# How to train a horse to relax in a stall/tied?



## Dream (Jan 23, 2011)

Since our new boarding stable doesn't have a shelter/lean-to for the pastured horses, my horse is going to have a stall where I can put her in inclement weather and where she will spend her nights. During the day she will be turned out in a large 20 acre pasture. 

She's still getting acclimated to the new stable, and has not been allowed in the pasture yet--just an oblong pen. She's such a nervous horse that she's paced along the pen's fenceline until she wore a path/packed the dirt down, and in the process (since Sunday) lost quite a bit of weight. She's simply exercising it all off! Her weight was fine when we brought here here. I'm starting her on Nutrena SafeChoice twice a day, and she also gets a flake of hay in the evening, and will be able to eat all the grass in the turnout pasture that she wants. She also gets Source Focus HF.

She has been stalled before, and didn't like it (but it was a very open stall on the end of the row, near all the action, and it was only 8' X 8')--she paced enough in there to lose a TON of weight and wore her hooves down to the whites. 

Now, with her going back into a stall, how can I get her to calm down and chill out a little? The stall itself is in a much quieter area than the previous stable's we were at, and it's much bigger and much more solid (made of solid wood instead of just open horse panels). I'm also planning on putting some toys and other things that could occupy her time instead of being upset about being in a stall. What else could I do to help her?

And how might I go about trying to teach her some patience? I've tried tying her up and leaving her for awhile....I've done it for hours and I can't get her to give in and just stand nicely/relax. She paws really bad and will dig a nice sized hole. Her breeding has a lot of stubbornness in it, so for those of you that have worked with super stubborn horses, what have you done to get through to them/learn patience? 

I'm more stubborn than she is, and we've worked through all of her other problems that we had, but I can't get past this lack of patience. She's a Paso Fino, so she's naturally pretty hot, but since I've had her since the day she was born, we've got a pretty trusting relationship and I trust her a lot. However, I'd really like to get her past this last hurdle if possible and get her comfortable being in a stall without having to pile on the feed! Thanks!


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## horseloverd2 (Jan 23, 2009)

Is she near other horses when she's stalled? If there is a horse near her she might calm down. 

Some people may recommend hobbles and you may want to consider it. I've never had experience with them so I can't really say one way or another.


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## mbender (Jul 22, 2009)

I wouldn't hobble her in the stall. But I do agree with horselover on possibly having a horse near her while she is stalled. There isn't much you can do to calm her. Instincts tell her to be with the other horses. She's not feeling safe by herself. Natural reaction. And she was bound to loose weight as she is nervous and stressed with being in a new place. She hopefully will calm down once she is on a routine. Maybe throw two flakes at night. Will keep her busy and calm. Good luck.
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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

Is there a reason to keep her in the stall at all? My horses have free access to a common area in my barn where they are fed; other then that they are out 24/7. Weather doesn't bother them the way it bothers people. 

When I was up in PA, it was common to see them with a foot of snow on their backs rather then be inside. Down here, they will be out in a thunder storm and come in for breakfast soaked rather then stay dry in the barn.

My point is that some horses do well in a stall and some never get used to it. It's not something you can train them for. Another horse that she can see may help but it may not.

BTW, hobbling them all night in a stall when they are paniced is not a good idea.


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

iridehorses, i have found the same thing with my guys. i live in wisconsin and my horses live out. i have only found them in the shelter once in the last couple years. when they lived in north dakota they didnt even have a shelter or blankets and they were fine. if i try to stall them during bad weather they are fine with it, but they always want to go back out even though its horrible outside.


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## candandy49 (Jan 16, 2011)

Horses really are happier and more healthy both physically and mentally living outdoors 24/7 in good weather and inclement weather. What you might think about when your horse is stalled is to keep hay availabe to her the entire time she is stalled. Her behavior is indicative of being insecure and worried. Hopefully she can be turned out in the pasture soon.


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## Sunny (Mar 26, 2010)

My aunt took a video two weeks ago when an F5 tornado ripped through our city. The video shows the horses at the very top of the pasture(furthest away from the lean-to) facing the raging thunder storm, practically asleep.

My point is, horses don't look at weather the same way we do. They are made to survive it. Our horses only get under the lean-to when they want shade. They almost always stay out in the bad weather.

It sounds like your horse would be much more comfortable pastured, so I would reconsider your boarding plan.
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## Dream (Jan 23, 2011)

Ok thanks guys. I will think about it.  It would be just so much easier for shows if I could have her in a stall, but I will think about her best interests. Also, yes she's always been stalled next to other horses. Thanks!


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## Sunny (Mar 26, 2010)

I don't know about your barn, but at my barn there is something called "stay-clean" where you pay $10 to stall your horse overnight before shows to keep it clean. You could check in to that.
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## morabhobbyhorse (Apr 17, 2011)

When I first got Sienna she was stalled and she chewed the wood. So I went to 'rough' board and she quit that. I moved her with her trainer who went to another barn, and she brought her in at night with the other horses and Sienna was fine, although she'd really rather be out. Pawing? You find something for that and I'll try it. I've tried the same thing, tied up (well not for hours) I made her an anklet of beads that tied on and that worked for a while. But She is just really a jealous attention seeker. She seldom paws when I'm next to her but as soon as I walk away she starts, even if she can see me. I decided to live with it since it bothers other people a lot more than it does me, kind of how you get used to traffic sounds at night after a while. She's a really high energy horse, and doesn't do it to the detriment of her feet, etc. I know they used to put old horse shoes around their ankles for that but I won't do that.


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## Dream (Jan 23, 2011)

morabhobbyhorse said:


> When I first got Sienna she was stalled and she chewed the wood. So I went to 'rough' board and she quit that. I moved her with her trainer who went to another barn, and she brought her in at night with the other horses and Sienna was fine, although she'd really rather be out. Pawing? You find something for that and I'll try it. I've tried the same thing, tied up (well not for hours) I made her an anklet of beads that tied on and that worked for a while. But She is just really a jealous attention seeker. She seldom paws when I'm next to her but as soon as I walk away she starts, even if she can see me. I decided to live with it since it bothers other people a lot more than it does me, kind of how you get used to traffic sounds at night after a while. She's a really high energy horse, and doesn't do it to the detriment of her feet, etc. I know they used to put old horse shoes around their ankles for that but I won't do that.


Sounds like your horse is a lot like mine!!  She only paws when I leave her alone--if I'm there with her she doesn't do it (which is why this is so hard of a habit to break). I even tried tying her close to a stall I could hide in and she couldn't see me and then snap a lunge whip when she started pawing....we did it for hours. She's super smart, so it makes it even harder!! I'm glad I'm not the only one out there though with this problem. 

And yeah, with being stalled...I think it's still just as healthy for her, since she will be turned out with other horses during the day in a 20 acre pasture, and then brought in at night. It's not like she would be cooped up in there all day or anything. We'll just see how everything goes I guess....


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## morabhobbyhorse (Apr 17, 2011)

Yes Sienna can be a trial and they do sound alike. I think once she gets to get out in the daytime and work off some of that energy, and have a 'herd' she'll probably settle down for you. I wish you the best of luck with her. Cheryl


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## HorseLife97 (May 9, 2011)

Make sure she has a haybag and a horse stalled next too her that she is fond of..
Good luck! =))


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## Dream (Jan 23, 2011)

So far she's been doing great. She actually did better staying in a stall at night than she did staying out in a pen all night (mostly because her friends were all brought into their stalls at night, where she just stayed in the pen).


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## morabhobbyhorse (Apr 17, 2011)

Good, she's getting there. It's just an adjustment to the move sounds like. Sienna did so well her move last Tuesday they put her right out with another mare. When I got there, she looked when I called her name and started to 'mosey' from the other side of the pasture. A bite of grass, 2 steps, smell horse poop, 2 steps. Another mare saw me and thought, 'Wow, a person, maybe she can be mine.' she started trotting toward me and Sienna ran across the pasture and drove her off. She really is quite jealous of me, and so intelligent, it's hard for me to stay ahead of her


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## Dream (Jan 23, 2011)

morabhobbyhorse said:


> Good, she's getting there. It's just an adjustment to the move sounds like. Sienna did so well her move last Tuesday they put her right out with another mare. When I got there, she looked when I called her name and started to 'mosey' from the other side of the pasture. A bite of grass, 2 steps, smell horse poop, 2 steps. Another mare saw me and thought, 'Wow, a person, maybe she can be mine.' she started trotting toward me and Sienna ran across the pasture and drove her off. She really is quite jealous of me, and so intelligent, it's hard for me to stay ahead of her


Haha. I think it helps that she gets grain when she gets brought in at night...so it's like a reward for coming into her stall and it's teaching her to enjoy being in her stall. The barn manager said she hasn't been pacing around/messing up the bedding in her stall like some of the other "pacey" horses do, so hopefully she's getting the hang of relaxation/likes being dry when it's raining outside! I know some people posted about their horses not wanting to go into a shelter when it rains, but mine does!! If it starts raining or anything, she heads for the shelter/lean-to.


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## morabhobbyhorse (Apr 17, 2011)

Yeah, Sienna has always used her run in if it wasn't 'eating' weather, LOL. She doesn't mind rain as long as she can still eat!


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## Dream (Jan 23, 2011)

Yeah, Dream isn't that big of a feed hog, so she'd rather be not getting rained on.


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## morabhobbyhorse (Apr 17, 2011)

I have always said Sienna is 'square' LOL and it's about true. I don't give her grain, except for the handful the BO used to give her when she came in because the other horses got it. I've cut out treats now that we've worked on her staying put when I come up to her in the pasture, although I still have to occasionally have to 'join' with her again, LOL when she tests me. And in a pasture that's a lot harder on ME than her and I swear I think she knows it. I'm out there huffing and puffing cutting off her drive line. But she just does that for some perverse sense of fun sometimes. But she's about as wide as she is long, LOL. When I got her she honestly didn't know how to eat grass, had been kept and mostly ignored in a paddock with a tree, hay and water. We put water on the ground right next to her hay in the arena where she stayed at first and she would dunk in. Somehow she remembered it was supposed to be moist, but grass? (It was August) no interest. I spent a lot of time just being with her at first, and I would 'mosey' her around the farm, let her check out new things. One day I was there just hanging out with her in the arena because it was raining outside, a very light gentle rain for around here. When it quit, I decided to mosey her, and she sniffed some wet grass, took a tentative bite, and hasn't quit eating since, LOL. Seriously she is so round I can't mount her from the ground, because of my disability which sometimes keeps me housebound and sometimes lets me be quite active. So I'm overweight, and not really as flexible as I could be maybe if I worked on it, and putting my foot in the stirrup and trying to bounce on my right foot to get enough momentum to get me on her always ends up with a slipped saddle. (I recently lost 20 lbs and working on more since spring has finally come KINDA to VT). Oh well I digress, LOL. Anyway she's a chow hound but very pushy about treats, well food in general, so I quit giving her treats for anything, just a good scratch on her itchy places. But Sienna uses her run in more for sun than anything else. Rain and snow don't seem to bother her. She's a hearty little thing.


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## Kymbadina (Oct 29, 2010)

I've never had a nervous horse like that but a lady in the basement stalls at our barn is leasing a 20y/o morab. She wouldn't stand to be tied to save her life! The vet told them to tie her for an hour everyday They did, brushed her and would give her a treat as soon as she calmed down. Now they can tie her and walk away she just stands. Maybe give that a try? 
The other thing you could try is a stall mirror. I've read they help nervous horses. I'm going to make one because I don't feel like spending the money to have one shipped.
Horse mirrors (also known as stable, stall or companion mirror)
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