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Stall anxiety training

4K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  Nell J 
#1 ·
So my gelding has been fine left in his stall for many years at the trainers and if too hot or too cold he is inside at home. About three years ago he became buddy sour ONLY in stall alone. It was a new trainer and at first he kept him outside. The last two weeks in August he put him in a stall and at eight he started weaving... at the show he was bent in the stall (he had no buddies at the show) and his attitude riding is cranky with being in a stall. At the show I tied him to the trailer and he was better. Now at home he is fine in the stall unless we let his buddies out. So new places no buddies he gets upset and at home if let buddies out.

I already am having the vet come out and plan to check for any possible vet issues... but any exercises for the stall piece. If i am riding him he is not buddy sour. The stall is becoming progressively worse. I could just leave him in it but since he weaved for four days before the trainer put him outside I do not think this method will work.
 
#2 ·
Horses are grazers and foragers. They evolved to be moving all the time, covering ground while grazing. Keeping one locked up in a stall is against their very nature and can be incredibly stressful for them because there is no escape.

As far as I know, once a horse has developed stall stress issues, the only way to prevent or alleviate them is to not put him in a stall...ever.
 
#5 ·
Constant hay in a slow feeder might help if its absolutely necessary to stall him sometimes as well. I had a filly who, because she was a fence jumper, had to be stalled for about a month while I was finding her a new home, and she immediately started cribbing/windsucking. I found that giving her constant access to grass hay in a net kept her from doing it so much, but she still did it because she was stressed and didn't like being cooped up.

The best solution though is to just not stall your horse- but that doesn't change that he has behavioral issues NOW because of them. What does he do when he is acting buddy sour in the stall? Try to barge through you? Bite? Turn his butt to you? Spin? All of those are handling issues, not necessarily stall issues, and they should be addressed as such. He should always calm down and be quiet and attentive once you enter the stall and halter him, even if he doesn't like being stalled. Cribbing, weaving, windsucking, and pacing though- I'm afraid those really aren't going to go away without the stalling going away too.
 
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#6 ·
He has tried barging or putting butt to me. No kick or bite. For the most part those issues I delt with immediately. He doesn't try to do so even though he wants to barge through... :) He is fine with me in the stall he calms some.

At home he paces bad if I let the other horses out. At new places he weaves and it seems to be getting worse. I usually do keep hay available at all times. He eats... still weaves...at the last clinic he was the worst. I asked for an outside pen. He then ran around the pen the whole day while we rode. He was fine when I put them in the pen and rode him in the clinic part *sighs* It is absolutely bizarre that this popped up later in life! I guess we are done with stalls for the most part.
 
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