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Julia,
When I read your message, I wondered if you had cut back or eliminated
your horse's grain ration? A stalled horse builds up a lot of energy, to
the point where it's excessive and hard to control, especially if he/she
is being given the same amount of grain as when he could exercise it
off. When I have had to have a horse stalled for any reason, first thing
I do is cut back on the grain. Replace this with frequent treats of
carrots and an apple or two a day. If I keep feeding the grain, if
necessary to add vitamins or medication, I keep the amount as small as
possible.
I had a mare that pulled a stifle muscle at the age of 12, and had to be
on stall rest for 3 months. She'd never been kept in a stall before in
her whole life, so did not appreciate this at all. We had to have bars
on the door of the stall because she got so crabby she'd bare her teeth
and threaten to bite anyone who walked by. She was mine, and mine alone
to care for those months, as no one else at the stable wanted to get
anywhere near her. I had to be very firm with her to let her know that
she still had to respect me despite her frustrations. There's nothing
wrong with raising your voice to a horse when they act like your's is
now. My horse was sensitive enough that a good scolding was sufficient
to remind her to back off and behave.
If you bribe your horse with carrots and apple treats and visit him
frequently, this should help in the getting the halter on problem. You
should also brush him and baby him as much as possible, as often as
possible. If the only reason you go into the stall is to change the
bandages, he's got good reason to be grumpy and resistant.
I also used to sit outside my horse's stall, and play my recorder (a
wooden, flute-like instrument). My music abilities are poor at best, but
even so my mare would calm down and listen attentively. Sometimes I'd
also play cassete tapes of soothing music for an hour or so at a time.
Some people have music playing in their barns all the time, and I think
after a while horses just tune it out. But doing it an hour or two a day
seems to help a lot. There's lots of neat, calming relaxation music
tapes available that you can get. I'd even try one of those sound waves
tapes, for relaxation. Let your horse hear some ocean sounds, see how he
responds!
You can also hang some toys in the stall for him to play with. I hang
gallon milk jugs with a handful of oats or corn in them, and the horse
learns to flip them around and bounce the grain out for a treat.
(Remember, just a handful!)
Being on stall rest can be real hard for a normally active horse to
handle. If you can make it an enjoyable experience for him, he'll
tolerate it a lot better.
Hope this helps!
Ruth
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