My horse is NASTY!

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

(more of a vent than anything else)

I swear to the powers that be he is the nastiest horse I have ever had the "pleasure" of cleaning up after.
He is a retired Thoroughbred racer. 12 years old. Really a great, kind and calm horse. But ICK!
He used to be out in a pasture during the day. So his stall was unoccupied from around 830am til 6/7 at night. Now he is in a 24/7 in/out situation and I seriously do not think he poos or pees outside. He must come inside his stall to do it.

Maybe he wants his privacy? Maybe he thinks the stall is a "piss box" ? Maybe he is just gross.

But

The stall is rubber matted. There is no way to keep him out of it during the day(no door) and it is his only shelter when a thunderstorm comes rolling in. His water is outside during the warmer months, so he isnt going in to drink. I really do not want to have to bed his stall down during the summer. But really can not think of any other way to soak up the pee and such to make it "livable" in there. I clean it daily. It isnt like there is days worth of muck at any time. But man. He is GROSS

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Is he on alfalfa? My mare used to pee about 10x normal when she was on it...and it was extra stinky.

 

[cyanne]

yeah, the trainer at the barn I used to board at was listening to a similar complaint from a friend who kept horses on her own property. They would go IN the stalls to pee an poop instead of outside so she was cleaning stalls all the time.

The trainer just asked why the heck she was leaving the stalls open for them to go in when the weather was nice outside.

I'd say, if you can, find a way to keep your horse out of the stall unless the weather is really bad. Being in a stall is not something that is natural for them anyway so it's not like it's something they 'need' to do.

Another barn I boarded at had a really neat setup where they just put in 3-sided metal buildings in each pasture so that the horses could go in there if it rained and it provided some protection from the wind when it was cold. Of course, the horses generally just stood in the rain anyway, didn't seem to mind getting wet.

Of course, if something like that is out of the question (too expensive or whatever), any kind of shelter they could stand under or behind if the weather got bad is just fine and doesn't have to look pretty. The horse will be just as happy and you'll save yourself lots of stall mucking!

If there's just no feasible way to put a door on the stall to keep him out, try using a product like stall-dry or sweet PDZ topped with pine shavings. I used to have a thorougbred gelding that was a heavy pee-er, too and I know they can make quite a mess!

 

[Florida chick]

Buy a stall net, or somthing to block the door and dump a wheel barrel of the dirty stall stuff in the pasture where you would prefer the horse to pee and poop and hopefully overtime it will become common for the horse to poop in the "new" spot outside.

Sounds just like he needs to be trained.

 

[LinckHillPoultry]

Where are you located it? Is it extremely hot?

If you were having cool spells like over here I'd kick his butt out of the stall so he could graze and use the outside as his toilet.

 

[texasreb]

Geldings hate having their legs splattered when they pee. I second the idea of giving him a place outside with stall bedding to catch the splash. If that is the problem, it might help. If he just wants privacy....I don't know what yer gonna do..

 

[horsejody]

We finally put an overhang extention on the front of the barn. That way they can be sheltered even when we close the stall doors. Now they poop right in front of the stalls, but at least we can use the tractor to scrape it out. When they went in the stalls, it had to be shoveled.

 

[WrenAli]

I totally understand. My Off The Track TB mare does the same.

I think it is a track thing. Heck, when we let her roam the lawn she goes in the open garage! Anyplace undercover she can back her butt up to. And she is twice the age your gelding is.


Here are a few things you can try:
1. If you put shavings in the stall add a 10 ft covered (roof only) onto his stall and put the bedding out there instead. He should use that and not the stall.

2. Dump some manure in the pasture. Though having a 'stud pile' will not work on all horses. It didn't on my mare.

3. A stall net is cheap to buy or make. I make mine out of braided twine and hang it across the stall front.

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

I dont know what is in his hay right now. Honestly, with the way prices are I am just happy to have it!
It has been warm, with a lot of thunderstorms. More than normal for Massachusetts IMHO We are getting them every afternoon lately. Like it was when I lived in NC.

I cant make any physical adjustments to the stall ie add a door or extend the over hang, since it isnt my property. I am just a boarder. Thankfully rough board since I think she would charge me more if she had to clean up after him every day.

The stall is large 12x10(?) and is rubber matted. Right now when he pees he gets splashed on. It doesnt seem that he cares about that. I think he just really likes his privacy. When I had him at a harness racing barn he would come in and pee first thing. Just like that STBs did. So it just might be a hold over from his racing days.

I hate like all heck to bed his stall with shavings now with the weather warm> I was hoping to build up my supply over the summer and fall for the really cold months. When he will hopefully have a door so that I can lock him in when it gets bad. But it seems like I am going to have to get at least two bags to see if it helps. My mares were just so much neater about their business.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

When I lived in Oregon, I called up a lumber mill and asked them about shavings. They were more than willing to GIVE AWAY their shavings...I just backed up my truck and filled it up. So that's another thing to consider...