Keeping a Horse Alone

[DunByMistake]

I know this topic has been done before but I am not the best ‘searcher’ particularly since website change. If anyone can direct me to appropriate thread, it would be appreciated!

I’m looking for advice for keeping a horse alone. My SO and I purchased acreage in fall, moved my horse out and borrowed a buddy horse from my coach during winter. Buddy horse is going home next week sometime as my coach will use him in lessons when spring finally comes. Which is going to leave my horse alone. I do plan to get a companion horse at some point but we have about 3 feet of hard crusty snow where I live so trying a horse is somewhat difficult at moment. I don’t want a retired horse that is just pasture sound as I would like something my SO can trail ride occasionally.

So I’m looking for advice from people who have kept horses alone and what I can do to keep him happy. My guy will have plenty of turnout space, a shelter and I may just put him on free choice hay once he is alone. He did have some issues with ulcers in fall so I am thinking I’ll get a month of omeprazole and treat him for a couple weeks at least while he adjusts. I have noticed there’s some brown marks on his belly from biting himself (which worries me) but they are also shedding like crazy and he may just be itchy. He hasn’t shown any other symptoms he had in full when he had ulcers.

While he does like his buddy, I would say he is more attached to me than other horse. It is finally light enough after work that I will be able to work him for a bit to keep his brain somewhat entertained. Horses are currently separated because buddy horse was crawling over fence (snow is packed about 2/3 way up fence) to get to my horse while I was working him and they’ve been fine since the separation.

I wasn’t that worried about it but last night I had a nightmare about my guy totally losing his marbles and hurting himself once he was alone and woke up in a total panic. Now I’ve got myself right worked up about it.

[2DogsFarm]

He my surprise you & be just fine by himself.
Especially since his daily routine isn’t changing, just one less horse on the place.
When I built my farmette I intended to move both my horses as soon as fencing was up.
Sadly I lost one about 6mos before I could move them.
Survivor was bred for the racetrack & as far as I knew had never been kept by himself before I bought him as a 6yo & certainly not after, as he’d been boarded for the next 16yrs.

I got another horse both as a companion & because I wanted a younger one to phase in as my guy aged.
They’d been together on the farm about a year when I took #2 horsecamping for a weekend & nervously called the farmsitter that first night to see how #1 was taking to being alone.
He had called some when the trailer pulled out, but farmsitter reported no sign of anxiety.
In future he reacted the same way - call when #2 left, sniff all over when he came back but nothing else.
OTOH:
When #1 had to spend the night at the vet hospital, #2 spent that whole night calling for him - it was Summer & my windows were open, so I could hear him.
He came in to eat, but went back out to search as soon as he was done.
No longlasting trauma, but it was clear he cared when he was alone.

If you feel your horse is comfortable with you for occasional companionship, he s/b fine by himself.
Bonus Points if there are any farms nearby where he can see another horse or other livestock*, but not a Dealbreaker.

*they do not need to be that close - my horses spend time staring at a pasture so far from us I can’t see anything in it, but they sure can.
Turns out a neighbor has a mare he turns out in the field.
So my geldings are Peeping Toms

[candyappy]

@DunByMistake

I wasn’t that worried about it but last night I had a nightmare about my guy totally losing his marbles and hurting himself once he was alone and woke up in a total panic. Now I’ve got myself right worked up about it.

How does he react when you leave him in his pen and take the other horse out of eyesight or he is gone for awhile? If your horse could care less when the other horse is removed , he may not care at all. I would at least try it to see how he might react before the other horse is gone for good.

[BeckyS]

My older gelding stayed by himself for a handful of times over the years. He was usually pretty upset at first, but seemed to get over it okay. My little gelding is by himself right now, since the old gelding passed. He does fine. I do make sure the electric fence is hot and there is hay all the time, to keep shenanigans down.

My guess is that your horse will likely be fine until you have a chance to get another horse.

[DunByMistake]

Thanks everyone. I think he’ll be ok too. I just woke up in an absolute panic at 2:30 this morning worrying about it.

I heard a clinician tell a lady last summer that it’s not always the worst thing to have a horse alone because then you become their buddy. Once the snow finally melts and the grass comes out, I’m sure he won’t be too upset not having to share the pasture! I’ll experiment tonight with taking buddy horse out of my guy’s eyesight and see how he reacts.

If he does go totally squirrelly, I have a round pen with good footing and high wood fencing that he can go in until I can get another horse out there.

[ryansgirl]

He’ll be okay. My mare was alone for three years after I put my gelding down. I just couldn’t get another due to the financial aspect at the time and it was a private backyard barn owned by a retired, elderly couple (the set up was tough). She’s now around a few other horses and as long as they are on the exact and I mean exact same turnout schedule then she’s fine…otherwise she has a total meltdown. It’s a different barn than before but also a backyard type setup. Honestly? I hate how she reacts when the others come and go. I get the whole herd thing but it’s stressing her and myself out (because I worry about her). Someday when I have my own place I’ll get her a companion because they should have friends.

She was absolutely fine those three years she was alone. Horses adjust.

[sk_pacer]

My old guy is by himself and has been for 7 years now. He is fatter than he has ever been, content, and comes and goes from the barn as he pleases. He never was very sociable with other horses and seemed to be low man on the totem pole and always fought for hay outside but now he gets hay free choice and no problem at all; even on the track he preferred the end stall or even better, empty stalls on either side.

The whole thing depends on the horse

[Bluey]

@sk_pacer

My old guy is by himself and has been for 7 years now. He is fatter than he has ever been, content, and comes and goes from the barn as he pleases. He never was very sociable with other horses and seemed to be low man on the totem pole and always fought for hay outside but now he gets hay free choice and no problem at all; even on the track he preferred the end stall or even better, empty stalls on either side.

The whole thing depends on the horse

Same here, my old horse is alone right now, the others gone for a bit and when neighbors come by to train in our arena he never even looks at them, probably hopes they go away soon, he likes it alone.

There are horses that fret alone, but you won’t know until you are in a situation to try what your horse prefers.

[Lord_Helpus]

Killer auctions almost always have minis and mini donkeys. I like have 3; when you take one out to ride, there are 2 left behind. Ad there are worse things than looking at a cute little face out in the pasture.

Just put up a post on your local FB page and I bet you find one in your area.

[DunByMistake]

Buddy horse left this weekend and my worst fears did not come true! I locked my guy in round pen while buddy horse was getting loaded up and driven away. Besides having the most secure fencing, the round pen kept him from being able to really get speed up and potentially slide into fence due to ice and snow. I left him in there until dinner time and he was just standing by the time I let him out.

He wandered around his big pen looking for other horse but wasn’t overly stressed out. He would eat a few mouthfuls then do some wandering but my fears of him running around all night and calling didn’t come true. The people who owned property before us had a stud and a stud pen so I put my guy in there overnight as fence is a bit higher and pen is smaller so he couldn’t get going too fast. And when I went out this morning, he was quite content! Nickered when he saw me and put his head down to eat his breakfast.

@LordHelpus my boyfriend’s dream is to get a mini donkey and I’m not against the idea. The only issue right now that is the snow where I live is about 2/3 of way up fence and I know anything small will be able to stand on snow and walk right over fencing. So when spring comes around, I will start looking for something to keep him company.

Thanks for your replies everyone!

[SuckerForHorses]

It depends on the horse.

I had a gelding who would’ve been just fine on his own. May have whinnied for a day or so, but then he was happy he could stuff his face with grass.

My mare - no way. It would never happen. She would be frantically pacing the stall or fenceline, working herself into a full blown raging case of ulcers. And she wouldn’t settle into being alone - this anxiety would continue until she had a friend. Hell, she will weave if she’s in a paddock alone even if there is a horse standing in the paddock RIGHT NEXT TO HER but over a line of fence. Arab mares…

So, I’d give it a try. It sounds like your guy will adapt

ETA: just saw he settled in nicely!

[candyappy]

@DunByMistake Glad it was so uneventful

[btswass]

@DunByMistake

@LordHelpus my boyfriend’s dream is to get a mini donkey and I’m not against the idea. The only issue right now that is the snow where I live is about 2/3 of way up fence and I know anything small will be able to stand on snow and walk right over fencing. So when spring comes around, I will start looking for something to keep him company.

When we got our own place we rescued a standard donkey because we weren’t ready for another horse. It has worked out really well! Plus he’s low maintenance and super adorable. He was beaten and abused before the rescue got him at an auction. Poor guy was so traumatized. Its great to know he’s got such a good life now. And our neighbors love him!

[lovetheride]

Honestly it depends on the horse, but from a biological point of view horses are meant to live in herds.
I have a friend and she and her husband bought a house that had a 2 acre backyard out in the rural part of our town; she has a gelding and at the time she was boarding him, but she obviously moved him to her backyard.

So she was faced with the same issue; however she and her husband have a border collie and they have one of those invisible fence collars so they kept him outside while they were at work; and her gelding and the collie actually became best buddies. However, about 6 months later she adopted a 16 year old gelding from a local horse rescue for about $300. He was fine behaviour wise, but due to a tendon issue he isn’t allowed to jump but he can W/T/C and do some basic dressage movements as well as go on trails. Anyways, the three (the geldings + the dog) have developed quite the companionship and they are always out in the field playing together.

So I would possibly recommend rescuing a horse from a shelter; they are usually under $1000 and a lot of them are priced cheap due to limitations in terms of riding and not behaviour. If that is too expensive, I would also consider getting a dog. Specifically a breed that is big in size, active, gets along with other animals, and possibly some sort of breed traditionally used for herding as they like to play with the horses and other animals from my observations!