colt jumping fence

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ok, we have a 4 month old colt who insists on jumping the cow panel fence during the night. He's never done this thru the day.

there isn't a whole lot of room to run an electric fence at the top - so does anyone out there have any other ideas? for now - he's in the barn during the night till we get this problem solved

he stays in the yard and eats grass but he has left evidence that he's been on the road (yes, he's covered under our insurance) He's given plenty of food so I think this is just a bad habit.

it's my daughters' colt and she is tired of getting up in the middle of the night to put him back in

our 7 yr. old gelding gives him away each time - he whinnys whenever he's not with him - thank goodness he does that!!!!

thanks for all who respond!!!

-- Pat (pmikul@pcpros.net), August 22, 2000

Answers

You'll have to make it so it isn't fun for him to get out any more. Our filly did that for a long time until I started catching her and tying her up close to a tree. After she stood there for several hours a couple of times, she quit getting out.

-- Green (ratdogs10@yahoo.com), August 22, 2000.

Call someone whose always looking for a new jumper ... like me.

-- Brad (Rodent@worldpath.net), August 23, 2000.

Obviously there is a reason your colt wants out -- usually, it is for companionship, but with the noisy gelding still at home, that's not it. A 4month old likely isn't looking for sex (yet. But NOT impossible) -- how much grazing is in this paddock? How big is it? If the answer is that the grass is greener on the other side, that's the problem. You may retro-fit with wire on the inside (hot). We had one mare who simply dove between the hot wires. I prefer my horses in the barn at night, where they're safer.

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), August 25, 2000.

yeah, he was going after the green grass - that stinker! We put the gelding in the front yard out of sight to him and sat back and watched where it was he got out. Well, we had already reinforced 2 places he was jumping but was suprised at the 3rd spot. He got his neck under a fence that wasn't secure enough and wiggled his way thru it. We tied him to a post for a while immediately after he got out and fixed it right this time. I realize he doesn't have enough green grass where we have them. Throwing hay to them still just doesn't take the place of green grass. Thanks for all your advice!

-- Pat (pmikul@pcpros.net), August 25, 2000.

I had a quarterhorse colt that was the same way, going as far as kicking the side out the barn for a midnite snack. My solution, I picketed him in the greener pasture during the day when we could watch him and let him get his fill, after awhile I guess he grew tired oft or just matured.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), August 28, 2000.


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