Has anyone dealt with a fence-jumper before? UPDATE WITH PHOTOS!!

[DJR]

I just brought home a lovely CSH (Cdn Sport Horse) broodmare yesterday who was living out 24/7 in a mixed herd where she came from. I had a solo paddock ready for her within eyesight of two other groups of horses. She was quite upset when she got off the trailer so I led her around the paddock and waited for her to settle a bit. When I let her go, she started trotting the fence line and got herself more and more worked up. I was trying to catch her when she decided to jump my rail fence! My fences are not small since I also have drafts, but she made it look like a cavaletti! She broke the hot wire on her way down (hot rope, not actual wire).

I managed to catch her again and spent time lunging her and settling her, and rebuilt the part of fence she jumped. I put out hay everywhere and tried again. She avoided the fence I had repaired/built up, but after about 5 minutes she jumped the highest part of the fence in that entire paddock! Then she galloped off my farm and out to the road and disappeared!!!

I won't bore you with the details of my mini heart attack, and will skip to the part where I got a call from a neighbour down the road to ask "is this your horse walking down the road?" She was 4 km away just a few minutes after she escaped!!

Anyway, I trailered her back and put her in one of my only two proper stalls in a Shedrow barn in another paddock. I prefer to keep new horses separate (no contact) from my others for 3-4 wks, but I had to put my Fjord next to her to settle her down. I don't intend on letting her out anytime soon as she was still upset this morning (but at least did eat her hay & pooped/peed).

The former owner then informed me that years ago she jumped out of her pasture. That would have been useful info to have beforehand! (The former owner, though, was apologetic when I told her what happened and was very supportive.)

Anyway, the question ... have any of you dealt with a horse like this before? How did you manage them on your farm? I've asked my fence guy to come and repair the hot wire/rope that she busted, and also add another 2x6 board at the top of the fence around the paddock she is now in. He'll be out on Wed or Thurs to do that. I'm not sure that will hold her in, though, because holy crap she can jump! Any other suggestions? Should I tranq her for the first few days? I do NOT want a repeat of seeing her tail gallop off down my country road!!!

[Hayburner]

OMG - you poor thing - I would have been a wreck watching that episode....

Why do you think she jumped the fence and took off? Was moving her to a new place just too much mentally for her?

Do you have a small round pen that she could go out in for a few days until she gets use to all the newness?

Can you hand walk her around the pasture until she settles?

If you have to drug her until she figures out this is now where she lives - do it....

[DJR]

Not entirely sure what led to this. The former owner told me that she thought the mare might be quite bonded to a yearling at the boarding facility where she was kept the last year or so, so may be missing the yearling. I have alpacas but they were in the barn during all of this, but that may have factored into it. I also have a donkey & goats but she apparently has seen those before. It is probably a mix of several different things.

I don't have a round pen, unfortunately. Just 10's of thousands of dollars of draft-suitable fences!

[fergusnc]

The only fence jumpers (or crash through-ers or fence squeeze between rail-ers) I ever heard of/knew, had reasons to jump and once those reasons were addressed, the jumping stopped. One horse was being picked on, and when the herd was changed up, he quit trying to run for his life. Same for the crashers. Upset about being alone, put in with friends, jumping stopped. Same for the one who jumped out of insanely small stall windows.

Instead of thinking about the literal fence, do you think you can sort through the cause? I understand wanting to quarantine, and slowly introduce, but I have seen cases where the lesser of two options was an almost immediate introduction to the herd to end sass behaviors (like trying to jump a stall door). Seeing other critters may not be enough for her for whatever reason. Do you have paddocks with shared fencelines? Maybe since she and the Fjord have already shared germs through the stall wall they'd can share over a fenceline?

And how terrifying about her getting down the road!

Totally unrelated to the jumping, but being that she sounds so very stressed....when I brought Dallas the Rescue Pony home, the rescue folks suggested me putting him on 1/2 cup of aloe Vera juice twice a day to help calm his stomach as he got over the big change. He was with the group for 4 years, so it was a big move for him. I actually put both horses on it, due to Fergus' recent move and stresses for awhile pre-move. Apparently there have been folks who tracked resolution of ulcers with use of AV juice by having scoping done, and there is data that it is very beneficial. So, fwiw, something to think about as a preventative of tummy upset. And super cheap. Less than $7 per gallon at Walmart...in the pharmacy near the heartburn meds and such.

[DJR]

All great thoughts, thank you.

It's hard to sort out what is bothering her as it could be several things, including:
-leaving her herdmates behind, especially the yearling with whom she was quite attached
-seeing goats & alpacas for the first time - she is now 2 paddocks away from the alpacas and they were locked in the barn when she first came home so hard to know how much this contributed
-change in general

I'm also not sure who I can put her next to or with. Other than the Fjord, the horses that are at home aren't the most sedate things (nor are they flighty like her). The Fjord was with my Shire mare, but the Shire can be bossy and I wouldn't want this new mare to have ANY reason to run into or over another fence, so she's out for the time being at least. The Fjord was also with a standard gelding donkey but donkeys aren't a calming influence for all horses so I'm not sure that would help Lexi (the new mare).

Then there are my 3 youngsters (ages 3, 4 and 6). The 4-yr-old is sold and leaving in about 10 days, so no way will I put him with a new horse or let him anywhere near! The 6 yr old can be studdy to mares. The 3 yr old would be a great paddock-mate but he wouldn't be happy being separated from the "boy band" that he is with now. Long term, I hope to integrate her with them because they have the run of 20 acres of lovely pasture in the summertime and she'd benefit from that, and from their companionship. But now, in slippy spring with no pasture to eat, it would just be a place for her to run amock and get hurt.

Once my Friesian/Perch is home from where he is indoor-boarded for the winter at the end of this month, I can put him with her as he is very mellow and won't chase or cause problems. Same with my daughter's pony mare (also on indoor-board off-site until the end of the month).

I think I'll give her a few days in the stall to settle down with some hand-walking to show her the new digs. Then, once my fence guy has been out to add rails to the very top of the posts in that paddock, I'll see how she is outside with the Fjord mare as company. Once my 4-yr-old has been shipped, I'll try her with other horses.

There's no easy solution, that's for sure!

[DJR]

P.S. I plan to put her on Rescue Remedy and a Mg supplement to help calm her down as well.

[piedmontfields]

At least there appear to be reasons for her fence jumping (emotional distress, change, etc.).

I used to board at a place with a fence jumper who found it amusing. Sailed over 5 foot board fencing with ease to go visit different herds, eat different grass and then jump back into his paddock. He ended up being moved to a boarding facility with double 5 foot board fencing and a line of trees in between the fencing lines. That worked and he stayed put. Talented jumper, for sure!

[heddylamar]

Poor mare. She sounds extremely distressed. Can you give her ulcer guard for the next week or so? If her bloodwork, etc checked out fine, I'd introduce her to the herd tomorrow. She's in too much distress and has shown a tendancy towards self harm (for me) to hold her to a quarantine period.

[DJR]

She's on calming supplements and GI supplements as of today. She's calmer this evening and enjoyed a mash I gave her, and is eating more hay finally. My Fjord mare is helping her a lot. Once the fence guys have fortified that paddock's top rails (to make them a little higher and more solid looking), I'll let her out after hand-walking her to ensure she has four feet on the ground. I agree, she was not a happy camper at all when she got here yesterday. I'm in frequent contact with her former owner, too, and I'm doing my best to give her familiar foods, treats, attention, etc., to help her adapt to the new situation.

[khall]

Yes and I do not put her out by herself. I raised jumping lines Oldenburgs, the mare has jumped out 3 times now, starting at 9 months old. She NEVER goes out by herself. My gelding jumped out at 2, left his pasture mate to follow me driving the truck and flat bed trailer to back of the farm. Thankfully he never did that again! For a long time I would not put him out or pull the other horses in and leave him out, just now at 10 he is getting better, but it is something I am always always aware of the possibility. I had to put hot wire over the gate for both of them as foals because I would go out and play with them, then leave, they would be thinking about coming out over the gate to follow me! Leaving their dam behind (full siblings).

I would not trust your mare out by herself ever.

[DJR]

Yes and I do not put her out by herself. I raised jumping lines Oldenburgs, the mare has jumped out 3 times now, starting at 9 months old. She NEVER goes out by herself. My gelding jumped out at 2, left his pasture mate to follow me driving the truck and flat bed trailer to back of the farm. Thankfully he never did that again! For a long time I would not put him out or pull the other horses in and leave him out, just now at 10 he is getting better, but it is something I am always always aware of the possibility. I had to put hot wire over the gate for both of them as foals because I would go out and play with them, then leave, they would be thinking about coming out over the gate to follow me! Leaving their dam behind (full siblings).

I would not trust your mare out by herself ever.

Oh lordy, what have I gotten myself into! LOL

My OTTB had a penchant for jumping out of his paddock if he was sick of being out and wanted back in to the barn! But he would do it calmly, just jog up to the fence and hop over as it it was a log on the ground. This mare was definitely UPSET when she was jumping out.

None of my horses are left on their own, and she will now always have a friend (or more) with her.

[orono]

I would put her out with a buddy right away. Too risky to have her keep at this behaviour.

[Moutaineer]

Geez. There's nothing like watching them booking it down the road to get the heart rate up, is there?

I had one that would roll UNDER the fence to get away from her pasture buddies, then run the fence line like a fool because she was on her own.

Thankfully, she got over it after being turned out solo next to them and learning to be social over the fence, but it was a bit harrowing for while.

[Tabby]

There was a pony at my barn who was the buddy of an old retiree. When the old retiree died, there was nothing that would keep this pony in. He either jumped or rolled out of every enclosure. Fortunately, he stayed on the property - just not in any paddock or field. He was clearly looking for his old friend. He wasn't interested in making friends with anybody else. Eventually, one of the riding instructors took him back to her place and put him in a completely new herd. As far as I know, it worked.

It sounds like your horse is missing her old friends. Definitely find her a new friend as soon as possible. If you have to, put them in neighbouring stalls for a few days and just turn them out in the arena until they get bonded enough. Then put them into a herd (don't need anybody jumping out while someone is being ridden). She will settle down but right now she's probably grieving her former herd.

[Hayburner]

Not to threadjack - but, since your calming supplements are helping - what are you using? My mare has been on 1 months stall rest and is a handful for me when hand walking.

2 weeks ago, I put her on the Smartpak Ultra Calm and 2 scoops of Mare Magic - so far No Change....

[DJR]

I'm not sure the calming supplements are doing anything, I just started them yesterday. She is calming down just with time I think. For whatever it's worth, she's on Feisty Mare, Solace, and another with tryptophan. This combo gives her Mg, various B vitamins, some herbs, and tryptophan.

Tabby - I do not have an indoor arena (I wish I did!) so whenever I turn her out again, it'll be into an outside paddock. I have just a small farm, no proper indoor stables even (all stalls are part of a Shedrow barn arrangement with direct access to the paddock if the stall door is opened, via an open-concept shelter at the front of the barn). She's been stalled next to my Fjord mare since she arrived so I hope they start to bond enough to keep the new mare in the paddock she's supposed to be in!

[DJR]

As an update, she was much more settled as of Tuesday evening. For the first time, she was just casually munching hay, was not pacing/circling nervously anymore, and ate all of her supper mash as soon as I gave it to her. When I was in with her to clean her stall, she was totally calm and unconcerned and was acting more like the mare I saw when I first met her.

The weather here has been very unhelpful with respect to trying her in the paddock again (rain & heavy mud all day long), so she remains stalled with my Fjord mare next to her. I didn't want to risk even hand-walking her today because of the wet weather & slick footing. The ground is still partly frozen here so there's nowhere for the rainwater to soak into, hence why it's so slick. It's supposed to dry up tomorrow and then freeze up again later in the week, so I hope to hand walk starting tomorrow & Thursday, and then try her out in the paddock again on Friday with the company of my Fjord mare. My fence will have been fortified by then to help give her a more solid visual barrier (although, that didn't stop her where she jumped the fence in the other paddock!! those were solid fences!!). The paddock she'll be turned out into this time is a different paddock than the one she jumped out of.

I'm encouraged by her demeanor today, though. The supplements may be helping, but mostly I think time & adjusting to the new surroundings are what's making most of the difference. She is now acting the way she was when I first went to go see her as a prospective buyer. She's pretty stocked up after the superficial injuries she sustained from jumping the fence, so hand-walking should help with that until I can safely turn her out again (and, her stall is 15' square so pretty large which lets her move around a fair bit).

[DJR]

I have a great update. After a week of bad weather (monsoon rains, or high winds), and after waiting for the guys to come and fortify the paddock fence (heighten it with a stout top rail), I tried Lexi on turnout this morning for the first time since her arrival 5 days ago. It went very well!

I hand walked her around the perimeter for a few minutes first, then let Aggie out (the Fjord mare who is her companion to help settle her in). Aggie was quite wired after being in a stall for 5 days, so she ran around like a doorknob for awhile so I just kept hand-walking Lexi until Aggie settled. That only took about 5-6 minutes, so I let Lexi go. No problems, just alert calmness and exploring her paddock at the walk. Yay!

Here are a couple of photos of "Leapin' Lexi" as I now call her! She is Cdn Sport Horse registered with Hanoverian/TB in her bloodlines.

Looking pretty!

Lexi

2017Mar10 LexiOutside1.jpg (151.54 KiB) Viewed 28102 times

With Aggie at one of the gates.

Lexi with Aggie

2017Mar10 LexiOutside2.jpg (137.96 KiB) Viewed 28102 times

I now feel much more confident that she'll do fine here at my place. Phew, what a week!

[Moutaineer]

She's an attractive horse! Looking forward to hearing abut her progress.

[PaulaO]

Oh, she is cute!

[quinta]

Look at that face!! Glad to hear she is settling in and has made a new friend.

[Chisamba]

cute, glad to hear that she is settling in

[Quelah]

Oooh I love her! Marked the way we like them . Tell more, what's her breeding, what the plan for her, etc!

[Quelah]

Oh, and I'll pass along a tip, that I got from Joe Taylor's book (which I highly recommend for anyone building or having a horse farm, even if they're not racehorses). Have your gates be the highest part of your fence line. Gates are often the place horses are most likely to challenge a fence, make it the most difficult part!

[DJR]

Oh, and I'll pass along a tip, that I got from Joe Taylor's book (which I highly recommend for anyone building or having a horse farm, even if they're not racehorses). Have your gates be the highest part of your fence line. Gates are often the place horses are most likely to challenge a fence, make it the most difficult part!

Yes, I already considered that. My gates were all installed back when I had 50 head of sheep. I didn't want the sheep escaping under the gates, so they were ALL installed low. Some of them have what I call "winter hinges" that are a foot higher. When the snow gets deeper, I just put the gate up onto the winter hinges and it saves a lot of work. Only the commonly used gates have that, though, all others were put on low.

Now I don't have any sheep, just 4 goats, so that's less of an issue. I'll slowly change the gates to be higher off the ground, but I had to choose my battles this time (it cost me $1000 to get the entire paddock fence fortified as it's a big paddock). The places where the mare jumped in the other paddock were all fenceline, and the 2nd place was the highest stretch of fenceline in that paddock, hence my choice to focus on fences not gates at this point!

[DJR]

Oooh I love her! Marked the way we like them . Tell more, what's her breeding, what the plan for her, etc!

She has a date with the black Hanoverian stallion, Sir Wanabi, this spring.

She has obscure bloodlines herself. On the Hano (sire) side, she is a Saloniki granddaughter (sire is Sergeij), and Saloniki is by Sender. On the dam's side she has Trakehner & TB blood. Lots of jumper bloodlines. She herself moves quite nicely which is what attracted me to her in the first place.

[khall]

Oooh I love her! Marked the way we like them . Tell more, what's her breeding, what the plan for her, etc!

She has a date with the black Hanoverian stallion, Sir Wanabi, this spring.

He has obscure bloodlines herself. On the Hano (sire) side, she is a Saloniki granddaughter (sire is Sergeij), and Saloniki is by Sender. On the dam's side she has Trakehner & TB blood. Lots of jumper bloodlines. She herself moves quite nicely which is what attracted me to her in the first place.

Ha! Lots of jumper lines! That explains her!! Yes I have to say I don't think I will be breeding jumper lines anymore. They think nothing of eyeing a fence line. When I weaned my now 3 yr old Lusitano filly, there is always that concern how they will handle weaning, I never had any concern she might jump the fence looking for her dam, it never crossed her mind.

[AmityBee]

Hah! My mare had Sender on her sire's side as well (Arsenik=AbsatzxSender). Both lines are actually Trakehner lines.

And guess what, she was a fence jumper as well! But only if she thought that was really, really necessary. Never in panic, though I knew her well enough, not to try to seperate her.

When it was clear that I had to semi-retire her because of a suspesory injury, I tried to switch her from daily turnout to the 24/7 group. She didn't mind spending the night with the 24/7 group, but every morning when her old herd got turned out, she would just hopp the fence and joined them. Totally calm about it, just fixing the BO mistake of putting her in the "wrong" herd.

Needless to say, I gave up after a few days...

[piedmontfields]

She is very attractive, DJR. Do you hope for her to be a dressage horse for you or to bring up and sell?

Interesting to learn about the jumper lines behind her.

Is it odd that at a farm with a bunch of eventers (WB, Irish SH, TBs) that none seem to be fence jumpers? I'm speaking of my boarding barn. It might be due to the layout of the farm which is very social, even for the individual paddocks...but a lot of these horses are 17h and the fences are only 5'....

p.s. Some Lusitanos are quite good jumpers. But not mine!

[DJR]

She is very attractive, DJR. Do you hope for her to be a dressage horse for you or to bring up and sell?

Interesting to learn about the jumper lines behind her.

She is 15 and had an injury a few years ago that ended her jumping career. My plan is to breed her to a Hanoverian to get either an eventer or a dressage foal to bring along or sell, depending on what the cross produces.

Sender, her great-grandsire, produced many top jumpers, but also produced some nice dressage horses (Anky's horse, Salinero, comes from his lines).

The dam lines are all TB.

[khall]

Yeah I know Lusitanos can jump, my filly is only 3 so has not even free jumped yet (though I do like doing so with the young ones!) but knowing her dam and then watching her during weaning and in the pasture now with others, yeah jumping fences not really her thing.

Good luck DJR with your mare. Are you breeding her to a stallion with bling? Didn't you rebreed your Shire mare for a foal this year?

[DJR]

Good luck DJR with your mare. Are you breeding her to a stallion with bling? Didn't you rebreed your Shire mare for a foal this year?

Good memory!

I did try to breed my Shire, but I waited too late in the season and she didn't catch.

I'm going to try again with both her and Lexi (the new mare) this spring. Both will be bred to the black Hanoverian stallion, "Sir Wanabi". I have a rising 3 yr old from my Shire mare and this stallion, and he's growing up really nicely.

Sir Wanabi:

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Sir Wanabi trotting:

SirWanabi_1.jpg (151.53 KiB) Viewed 27930 times

The Shire/Hano I already have from this cross (this photo was from his first year, I need good photos this year once he has shed out):

2014Aug FinnGallop_crop.jpg (54.03 KiB) Viewed 27930 times

[Tarlo Farm]

She is 15 and had an injury a few years ago that ended her jumping career.

Or didn't.

This sounds like a fun adventure, you'll have to keep us posted on the breeding and foaling and... Good luck!

[DJR]

She is 15 and had an injury a few years ago that ended her jumping career.

Or didn't.

LOL, indeed!

[Kyra's Mom]

That should be a nice cross. Glad she has decided to hang around for a bit .

Susan