Herd Bound - Dad is fed up...

Aargh. Why does my favourite horse in years have to come complete with the worst herd bound behaviour i've ever dealt with.

We have the horses paddock divided in two with hot tape because there is just too much grass. Everytime we take another horse out now, Latte either ducks under the tape or runs through it, breaking it, either letting the other horses out or stirring them up. Bundy saw her duck under the tape and almost tried himself (15.2h compared to 13.3h - Not going to work!) which he has never even thought off before.

Dad has pretty much said I have to send her back to her owner or lock her in the yards by herself. Fantastic. Being in the yard will mean buying hay and also buying hard feed (They don't get fed at the moment, just a mineral lick) and will also mean not as much excersize (Or more actually, as she will run herself ragged).

Gah, this whole thing just sucks. No one except me even likes this horse and aren't willing to give her any consideration really. My dad thinks she is a neurotic idiot and I don't doubt wishes I never took her on.

I guess this is just a rant, really.

Could you put in more lines of tape? At the camp I worked at we had a similar problem, but when we upped the lines of tape from 3 to 6 no one tried anymore, especially when it was hot.

Alternatively, could you get some of those pipe corral type fence sections and put them through there? Or is it just too big of a pasture?

Yknow, she'll probably be the best horse ever when she's all finished maturing and then you can have the last laugh. I like to think that some of the best grown up horses had some of the most difficult growing up years. You just have to figure out how to channel that intelligence and I know you can do it. :)

Could you start working her in the field that she wants to go into? Make it equal work in her mind and be less appealing?

Good luck! *hugs*

Is the hot tape turned all the way up? We had this problem and it turned out the tape was just fizzling, or someone turned it down.

Tape is very hot - Run off the bulls fence. I have seen her jump an unstrained barbed wire fence to get to her mates before I got her too...

So I don't think more lines of tape would really help, I think she knows the tape is flexible and she can get through. The pasture is very big - It would cost an arm and a leg to get enough panels lol! But it would be great if we could. Once the grass dies and they can have the whole paddock it's not an issue - She still runs the fence but it's a really substantial stock fence so she doesn't challenge it.

I agree 100% - She is super smart and really tries to please, she just didn't have the best start to life so is very insecure. My dad is used to Wildey and Bundy who are docile as anything so he just see's her as reactive and stupid. Doesn't help that she likes him about as much as he likes her, lol.

I guess I am just going to have to yard her. Ugh.

As big a pain in the butt as that is, that might actually be best for her. Then you can put her tubby self on a diet if you want to (LOL) and it will probably help some of her herd-boundness being contained away from the rest of the herd. After some more time under saddle when she has been worked nearly to death and is sure enough broke, she might be more willing to chill in the pasture and watch everyone else work.