My ottb gelding does this as well, and he's been off the track for seven years now. He's also a weaver, and I believe pacing/fence walking and weaving go hand in hand. I have three other horses in the same paddock and he'll still weave and pace occasionally.

Just give her some more time to settle and I'm sure the fence walking will gradually happen less and less The race horse to pleasure horse transition can be tough and stress most OTTB's out

 

Is there no stall for her to eat in? I've seen OTTBs need the safety of a stall to eat since that's what they are used to. Why is your horse constantly outside?

 

I'm in Australia, and we rarely lock up our horses.
When she was at my friends farm she wouldn't walk when she was in the large paddock, but if she was locked up in a small yard to be fed, she would constantly walk.
Somehow I think locking her up in a smaller space is not going to fix the problem...

Edited to add: Its not that she wont eat, she will just walk after she has finished the mix, and will pick at the hay....Plus the sheer amount of time it takes her to eat her mix feed - it just isn't practical to have her locked in a stall that whole time, and I don't have time during the day/night to travel to her to let her out after 4-5hours - I work full time, and have two young kids - I have to fit a lot into my days!

 

Both sets of advise held true for my OTTBs. They come off the track with very poor horse skills and it's just going to take time for her to come down. Getting her out with other horses will help teach her some skills and reduce her anxiety. Some competition might make her focus on the food as well. I wouldn't change her pasture for now. It's just another thing she'll have to process.

Does she pick at her ration? I'd make sure there isn't something in your mix that she dislikes. Other than the hay, she should be able to finish it in less than 1 hour.

 

A book you might want to consider buying is "Beyond the Track." It's written by people who rehab OTTBs for a large organization (which one is escaping me right now) in the States. It is chalk full of helpful advice for transitioning your OTTB from a racehorse to "civilian life" so to speak. I believe they have a section on fence-walkers.
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I believe its TROTT (Training Racehorses Off The Track). They advertise it a lot on their site.
Book Here

 

Thanks for the replies. I actually already have that book - I didn't think to look at it though (DER haha) - I'll check it out tonight when I finish work.

I actually moved her into the new paddock last night. When I went out to feed her this morning she was actually GRAZING!!! I went for a walk and checked all the fence lines, and so far there is no evidence of her walking them (yet??? :S)

While walking the fencelines I think I may have discovered why she was walking in the first place. Down the bottom of her paddock is the boundary fence between my agistment and the neighbours. There are 2 horses in the neighbours paddock, and they were hanging over the fence line this morning.

I think Lady just wanted to meet some new friends??

I'll keep you posted on how she goes anyway.

 

She doesn't pick at her ration, or sift through it, she just takes a loooong time to eat it. She does eat every bite though, so I don't think there is anything in there she doesn't like....

Thanks for your idea though.

 

You could try getting her a jolly ball. I have a Standardbred mare that used to race. When we brought her home from being saddle broke, we would put her out in the paddock she would trot around like crazy for a few minutes then would want to come back into the barn because that is what she was used to. Going out and stretch her legs and head back to the barn.

I think a friend would help her calm down as well as lots of time to adjust, right now she is just waiting on her normal racing routine.

 

My QH mare does the same thing if she is in a small padock by herself and can see other horses. It is just because she is social and wants to be with the others. We can put her in another padock where she doesnt see any other horses and she is fine. If she is out with other horses she is also fine. Sounds like you have it solved in any case. Horses can be so funny that way, personality for sure!

 

Sounds to me like she needs the company of other horses, if she cannot be pastured next to others, can they be in with her? Or can the hay be moved to an area that is close enough to be with the horse next door?

My horse is in a pasture alone, he however has neighbors. If his hay is not in his acceptable range, he will not touch it and chooses the neighbor horses over the hay.