morning to check it out. I feel confident that Maegan will be able to live a very good life around other horses and animals and have best care and attention I could ever hope for.

Thank you for all your support, I felt so bad and wanted everyone to know I am not the type of person to get an animal and then just turn around and get rid of it due to laziness. It makes me feel good (but still sad) that I now know I did the best things for my beautiful little pony.
 

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