Having a cow in the stall

[tuffsmom]

I've started (trying!) to put Big Man in the barn at night with our big horses, so he won't be by himself in his pen. WELL...

The stall is an 8x12 stall, he can easily see two horses on either side of him (both horses that he likes & gets along well with through the fence in his pen). But he FREAKS OUT. I have tried this for a week now, in both daylight & nighttime. It's like he's claustrophobic. He tries to hurl himself into the stall door & walls, he races round and round the stall, squeals, paws, rears up, you name it...

I've tried squating in the stall with him, and he nearly killed me. I've tried tieing him in the stall, and he hung back on the lead rope and reared up & kicked. There is nothing he can hurt himself on in the stall, so I've tried leaving him for 30 minutes to get over himself (with me close by, watching), and after 30 minutes all it did was get him very sweaty and worked up, and he was STILL having a cow.

Is this typical? My husband thinks he's now retarted. I, however, think he's just scared. Is there anything that I can do? Has anyone ever heard of this?

* By the way, he will be 3 in January. He is a gelding.

 

[wewindwalker]

Can you try putting a buddy in with him or maybe try some feed or treats?

 

[horsefeather]

Did you raise him? If not, do you know his prior history?

Pam

 

[Marty]

I've had two of my horses do that when they first arrived and were not used to being stalled at all.

First thing I did is be sure they associated all good things with being in the stall and that meant food.

Then, I would just practice them little by little like you are doing and not leave them in there for a long period of time and be sure they could see out and see eachother too. Holly was probably the worst as she was on pasture 24-7 before I bought her and Merry Beth was just plain nervous and wanted to jump over the walls.

Now, this is not a quick fix. But definately fixable. Just keep on practicing a few minutes several times a day. I would continue to put him in with food and hay and walk away so that you can see him, but spy on him so he cannot see you just for safety reasons. Took me about a good week before things were ok and mine calmed down about it. They all sure love their stalls now that's the truth.

All horses simply do not like being in the stalls and as you said can exhibit claustrophobia, but they should be accustomed to a stall for their own good such in any type of emergency and accept being stalled when they need to be. I find this a lot in some horses in a trailer too. You may want to try some herbal calm and cool type stuff on the market to just take the edge off of him for a while until he settles down. I'm wondering if he is just a nervous wreck or just being a brat. Good luck and don't give up.

 

[Jill]

Can you put him in the stall and feed him his meal and get out of the barn and out of sight or smell range?

I have one horse who will stand tied fine UNLESS he sees me looking at him, then he pitches a fit.

30 minutes is not a lot of time to let him settle down and he might realize you're right there and will take him out of the stall if he keeps acting out.

I've seen first hand, they do act different if they think their person will respond.

 

[dannigirl]

I have some older mares that were never in a barn--much less a stall. They had run-ins in a large pasture. They have now figured the barn isn't the end of the world. I did get a couple to go into a stall because they were getting a bit skinny out with the others. I did this by allowing them to have a small run area in the barn and doing all the feeding in the stall. For a while they would watch me and run out the minute I got close. Then I started closing the stall while they were eating and letting them out after a little while--making the closed time longer each day. Now they can stay in the stall all day and munch on hay or whatever. I did do this with two to start, and have since seperated them. The whole process took me nearly a month and LOTS of patience.

Angie

 

[Miniv]

I've seen first hand, they do act different if they think their person will respond.

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Just like a kid!

How does he handle being in a trailer????

MA

 

[Krickette]

Did you raise him?  If not, do you know his prior history?Pam

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That is very important! We recently learned that the reason one of our horses hates stalls is because where we got her from, a cougar (They called it a "black panther") killed the horse in the stall next to her one night. Just climbed in and cornered it.

You never know what could have happened.

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

All horses simply do not like being in the stalls and as you said can exhibit claustrophobia, but they should be accustomed to a stall for their own good such in any type of emergency and accept being stalled when they need to be. 

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Boy marty that sure is a true statement and one many people dont think of- there are stressful times a horse may HAVE to be stalled from evacuations to hospitals..

If you have another mini i would try to put him in with him if not maybe throw him lots of extra feed and give him a good while to get over himself

 

[tuffsmom]

Thanks for all the advice.

I do not know anything about his prior history. He was given to us by a couple that was divorcing, and we haven't heard from them since they dropped him off here.

If you could see how violently he reacts when he is stalled, you would be able to tell that treats, hay, or feed would not stop him one bit. He will trot in the stall just fine, but after about 10 seconds, he freaks.

We haven't had him in a trailer until this morning, when I loaded him. He jumped right in like it was nothing, and then proceeded to try to jump over the divider, kick, and basically exhibit his stall behavior. I shut the divider, but he is so violent that I am afraid he will hurt himself by banging around, so I let him out.

I know that it's teaching him to "throw a fit, get his way", but I've got to draw the line somewhere.

I've been walking him in and out of stall (did this for nearly an hour this morning...it got OLD!) Just leaving him in for a few seconds, then leaving. Maybe it'll work!!! I also got some Tryptoplex (sp?) stuff, it looks like a tube of electrolytes. It's supposed to be an all natural calmer. I don't want to give him anything too strong, then he wouldn't learn anything.

 

[horsefeather]

dannigirl had some good ideas. Keep us informed how he does. From your posts, I think it's going to take a looonnnggg time to get him over his fear of this stall. One more suggestion, it would be well worth your while to contact our Bonnie to have a talk with your boy. If you knew what the problem was, it would sure help with the fix.

Pam

 

[MBennettp]

I have had several horses act like this in the past. The easiest way that I found was to leave the stall door open and feed them in the stall. The fear will leave when they know the door is open and they can leave anytime. I did this for about a month then started gradually closing the stall door until I could close it completely without them freaking out. It took a long time but now the one that I have left that used to freak out is the first one in her stall at night and she will freak if she is left out after dark. She wants in her stall and the door shut as soon as it gets dark. If we leave the stall door open after dark she will pace the fence and whinny until somebody comes out and shuts her door.

Mary

 

[Cronewolf]

Poor boy!!!! This would be something where the price for Bonnie would be well spent. May be the only thing that would help!!!!!!

 

[HGFarm]

Sounds like he is just REALLY horse sour. I would not try to 'babysit' with him while he is in there. Keep an eye on him, but he will get over it if he has company that he can see close by. He is having to break his behavioral pattern now and is not liking it.

 

[Marion]

I have one mare that was abused before I got her, but now after long hours of working with her, she will let me leave her in the barn with the door closed. However, if she thinks that you are going to catch her feed will not get her to go in the barn. When we trim hooves we have to do her first or you can forget catching her. I have another horse that has never been abused, but if she thinks that she will get a shoot or something then it is hard to confine her without her going crazy.