# moving to a new barn... help!



## dedebird

so im moving my wonderful horse to a barn closer to me so i can see him everyday and i can make sure hes getting everything he needs everysingle day. when i told my best friend she gave me a huge list of things i need to know ( ithink shes trying to discourage me because im her ride to the other barn) anyway i know almost everything except im not sure what do to if he colics, she said that they do that when they move to a new place i dont know if thats completly true or not but i still want to know what to do ir he does. 
i was also wondering is it bad to ride you horse every day? i wouldnt ride him sundays because my family does not do anything on sundays  

the last thing is i have no idea what vaccinations he already got i kno i have not given him any... i dont know what to do about that... please help me im mostly worried about the colic!


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## kait18

first talk to your vet the current barn uses. i am assuming you had to vaccinate if its a public barn with multiple horses. there vet would know if yours recieved what shots. then when you have all that figured talk to the new bo and vet you will be using about what you need or don't need to vaccinate for that barn.

then for colicing... i have never seen a horse colic from going to a new place. i guess it could happen but likely not. he will probably stress abit in the beginning but will relax over time. if he starts to colic laying down, rolling biting at theback of there stomach are all signs i have been told of colicing. you must walk them and keep them on there feet and have the vet come out imemdiately.

i like to ride every other day as one day off one day on type thing. but if your not doing anything hard you can ride everyday. like 20 minutes one day and 2 hours the next blah blah 

good luck


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## Joe4d

While stress can be a contributing factor to colic Usually alot more going on than just moving. My horse gets moved to a new place almost every week. COuple things I do when I get home from a trip. DOnt feed him horse food the evening you move him. Just hay and water. Sounds like your hore hasnt been moved much, see if you can get 5 or 10 gallons of water to take with you. Sometimes horses get screwey and dont wanna drink strange water. Surely someone should have medical records on your horse.


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## dedebird

im not sure if the bo knows what shots he has been given she gave me him for free becuase no one was using him for lessons but she owned him because his old owner dissapeared for a long time and didnt pay anything following her pollicy he became hers.

ill see what i can do about the water i heard if you put something like kooaid in there water they will get used to a funky tasting water. my horse hasn't been moved in a long time. from what i know hes only been moved about 3 times in his whole life.


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## Joe4d

I wouldnt add anything, Id just give him the same water in the new place, once he drinks it a couple times top it off with the new water. Most likely it wont be an issue.


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## Alwaysbehind

Horses are far more adaptable than we humans give them credit for.

I have never not fed my horse when I have moved one. A sudden change in diet is more likely to cause a problem than feeding them. 
Ask your current barn owner if you can take a few meals worth of whatever grain they feed, if the new barn feeds something that is drastically different. This will allow the new barn to mix it with their grain and transition your horse over.


Unless the water is very different that probably will not be an issue either. Keep an eye on your horse just to be sure. 



Vaccine are another story.
If the person you got your horse from does not know a vaccine history it is time to start vaccinating, per your vets recommendation, as if your horse has no vaccine history. Your vet will be able to explain it to you.

If you do not have a relationship with a vet already, vaccines are a great way to become a client and establish that relationship. While the vet is there have your horse's teeth checked too. 


Colic - if your horse shows signs of colic step one is call your vet. Colic is not something you play with and hope goes away on its own.


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## dedebird

the food wont be different unless its different kind of hay because i have to buy his grain for him in both barns. ill ask my bo if she knows what vaccines hes had again. 

this is also a complicated move because shes not just my bo shes also leader of my whole 4-H group and horse project i hope she dosent get mad at me. im moving him because i want him to be closer i hope she understands.

do you think if i rode him like an hour a day it would be to much?


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## Beauseant

Moving day is a stressful day for horse and owner. We've had to move Beau ourselves twice...but as an ex racehorse, he's moved much more than that. Even so, he doesn't like it and never "gets used" to being moved from his herd and pasture to a completely new pasture and enduring the quarantine period. Neither is he fond of fighting his way to the top of the herd heirarchy.....

When we first bought him, we moved him to a temporary farm because there were no openings at the farm we kept Epona at. On moving day, he was trailered (alone) to epona's farm and he was screaming and whinnying for his herd and kicking/pawing the trailer floor/wall the whole way....luckily, it was a short move. only about ten minutes away.

The second time we had to move him was 8 months later about a half an hour away...but this went easier as he was moving as epona went with him.

He took it all in stride. But we worried about epona. She was impossible to trailer load....I don't know how her original owner got her to the farm we bought her from, but he must have drugged her. Once her owner wanted to take her to a training clinic and tried to load her and she went ballistic, even the BO couldn't get her on the trailer. She went wild. The trip was cancelled, and no one ever tried to trailer her anywhere again. So....on moving day, we were worried we wouldnt be able to get her on the trailer at all....my son worked with her in the weeks leading up to the move, and even though she trusted and respected him, even he could only encourage her to put her two front hooves into the trailer... The BO said, for Epona, that was a miracle....Moving day came and beau was loaded first. She balked a bit when her turn came, but nothing major. She was loaded in less than five minutes.

I know some may disagree, but after the move, our vet and BO both told us to not grain Beau(Epona does not get grain) for a few days (forget how many) and then when we reintroduced the grain to start out small and increase it slowly...I do remember that we increased his grain per their specifications and he still had a minor colic episode that passed within an hour....but we were told to leave his grain amount where it was for a few days before increasing again due to his having had a mild bellyache. 

Perhaps that is being overcautious to not grain immediately after a move, but I figured the vet was smarter than me, So i followed her instructions.

A boarder who moved shortly after I did, however, did NOT withhold grain on the day of the move or afterwards....and her horse had no problems whatsoever.

OP, i'd ask my vet if they reccomend witholding grain for a time after a move.....some do, some probably dont.


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## beverleyy

dedebird said:


> the food wont be different unless its different kind of hay because i have to buy his grain for him in both barns. ill ask my bo if she knows what vaccines hes had again.
> 
> this is also a complicated move because shes not just my bo shes also leader of my whole 4-H group and horse project i hope she dosent get mad at me. im moving him because i want him to be closer i hope she understands.
> 
> do you think if i rode him like an hour a day it would be to much?


I had sort of the same thing happen to me over spring this past year.

purchased a mare from her own barn, though she had only been there 2 weeks. I was friends with the trainer there and friends with another girl, as well as the mare's previous owner (2 weeks) was still boarding at the barn.

I basically just had to give my 30 days notice and say I was moving her back home because driving 30-45 minutes each day was just too much. The cost of gas was more than my board! They all understood the situation, of course they all wished we'd stay but I just had to explain that driving up to 45 minutes a day vs. having her at home would be cheaper for myself, plus I get to see my mare a lot more often. 

I don't see why they wouldn't understand. And if they take it personally, then that's not really something that's your fault. Regardless of me bringing my mare home, my friends from that barn where I purchased her are still my friends, they're understanding. 

Also, maybe the BO knows what vet the previous owner was using and you could contact that vet and see if she is UTD. I know for my mare that was a bit different ....she had come of the track in July 2010, sat in a field for a year and then sent for meat, was then purchased by a new lady a week before I went out to see her. I was able to figure out that the last time she would have had any vaccinations was January 2010, so by June 2011 she was definitely overdue on everything. How long has she been under your BO's care? if it's been over close to or over a year and BO has not had the vet out, it's of course time.

hope that helps out a bit..


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## Skyseternalangel

I just want to reiterate it's completely wonderful to ride your horse everyday! I used to for a solid 5 months and we got fit fit fit and confident and we were glowing! Then we moved cross country and we're together 3 days out of the 7 (boo...) but he enjoys the time off. But if you can, do ride your horse everyday. Change it up from an hour of schooling to a nice trail ride, to bareback walks, to course work, ground work then ride.. the more you mix it up, the more intrigued and curious your horse will be to see you walking up to them with their halter  But I do suggest feeding a flake or two after you work them, or take them out for grass because they'll be burning a lot of calories. 

And also, I've moved my horse 3 times in a year.. and he has never colic-ed once.. it all depends on the horse and how you make things a little less stressful for the horse during the physical move and the transition to a different barn. 

Either way I hope you and your horse enjoy the new barn!!


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## AlexS

Your horse will be fine, just keep him on the same feed. And riding is not an issue at all.


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