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My thoroughbred had only one hour of outside time a day with her previous owner. Now, she goes out in the morning and comes in at night like all my other horses. The problem is, when she knows it's time to go in at night, she constantly weaves outside like she can't wait to go in—and this is making huge holes in the ground by the gate! How do I get her to stop? I ride or work with her for two hours every day. I have tried changing her go-in time, but that only made it worse. Instead of weaving at 5:00, she now starts weaving at 3:30. I know this isn't good for her legs, so if you have any ideas to stop her from weaving I would greatly appreciate it.
Vanessa, weaving can be an anticipatory behavior (similar to a human pacing back and forth while waiting for a cab). I suspect that something your horse likes is waiting in the barn when she comes in at the end of the day. Is it possible to provide enrichment opportunities throughout the day for her in the pasture? If she is pastured by herself, you may want to look into a feeder on a timer that would randomly dispense her grain ration throughout the day. Essentially, you want to increase the value of being outside late in the day while decreasing the value of going inside at the end of the day. Good luck!
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