Should i move yards

If you usually ride in the morning, continue to ride in the morning if you can. Give your horse stability and they will settle in far quicker. Horses react very differently to a change of yard. Remember that the vast majority of horses will eventually settle, they just need time!

Allow your horse time to settle by letting him be a horse! If you feel nervous, book some lessons in with a good instructor who can help you work through this change, and if it helps then you could lunge your horse before you ride. If your horse likes being around others, try to ride in the school and hack with other liveries to start with.

This will help your horse see that there is nothing to worry about. Your horse will notice when you are on edge so try to be your usual confident self, and act as if very little has changed. Just ride them according to how they feel, or have a gentle hack in company so they can begin to take in their new surroundings.

Some horses may benefit over the first couple of days or just being introduced to their new routine, so coming in and spending a few minutes being groomed in their new stable, having a hard feed in there and just generally absorbing their new environment. Either move so that they can continue living out at the new yard for a couple of weeks, or begin bringing them in overnight at the old yard during the run up to them moving. Introducing horses into fields is always the political, and delicate situation.

Definitely speak to the new yard and the field mates, neighbours in individual turnout setups and those in the herd in group turnouts. The horses will run, they will bite, and they will kick out while they establish their new pecking order. You can help reduce the running round effect when a horse enters a new field. Phoenix went into a field on her own for the first few days, with neighbours either side, so upon her arrival I gave her a hard feed and then turned her out with a pile of hay in the field.

She barely looked at her neighbours but took to the hay before happily wandering around the field, replete and unlikely to run around in excitement. After a few days on individual turnout, Phoenix was joined by another horse. We also put out plenty of small piles of hay. Unfortunately Phoenix decided that all the hay was for her, especially that which came with the new horse. So the following day we gave them some time apart to ensure that they both ate sufficient hay, and then used my less exciting bale of hay in the field which seemed to help settle them.

Like this: Like Loading Previous Article A Staircase. Next Article Next Post. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here Treat balls or hanging things such as turnips or licks to the stable ceiling can help to keep their minds busy.

Having other boxes with your grooming supplies or other items clearly labelled can help you know what needs to go where when you arrive.

Having fresh hay, water and a nice big cosy bed waiting for them should help them feel at home in no time. Continue feeding and riding at the usual times - essentially act as if nothing has changed! It can be a little bit overwhelming being a newbie on the yard especially if all the other liveries are already friends!