Escape artist for a horse....

[AshleyMcCraney]

My husband recently bought me two Palomino mares....we had problems loading them so we separated them....Allie is the a 3yr old filly and has never been weened from her mother...Abby is a 7yr old mare that has lived at the same place her whole life...we brought Abby and left Allie b/c allie is green and won't load....now we can't keep Abby in any kind of fence....she pushed down the insulaters and stepped out of the electric fence.... she knocked down the barbed wire horse stall we built....and the second time she bulldozed her way through a 12ft cow panel put up with barbed staples....she keeps returning to a pasture down the road full of cows that the owners don't mind her staying in until we get allie down here but she breaks out of there once a week and goes back to the farm...almost like she is waiting on us to bring her filly!!! what should I do...I can't load Allie and Abby messes up every fence we build to put them in...help!!!  

[lindasp62]

I would also suggest another horse or a companion animal.  The weaning process for mare/foal can be rather traumatic if done very suddenly and cut and dried, like it sounds like your case.  Also, at age 3 years, the foal is way overdue for weaning.  Usually the weaning happens at 6 months or so. All that extra time has made the bond stronger for both mare and foal. This would explain part of the stress of separation at this point. Often times, it is best to make sure the mare and foal are already in a group of other mares/foals,and when separated, the foal will continue with the other foals, and the mare will remain with the herd she knows, lessening the separation anxiety (although it is sure to happen). At this point, the horses together will always have a strong bond, especially if they are the only horses in the pasture, and will have continuing anxiety at any kind of separation. I would consult with your Vet about this to get his/her opinion on the behavior factors of this particluar  mare/foal and how best to deal with the situation.

[A0M]

Have you tried companion animals?