# Moved to a new barn and my horse won't eat!



## Arabianjt (Dec 20, 2017)

Help everyone! I need some advice. Last week I moved my 21 year old Arab gelding to a new boarding facility where he has a stall and a large paddock with three feedings a day, hay in AM & PM, stable mix pellets at lunch. He was at his last boarding facility for eight years and was in a 12x14 stall with only two feedings a day. He is currently on all grass hay. We travel to shows often and he has always been his normal, happy self so I did not expect the change he is not experiencing. Since we have moved, he is barely touching his hay but will scarf down the pellets. He will take a couple bites of hay in his stall and then run back out to his paddock. He has horses next to him in other paddocks but they are all separate. He has been on a full tube of ulcergard for three weeks now to treat already existing ulcers. I was thinking about switching his PM feed to an alfalfa/grass mix to see if that will entice him to eat more. What can I do to encourage him to eat his hay? 

Also, whenever I take him out he starts neighing like a mad-man. We have a very strong bond that I feel has diminished since we moved, sadly. I will see his normal personality come out at times and I know that the neighing is just a confidence issue. He is very calm when we are out and does not spook only neighs. How can I help him to feel more comfortable around the barn? 


Thank you!


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Can you bring his hay out into the run and see if that encourages him to eat it? If he is anxious about his surroundings, that is not going to help his eating. When he is in the stall, can he see the other horses?


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## Arabianjt (Dec 20, 2017)

He can see some of the horses from inside his stall. I will try putting his hay out into his paddock. Thanks!


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

He's 21 y/o and you moved him from a familiar place to one he's never seen before. Older horses, especially Arabians, do not like change.


He's been moved somewhere he doesn't know anyone, and you expect him to act like his old self right away? He's an aged horse; they especially take longer to adapt when yanked from a familiar living situation and thrust into somewhere new. It's like taking your grandpa from the home he's lived in most of his life, and sticking him in an assisted living facility without his consent.


I brought my mare home when she was 23 y/o. She's really laid back, but it took her awhile before she settled down.


He's older and set in his ways, and you've changed up his whole routine. I'd be surprised if he WASN'T upset.


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

Sounds like more than one issue...

The neighing he may be calling out (hopelessly) for an old friend. Or he may be calling out seeking a friend or horsey reassurance. 

The hay issues may be something else entirely. Even when my horses don't like the kind of hay, they will at least nibble at it. Not eating it at all is worrisome. 

Would suggest getting his teeth checked (r/t his age) and verify the hay is safe and nutritional. 

Can you get some of the hay from where he was and see if he'll eat it?


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

I'd try some different hay and see if that helps. Second getting his mouth checked to be sure he didn't injure himself fretting.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

21 isn't really that old for an Arabian (mine will be 19 in March), but it is a huge change for them, and they are such smart, sensitive animals. I think the advice given by others is excellent. He may not be eating his hay because it's different (so getting a few bales of the stuff he had at his old barn and mixing it with the new might work), or because he's worked up and wants to run in and out (so having hay in both locations might work). Mine freaked when I moved him from his boarding barn to my home barn, but calmed down a bit in a couple of days, when we brought in another horse to keep him company. It may just take time. Try to hang out with him a little more so he at least has something familiar to cling to, and see if he'll eat some hay out of your hand just to get him going. A week is not long, but he is eating his pellets, so that's good. You could also try some soaked hay cubes as a partial replacement for the hay he's not eating currently. My QH mare will eat any hay, but my Arab makes his preferences VERY clear, even when I honestly can't tell the difference. 

I know this has to be stressful for you too, but he should settle down eventually.


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## Arabianjt (Dec 20, 2017)

@Acadianartist Thank you for the advice. It is comforting to know that you have had a similar experience and that it worked out. I've known him a long time and have never had a problem with moving him anywhere, which is why I am so concerned. I understand that it'll take time but this was definitely not anything I have ever experienced with him before. Thank you for all the advice and kind words.


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