# My horse just won't stay in the pasture!



## Light-Hikari (Jul 16, 2008)

My horse, Light, an (about) 11-yr-old paint, is determined to be the rebel and escape from the pasture every night. Now the front pasture is extremely big, and it's mostly fenced off.... except around the palmettos, where I know she's making her escape from. It doesn't make any sense! A) There's food in the pasture B) My other horse, a younger than 5 part appoloosa, Sunshine (Sunny) stays inside and then Light tries to get back to her later C) She gets all scratched up from the palmettos! I tried putting her in the back paddock, but most of the "fencing" for it is a big pond, and Light will actually swim to get out! Our first thought was that she wanted to be around the feed (which was in the patio), but we moved it to the barn (in the back paddock) and she still hangs around, almost eating dirt because she's pretty much killed all the grass by the house. I've tried everything! The only other solution would be to spend a heckload of even more money and then completely fence off the front, but at the moment I can't even do that because it's the rainy season and everything is soaked. I've had my horse for almost two years, and she's been doing it pretty much the whole time. Only when her escape places were fenced off would she be stumped for a couple days, sometimes a couple weeks, but she always found a new way. Is she just bored? Is she trying to tell me something? Or is she just being obnoxious? Please help!!
-Hikari


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## GallopingGrape (Jul 11, 2008)

That's hysterical (and frustrating, I'm sure!) Last night my nieghbor found her 12H pony out in the front yard, baffled because the little guy was locked in his 10x10 stall. The stall door was still closed, so, from a standing position, this little guy jumped a 4' door and out he went!
Go figure, he just wanted grass.


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## kickshaw (May 7, 2008)

i would say then that the most effective solutions would be to build a complete fence, or stall/ put her in a roundpen at night.

could there be something chasing the horses out in the paddock?

(they usually won't volunteer to swim unless they have to...)

good luck and keep us posted!


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## Light-Hikari (Jul 16, 2008)

kickshaw said:


> i would say then that the most effective solutions would be to build a complete fence, or stall/ put her in a roundpen at night.
> 
> could there be something chasing the horses out in the paddock?
> 
> ...


that's what i was thinking I'd have to do - put up more fencing. But I've already had so much put up in bits and pieces.... it's just annoying to think I'd just have to spend money on the whole thing anyways.
What I've been doing is that when I'd see her out I'd go grab her and put her in her stall. I was thinking maybe she would connect the dots of i escape = i go in my stall. i stay in = i get to run around and eat etc. But she still does it.
Yes, it is very weird that she swims.... she really doesnt seem to mind though! (even weirder - you approach her with a hose and she suddenly just hates water.)
I know there's nothing chasing her because my other horse doesn't have a problem. She's younger and behaves better! (at least in this case.) It's so frustrating, because Light escapes and she knows she's not supposed to be out because when you walk out side to get her, she immediately turns around and stands at the pasture gate. And when I put her in her stall, she and Sunshine call to eachother all night. And here I am thinking, "If you miss her, stay with her already!!" 
The round pen idea just may work though.... I need one anyways, so.....


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## chasin the dream (Jun 2, 2008)

yeah get a roundpen! they work miracles.lol


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

A temp fix, and relatively inexpensive is to use some "T" posts and electric wire. The charger you will need can be connected to house current, or solar. In a very temporary situation you can get a battery operated charger - but the batteries will only hold up for a few days or a week at the most I believe.


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## Gingerrrrr (Feb 12, 2008)

kickshaw said:


> i would say then that the most effective solutions would be to build a complete fence, or stall/ put her in a roundpen at night.
> 
> could there be something chasing the horses out in the paddock?
> 
> ...


where i use to board she had a huge pasture and there was a pond and she wouldn't fence off the other side of the pond (because none of the horses figured out that if you swim across the pond you can get out) and my old horse Domino swam across the pond a few times and my old BO found him in her yard :lol: i think horses will swim if they want to.


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

iridehorses said:


> A temp fix, and relatively inexpensive is to use some "T" posts and electric wire. The charger you will need can be connected to house current, or solar. In a very temporary situation you can get a battery operated charger - but the batteries will only hold up for a few days or a week at the most I believe.


 :lol: That's my PERMANENT fence. I just love it. I can move it whenever I want to whereever I want. It runs off a car battery that lasts for over a year even through our cold winters up here. 

anyway, I was thinking along the same lines -- string up electric in the easy to get through areas and see if that helps.


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## KANSAS_TWISTER (Feb 23, 2007)

electric fencing is great when you remember to keep the fenced charged!!!! abby use to be our little hudeni .....it wa either up and over or under the fence till she clued in that it wasn't charged.....can home from shopping one day to find her frazzing in our back yard


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## Angel_Leaguer (Jun 13, 2008)

we always used electric fencing. Just make sure you buy the right charger for the length of fence that you will be having. Our horses usually only got out if the deer ran through the fence. If we had a new horse that had never been in a fence before we would put them in a smaller electric fence (so they couldnt get a run at it) and after they touched it a couple times they wanted nothing to do with it...


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

I was thinking "D" cell batteries as used in the "temporary pasture" type charger. Car battery that lasts a year sounds great.

I


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## hotreddun (Jun 27, 2008)

I say your horse is just smart!  I'd go with the electric fence...I have a solar charger...little more expensive than a car battery probably but you never have to worry about it losing charge...especially since your in the south.

Im always baffled by the horses that don't escape...there is this one horse down the road that has one strand of wire fence at about 2 feet off the ground...and yet my horse manages to unlock a chained gate and get out to his favorite grassy area every now and then...go figure :?


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## PaintsAqha (Dec 11, 2007)

Can't you do the T post electric fence thing by passing the area where they escape and attach it to the existing fence?


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## HorsesAreForever (Nov 9, 2007)

Id say use electrice fencing. 

I doubt a round pen will solve your problem if she wants out so bad, because chance can jump right out of those lol. So id say electric fence


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## carriedenaee (Apr 17, 2008)

lol..that sounds frustrating indeed..My appy Taz used to open the chain link gate we had and get out and my Quarter horse Jet would run around and hollar at him but wouldnt go through the open gate....silly horses...electric fences are wonderful

Mr Baily uses one with Topper, his stud, and it is just one strand...and that is all he needs


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

iridehorses said:


> A temp fix, and relatively inexpensive is to use some "T" posts and electric wire. The charger you will need can be connected to house current, or solar. In a very temporary situation you can get a battery operated charger - but the batteries will only hold up for a few days or a week at the most I believe.


The barn I'm at is all wood fencing along with electrical tape on top of the wood fencing. They spent a crap load of money but the horses sure learn to stay where they are put.

I really like the idea of putting up zapper. That will teach to stay away from the fencing. 

At the end of the day when you own a horse, there is no way around having proper fencing for your animal.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Wow, finally someone with my problem - yay, you'll sympathise! :twisted:

My horse used to respect 'fencing' even if it was a single loose rope. Then I moved him to somewhere with shocking internal fencing & a bully horse cornered him & pushed him thru....

Now, the fences have to be multi strand, tensioned, cattle strength, or at least 2 strand electric to keep him from CLIMBING THROUGH them! He's on 100 acres with mates, no shortage of good grazing... but he likes to explore & has even discovered the one spot on the property, in thick bush, more than half a mile from the other horses(who never get out) where a tree had gone down on the external fence & crossed the MAIN ROAD to visit the neighbours! I wish he was more stupid, I wish he was 'herdbound'!

The only way I've found to contain him without breaking the bank to completely refence is with 2 strand wire electric. I use a car battery & a $30 solar panel to charge it. Tape is not effective enough - wire conducts better & is stronger. The other thing that's important to me, being on an agistment property is that it's portable - with little effort you can set it up anywhere.


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## Rachluvshorses4eva (Apr 11, 2007)

Sorry, rushing through here, but do you have electric fences? Because they do you a hell of a favour!


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

I also prefer electrical wire and tape but what about portable metal panels?


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