Turnout troubles

I have the opposite turnout problem that most have. I have a beautiful 3 acre field that my 29 year old mare doesn't want to graze in. She has been at my new home/barn since November and she just cannot get settled there. She prefers to spend the days in her stall eating hay and will only graze intermittently and then is compelled to go back to the stall. This mare has been on 24 hour turnout for at least the last 12 years of her life. She lives with her companion of 4+ years a Shetland pony mare and spends a lot of time pushing her around. She has free access to a small paddock and her stall 24 hours a day and the 3 acre field is used right now for nite t/o. there are some days when she does not come out of her stall for 8 hours. Anyone have any comments? this is a complex mare for sure.

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Comment by Della Mancuso on July 26, 2012 at 4:59pm: I just read the rest of this. I truly do not think there are dogs or coyotes out there and she has always had a bedded stall away from bugs and heat. I am truly baffled. She has been here in her new home for 8 months and just cannot seem to get happy here. When she is with the pony she either keeps her pinned in the corner of the stall or chases her around. Perhaps she has a serious hormonal imbalance.

Comment by Jackie Cochran on July 26, 2012 at 3:00pm: Have you had her teeth looked at? At this age I found out the horses can lose molars, making grazing not as wonderful as it used to be.

If she had been out all the time she might be REALLY appreciative of her stall, in the shade, away from the worst of those pesky biting insects. At 29 she may figure that she is ready for some quality time indoors in a nice clean comfy stall.

Also, she might feel safer in the stall. You never know, but out in the country people used to turn their dogs lose at night, and maybe there is a dog/coyote/whatever lurking around the pasture at night and scaring her.