# I think someone has been beating my horse, or maybe I'm paranoid??



## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

Normally when I go visit Cinny the first thing he does when I walk into the barn is rush to his door and nicker at me...maybe paw in impatience if I don't get there soon enough. Then he happily gives me loving.

Today when I arrived at the barn, no Cinny at his door. I whistled, still no Cinny. So I walk over to the stall to find his blanket a little disheveled and Cinny cowering in the back corner in the dark with a traumatized look about him. I got him out and gave him some treats and pats until he seemed more relaxed and went to clean his stall. While cleaning it I found a stick freshly broken in two places in the middle of his stall. Yesterday I sifted his stall so I know it wasn't there until today.

Please tell me there is a logical explanation for this and I'm just paranoid because I'm really really thinking someone beat my horse this afternoon.

Anybody know where to get a cheap "nanny cam" I can hide in his stall?


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## beauforever23 (May 6, 2010)

i hope you are able to figure out what's going on. hopefully someone isn't beating him. here's also a surveillance video thingy i found, if you were serious..

good luck

Mini Board Cameras - WDH-2500BC - 1/3" B&W Ultra Mini Covert Camera With Conical Pinhole Lens With Mounting Bracket & Cable Harness


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

Maybe play dumb and show the broken stick to your BO and ask him/her how something like that got into your horse's stall. You'll get an answer whether it is through spoken word or not.


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## VanillaBean (Oct 19, 2008)

Eek that sounds bad
Is he at a stable or at your house?
Good luck 

VB


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## Yoshi (Feb 6, 2011)

I don't want to alarm you, but this happened to me once. I went on holiday and came back and my horse had completely changed. Every time I went near him he became a quivering wreck and quite dangerous too. I was really frightened because my first thought was that he had a brain tumour (although for a 4 year old that would have been unlucky). The yard owner where I kept my horse had gone away for the weekend to a show and had left his (at the time) head groom in charge. 
I later found out from another groom that the head groom (a really twisted girl) had been beating my horse and had even stuck things into his anus. WHY? because he wouldn't stand still while she pulled his mane. 
What a freak. Needless to say when I found out all hell broke loose. Now the horse (nearly 5 years on) is a changed horse forever, he gets really stressed when you try to get near his tail and goes mental when you touch his mane.

I hope you can get to the bottom of this, and quickly... x


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

Is there marks on him or his blanket? 

Is he boarded or at your house? A camera would need to record to something, so need to know if you could store the hard drive part of it somewhere or if it would transmit to your house.


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## Rachel1786 (Nov 14, 2010)

wow that sounds horrible, i hope you can figure out what happened, is he at a boarding stable where there are a lot of people or at your house?


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## justjump (Jan 18, 2011)

Does the barn have people that clean the stalls? How many other people are at your barn? I agree with the post saying play dumb... That's really strange!

Good luck, hope you find out what happens soon!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## justjump (Jan 18, 2011)

Yoshi said:


> I don't want to alarm you, but this happened to me once. I went on holiday and came back and my horse had completely changed. Every time I went near him he became a quivering wreck and quite dangerous too. I was really frightened because my first thought was that he had a brain tumour (although for a 4 year old that would have been unlucky). The yard owner where I kept my horse had gone away for the weekend to a show and had left his (at the time) head groom in charge.
> I later found out from another groom that the head groom (a really twisted girl) had been beating my horse and had even stuck things into his anus. WHY? because he wouldn't stand still while she pulled his mane.
> What a freak. Needless to say when I found out all hell broke loose. Now the horse (nearly 5 years on) is a changed horse forever, he gets really stressed when you try to get near his tail and goes mental when you touch his mane.
> 
> I hope you can get to the bottom of this, and quickly... x


What kind of a sick person would do that!?! I'm so sorry that happened to him!!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## My Beau (Jan 2, 2009)

The stick could've came from his hay. Every now and then there will be sticks in our bales (typically the ones made from the hay at the edge of the field).


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## Buckcherry (Nov 18, 2010)

> even stuck things into his anus.


OMG she sexually harrassed your horse, poor thing some people are sick. 

I'm sorry about the situation. 
Is there anyone your friends with at the barn that might know what happen, The nanny cam might be a good idea. Poor horse.


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## iloverascal777 (Sep 17, 2010)

Definetly try to get a camera for the stall. Then you can find out who it is and prove that it was them. If you can't get a camera, try to find possible witnesses, and talk to your BO.


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## TheLovedOne (Jan 26, 2011)

OK this happened to me too. I walked into the barn to find a few girls gathering around my boy's stall and punching him in the face. I would for sure get a webcam or even move him.


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

It's a self service barn, I feed and muck myself, I also buy the hay. When I put his hay in his manger I usually pull the flakes apart and look through it as I have a new hay supplier and I am still double checking what I am getting so I doubt the stick came from there.

There is a girl who occasionally turns Cin out with her horse, Katie. She said that as it was -3 out she barely mucked her horse's stall and left. She stopped by to give Cin an apple and he was perfectly fine. When she left some boarders that we have been having issues with had just arrived. that was around 2:30. I got there about 3:30 and I was the only one there, the other boarders had fed/mucked their horse and left.

This sucks!!


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## musicalmarie1 (Dec 8, 2010)

Oh dear! I hope you get to the bottom of this without too much trouble! What a terrible thing that's happened to your horse, and to the others! Please keep us updated!


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

Hmm, I was going to suggest the hay possibility. I have found sticks in a few of my bales this year. I wonder if someone could have thrown the stick at him, and he stepped on it and broke it? Throwing something at him still may have traumatized him. Maybe the other ladies were tired of Cinny nickering? I would want a camera too. Check eBay for nanny cams.


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## corinowalk (Apr 26, 2010)

Cinnys Whinny said:


> It's a self service barn, I feed and muck myself, I also buy the hay. When I put his hay in his manger I usually pull the flakes apart and look through it as I have a new hay supplier and I am still double checking what I am getting so I doubt the stick came from there.
> 
> There is a girl who occasionally turns Cin out with her horse, Katie. She said that as it was -3 out she barely mucked her horse's stall and left. She stopped by to give Cin an apple and he was perfectly fine. When she left some boarders that we have been having issues with had just arrived. that was around 2:30. I got there about 3:30 and I was the only one there, the other boarders had fed/mucked their horse and left.
> 
> This sucks!!


While I know that those that would hurt a horse aren't exactly rational, a thinking person wouldn't have left the stick in the stall. Try this scenario in your head and see if maybe it would fit.

Katies mom is rushing picking out her stall. She lays the pitchfork up against his stall door/wall/within reach. 

Cin waits til everyone is gone, gets bored being in his stall and snatches that pitchfork up but breaks it in the process of getting it into the stall. 

Someone comes along and finds a broken pitchfork on the ground and tosses it in the garbage...probably cussing something about lazy people breaking things and not cleaning up after themselves. 

I only suggest this because it actually happened at our barn. Our resident crazy was 100% certain that we were trying to kill her horse. She though for sure that we were beating Dixie with a broken pitchfork handle. Why? Because there was a nice big ol chunk of a pitchfork handle in her stall. 

Someone had left it within 'mouths' reach of Dixie. She drug it into her stall and played with it a bit. She broke it in half and in the process gave herself a good spook. BO found the 'fork' part laying in the hallway and tossed it away without a second though. 

If something is going on, I would have a nice long talk with your BO about how you want to put up a surveillance camera.


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

corinowalk said:


> While I know that those that would hurt a horse aren't exactly rational, a thinking person wouldn't have left the stick in the stall. Try this scenario in your head and see if maybe it would fit.
> 
> Katies mom is rushing picking out her stall. She lays the pitchfork up against his stall door/wall/within reach.
> 
> ...


Oh, I so wish but...Katie's horse is in a completely different barn and it was more of a tree stick than a handle.

My hope...the horse who's run is behind Cinny wanted to play with Cinny and push the top of his dutch door open. Then one of the BO's dogs decided to visit Cinny, bringing with it the stick it was chewing. Then it was called to dinner and left the stick in Cin's stall where he stepped on it. So, can 10 yo St. Bernard jump over the bottom portion of a dutch door? And then maybe Cin was in the corner because the breeze coming in the top of the now open dutch door was cold and he found it warmer to be in the corner?

I want so bad to think I am wrong...but no matter how I look at it, and the BO looks at it and Katie looks at it...it looks fishy.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

It could be any number of things. 98% of which are not some thing evil.

I am always surprised that people jump to evil first. 


Horses play with things. If they can reach it, it ends up in their stall. And even separating the flakes some, you would be surprised what can hide in a flake of hay.


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## Wyld Eyed (Feb 4, 2011)

Geez,sounds like wherever you move your horse(how many times have you moved??)there is some kind of problem.Maybe you could go back to your other barn (the one you just moved from)at least your horse wasnt being abused there.That is if they will take you back.


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## Yoshi (Feb 6, 2011)

I'm sorry if I shocked anyone with my experience and I really hope that the OP's situation turns out to be nothing serious, but I wanted to share what had happened to Buzz, because animal violence is real and the signs shouldn't be ignored.

Hopefully there is a logical explanation for this and I really wish that in my situation that there had been one too...


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## apachiedragon (Apr 19, 2008)

I'm so sorry this is happening. You may never find out exactly what the real story is though. I keep my horses at my home. I am the only one that cares for them aside from my husband when I need a hand. I have lesson kids that come and go, but never without me being present at the barn. I had a totally sane, "bombproof" gelding that was in your pocket. One day I went to catch him for a lesson and found him drenched in sweat and trembling. None of the other horses were stressed, they were all eating. For the next 4 months, you couldn't so much as groom this guy without him twitching and shivering, he'd have a heart attack if you went to bridle him, and he'd bolt without warning under saddle. If I didn't absolutely know better, I'd have sworn someone had beat him too, but there was zero chance of this here. After several fruitless vet checks, and a ton of hours working one on one with him, one day it was like someone flipped a switch and my boring, sane horse was back overnight. And we never figured that one out. 

Now that I've rambled on (sorry about that) we are sure he freaked himself out somehow and it took him that long to just get himself over it. Maybe Cinny did something to give himself a big scare. You said his blanket was askew, could he have gotten it caught, maybe on his door, and freaked himself out that way? 

Don't worry yourself sick over what might have happened, just be on the lookout for anything else that seems odd, and go on doing what you are doing. Chances are it won't repeat.


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

apachiedragon said:


> Don't worry yourself sick over what might have happened, just be on the lookout for anything else that seems odd, and go on doing what you are doing. Chances are it won't repeat.


I'm trying not to and I'm thankful to all of you who have brought me back to the real world and made me try to think there were sane, logical explanations.

Wyld Eyed - He's only been moved this once, he's been at the last place pretty much since I bought him...so no, not a lot of moving him.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

Paranoia is the name of the game these days. One of my boarders was bent out of shape last week determined someone had been messing with her horse because the straps on the blanket were 'wrong'. Oddly enough it was the day after a snow fall and the Monday after a brutally cold weekend. No tracks in the driveway or parking area - except hers. I asked who had put the blanket back on after they had last rode (she had a friend out) - instant change of demeanor. 

I have another boarder texting every couple of hours and sure I am upset with her because I am not getting back to her the instant she hits send.

Cabin fever is getting awful!


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## cowboylife (Feb 9, 2011)

wow... I was taken back when I read this! I certainly hope that noone is beating your horse! Who would do that?

If you have a hunch... I say follow it and move your horse if possible!

All the best!


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## kassyrose (Oct 3, 2010)

If you even have to consider this possibilty my advice would be just change where your horse is kept. Take him somewhere else, if you can't trust the people at your own yard then it doesn't sound like an enjoyable place to spend time anyway. I'm sorry for your situation.


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## corinowalk (Apr 26, 2010)

I think moving him without an explanation is the worst possible thing to do. Horses are flighty, unpredictable animals. He could have gotten a good spook from just about anything. 

If it were to develop into a pattern, I would be more concerned. Try to see the explanations and not the evil. The world isn't a safe, sweet place any more. You have every right to protect your horse. But make sure that there is something going on and not just a string of unrelated events.


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## Northern Guide (Jan 16, 2011)

*Too bad to hear,,,but*

It happens with sticks sometimes in bales,, the round bales are more likley to have them in especially along the feilds edge with trees,, sometimes this hay isnt the best either,,, can take too long to dry and can be racked over ,, even a coulpe times out towards the center,, can pick this up along the way,,,

I walk my fields pretty close before cutting but sometimes just miss a few..

But , hard treatment happens,,,,it happens here in the bush too,,, or more likley with some of the horses that were brought in,,, maybe bought in the ring,,, are real tough to get over a whole bunch of trust issues,,,too or has ,,, so many horses,,, and diffrent people comming in ,,, and some times on short change,,, 

I'm working with one here now,, bought in the ring,,, and he has some pretty heavy things on his mind,, 4 1/2 yrs old,,,,, Palamino, @ 16.5,, The first couple months he would nhave taken my head off had he the chance,, spinning and kicking hard,,, now ,,, He stands for me,, not for long 30 seconds to a minute,, maybe,, and his butt is what I see as he leaves,, or just walks away,,, Thats it hes done and every day I work with him,,, this is as far as we are right now,,,but if the horse is woth it and has been good to you,,, find out,, maybe have to even move the animal to another stable,,, 
Things to consider if it doesnt work,,, But I dont give up on any of them ,,, I learn them here,, about 180 head,,, and take it from there,, but they all need their own space especially if its for recovery needs,,,

Its too bad if this did happen.
Maybe you should ask any others with horses there the question if they have had any problems,,, also the horse ,, if something happened will usally have a pretty diffrent response to someone that it doesnt want there ,,, but asking direct,, if you really think thats the case will give you your answer,,, no matter whats said,,,,,, Maybe an idea could be,, have someone there with you ,,,as well

Good Luck


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## Skipsfirstspike (Mar 22, 2010)

I would tend to think there is a reasonable explanation, sounds like the dog is the likely culprit bringing the stick in. Maybe Cinny stepped on the stick, thought it was trying to kill him, so he in turn killed the stick?
I think the cases of people actually willfully beating someone else's horse are fairly few and far between. Take these other boarders. Imagine their behavior was 10x worse, you can't stand them. Are you going to beat their horse? Of course not, you will slash their tires instead. (Kidding) 
I hope your situation improves soon.


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## Buckcherry (Nov 18, 2010)

If he continues to act strangly I would invest in a nanny cam They have ones that just record and you can watch them later. Maybe he did something to scare Himself

My horses act like nuts sometimes and are fine the next day. Such as when it's really windy and when the other boarders horse breaks into our field. My horses hate him and get really stressed out for the rest of the day my gelding will not leave my mares side. 

I don't know about the dog and the stick, I suppose it's possible but I dont know how your stalls are set up. Can a dog get into them without help from a human?

Good luck and I hope everything works out.


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## A knack for horses (Jun 17, 2010)

Could he have brought the stick in in his tail? Maybe something made a loud noise in the barn (like a bucket was tossed, or a door slammed) that made Cinny cower in the back of his stall. 

Never the less, I would keep an eye out for more suspicious activity over the next week or so. If there are more events, report it to the BO and take more vigilance (like the nanny cam).

I hope its nothing.


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## Skipsfirstspike (Mar 22, 2010)

Not quite sure if it is legal to have a hidden camera installed in this situation...


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

A knack for horses said:


> Could he have brought the stick in in his tail? .


This stick that people think could have been in they hay, in his tail....when you put the pieces together it's about 4 feet long and about half inch in diameter....sort of hard to have been in his tail,hay, etc...

Also, as for the Nanny cam, it is legal with the BO's approval, which I have. He wants to double check too. My old barn had security cameras all over the place so I'm sure it's legal as long as the BO says it's ok to place it on his property.


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## QOS (Dec 8, 2008)

So sorry your horse has been traumatized. Poor guy. It is like dealing with an infant...they can't tell you what is wrong.

Yoshi, :shock: I can't believe someone did that to your horse. OMG I think I would have gone ballistic on her....I would have reported her for animal cruelty. That poor guy!!


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## My Beau (Jan 2, 2009)

Cinnys Whinny said:


> This stick that people think could have been in they hay, in his tail....when you put the pieces together it's about 4 feet long and about half inch in diameter....sort of hard to have been in his tail,hay, etc...


My horse, Beau, brought a stick inside in his tail last week that was huge. I've never seen one that big stuck in a tail, but I bet it was 4'ish. Just really tangled in there and dragging on the ground behind him.

It's still out behind the barn... I'll take a picture if you want so you can see size.


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## Arksly (Mar 13, 2010)

Cinnys Whinny said:


> This stick that people think could have been in they hay, in his tail....when you put the pieces together it's about 4 feet long and about half inch in diameter....sort of hard to have been in his tail,hay, etc...


Horses will sometimes bring it in with their mouths. My horse once brought a decent size rock with him into his stall one day. And another time the brought his own salt lick out and then back in. They couldn't get it out of his mouth so they just left him. 

I'm just trying to put out possibilities, I really hope it's a false alarm.


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

How was your horse today CW?

You also just posted about drama with the owners of the neighboring stall? Think this could have anything to do with it?


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## Delfina (Feb 12, 2010)

I've had barn dogs, stand on their back legs and drop sticks into stalls. A horse could then step on the stick and the resulting crunch could spook them.

It's hard to determine exactly what spooked a horse unless you are standing there watching. I had a TERRIFIED horse, completely sweaty, out of breath, just a big ol' mess and he was in an empty round pen. My trainer was very worried and checked on him every few minutes until she found out that doofus was spooking from the sheet he was wearing. He'd been wearing the sheet for multiple days on and off without a problem and that day, he decided that the sheet was the scariest thing on the planet.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

Cinnys Whinny said:


> This stick that people think could have been in they hay, in his tail....when you put the pieces together it's about 4 feet long and about half inch in diameter....sort of hard to have been in his tail,hay, etc...


Broken in pieces it could have fit in a bail. Again, you would be surprised by the things that can hide inside a bail.



Arksly said:


> Horses will sometimes bring it in with their mouths.


So true.
My horses have a couple of rejected Christmas trees in their paddock right now. They chewed off all the branches, etc. Now I find what is left of the trunk (so the whole 6' long trunk with stubs where all the branches were) moved all over the paddock every day. I have watched them, they pick it up in their teeth and carry it around.


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## HopalongCassidy (Dec 19, 2010)

Huh? i can't say it didn't come in by his tail but...... Who brought him in? would they have seen it? Say you said you check his hay. so i'd say not by there. but you never know. Our round bale hay has few long branches but your feeding him square aren't you? 

All in All just get a camera. If i ever board i'd get a camera. Or if i ever own a boardery i'd have cameras installed.


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## Buckcherry (Nov 18, 2010)

I'm not sure why people keep bringing up the hay because she said she checks it everytime she puts hay in his manger. And she's the one that does it. 

And if someone brings him into the stall and noticed a big 4ft stick in his tail or mouth why wouldn't they remove it from the stall?!? and if they saw the dog do it then why didn't they remove it?

But you said his blanket was lying there? is it a new blanket? because we got our pony a new one and my nieces had to have a bright pink one, and she's fine while its on her but if she see's it lying there she snorts and won't go near it and she runs when we try to put it on her. I didn't think horses could see color but she acts like she can. But our other neutral colored blankets she's fine with.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

Buckcherry said:


> I'm not sure why people keep bringing up the hay because she said she checks it everytime she puts hay in his manger. And she's the one that does it.


Because I check my hay too (heck, I even bale my own hay) and I feed my horses myself and I am still shocked by the things that are in there.


Add that I think the cases of people randomly abusing other people's horses are VERY rare. It is far more likely something else happened than someone beat this horse.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

Alwaysbehind said:


> Because I check my hay too (heck, I even bale my own hay) and I feed my horses myself and I am still shocked by the things that are in there.


I have to agree. Unless a person took the flake apart stem by stem or blade by blade, things hide pretty well. Especially if you have a baler that makes those wonderful tight 70 pound bales.


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## Buckcherry (Nov 18, 2010)

I'm not assuming that someone beat her horse, I actually doubt it. I know horses spook themselves all the time. I'm just saying she would have noticed that big of a stick if she checks her hay. 
I could see bringing this back up numerous times if she didnt check her hay but she does. 

I actually shake mine out flake by flake and check it really good and it's very rare I find anything . Only thing I've ever found was a old dog collar LOL


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## Larra98 (Jan 17, 2009)

Yoshi said:


> I don't want to alarm you, but this happened to me once. I went on holiday and came back and my horse had completely changed. Every time I went near him he became a quivering wreck and quite dangerous too. I was really frightened because my first thought was that he had a brain tumour (although for a 4 year old that would have been unlucky). The yard owner where I kept my horse had gone away for the weekend to a show and had left his (at the time) head groom in charge.
> I later found out from another groom that the head groom (a really twisted girl) had been beating my horse and had even stuck things into his anus. WHY? because he wouldn't stand still while she pulled his mane.
> What a freak. Needless to say when I found out all hell broke loose. Now the horse (nearly 5 years on) is a changed horse forever, he gets really stressed when you try to get near his tail and goes mental when you touch his mane.
> 
> I hope you can get to the bottom of this, and quickly... x


who could do that!? thats just SICK! :evil:


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

Another scenario: stick gets caught up in the horse's tail or blanket. Maybe its already broken, or it got broken and tangled. In the stall, the stick scrapes against the wall, making a racket, or pokes him somehow, and he spooks himself. 
I highly, highly doubt someone maliciously beat one horse in the barn out of the blue. More so, I can't see anyone beating a horse with its blanket on (pointless), or taking the time to unblanket then reblanket. It doesn't make sense. Furthermore... Why use a flimsy 1" diameter stick (1" isn't thick, its kindling if that) that breaks easily, then leave the "weapon" there?
Unless you see more evidence, I would count it as a freak accident that likely didn't have malicious intent.
Also, if you put up a nanny cam, don't you have to get permission from the BO, and then since its not your property, put a sign up saying "you are being recorded"?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

At the new place, Cinny doesn't go out unless I take him out or Katie, who we share horsey chorse with...some days I do both our horses, some days she does them. Anyway, Katie was there yesterday and said that Cinny was completely normal (for him). He came up nickering when she got there and was eager to play with his buddy Reilly. The only thing was that he panicked a little when she picked up he lunge whip someone left in the arena, she said he freaked a little but then he was fine.

I go today, I have a lesson so we will see how it goes.


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

My advice? Don't think anything of it, unless it happens again or there is more evidence. Horses read body language very well, so if you're anticipating something OR you're acting "off" to them (even subconsciously) they can feed off that. A horse being iffy about a lunge whip isn't alarming. A horse can decide that his own shadow is scary for an entire day then be normal the next. 
The chances of malicious activity around your horse, being truthful, is slim to none. Again, why would anyone beat a horse through its blanket, or take the time to remove the blanket? Doesn't make sense.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Oxer (Jul 9, 2010)

i found a broken part of a pretty serious blade in my bale of hay once. must have broken off somewhere between point a, point b, the feed barn i buy from, and finally my horse's feeder! There it was... glinting in the sun. A big nasty blade. Would have likely killed my guy had he managed to swallow it. But, had i not noticed it, and came upon it in my horse's feeder... i might think someone was trying to do something downright foul to my boy. 
Just keep an eye out. Trust your horse, and your instincts!


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## Maverick101 (Nov 8, 2009)

Buckcherry;923609
And if someone brings him into the stall and noticed a big 4ft stick in his tail or mouth why wouldn't they remove it from the stall?!? and if they saw the dog do it then why didn't they remove it?
h.[/QUOTE said:


> Because some people are just plain lazy.
> 
> I had a barn worker that unless it wasn't w in their normal routine, or certain things weren't affecting him directly he wouldn't do anything about it.....needless to say he didn't last long working for me!
> 
> I also find all sorts of treasures at times in my hay. And we do our own hay as well. Everything from chip bags, to dead rodents, so it is possible it came from the hay.


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## Arksly (Mar 13, 2010)

Maverick101 said:


> Because some people are just plain lazy.
> 
> I had a barn worker that unless it wasn't w in their normal routine, or certain things weren't affecting him directly he wouldn't do anything about it.....needless to say he didn't last long working for me!
> 
> I also find all sorts of treasures at times in my hay. And we do our own hay as well. Everything from chip bags, to dead rodents, so it is possible it came from the hay.


 Yuck, finding dead animals is the worst. Depending on how old the hay is too, it can be pretty nasty.


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## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

I agree with JDI. I wouldn't worry about it until/unless something else happens.

My little one has hauled a whole tree branch around from her tail before. We're talking a good 5-6' by 2" BRANCH. I don't know how she managed that, but it happens.

I also agree on the points of horses carrying things around by their mouths, as well as things showing up in hay. I check my hay fairly thoroughly, but have missed sticks and even a dead bird in the past. Sh*t happens, especially with horses.


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

Cin was fine again yesterday. I had a lesson and although he seemed freaked by the lunge whip when I lunged him, he was otherwise fine.

My fiance said that even if someone did do something, it had to have been while standing outside his stall, given Cin's history for challenging anybody who threatens him. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that if someone actually went into his stall to mess with him in that way, the person would most likely have been found on the stall floor along with the broken stick.

Most likely a barn pet (one of the dogs) shared his stick with Cin. Or if someone did start something it was probably from outside and just enough to spook him a bit.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

You mention barn dogs now, I'd bet big money that's it. Dogs eat everything, especially sticks. He could have munched on it outside Cin's stall, or crawled under the stall door with it....etc.

As for hay, I think it is unlikely to have come from the hay, but nonetheless, we find the strangest crap in ours. We've found snakes, birds, condoms, pieces of leather....


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

I'm lucky, I've yet to find a darn thing in my hay except...hay. I found an AWESOME supplier, it costs a buck more a bale but my picky horse loves it...and it's nice soft brome/grass mix. She says that an Amish family actually does her hay from planting to baling. Doesn't matter who does it, Cinny eats it like a piggy and is doing well on it, is pretty free of dust and objects, that's all I care about!


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