Mirrors to keep horse company?

[SugarCubes]

Has anyone tried hanging mirrors in a neighboring stall to keep a solitary horse company? Did it work? How big of a mirror did you hang and what placement worked the best?

In a couple of weeks one of my horses will begin a busy winter show schedule and will be staying at my trainer’s barn, leaving my pony at my place by himself.

He does ok when I haul out for a lesson, he screams for a while and then settles down, but I know he’s not happy about the situation. I think he would become increasingly depressed and lonely if I left him by himself for such a long period. I can borrow a mini friend for him, or board him also (which I’d rather not do) but figured I’d try mirrors first if anyone has had good luck with them before!

[OAD_Cowgirl]

I’d borrow the mini or buy him a goat.
Some animals really don’t like what they see in a mirror. One of my cows tore the side mirror off my jeep and smashed it to pieces. I realize you’re talking about putting them in a different stall, but they may still cause more anxiety. Who’s that horse over there, and why won’t he talk to me?

[clanter]

my mare liked to watch TV… the older shows with lots of action

[Beck]

Horses are smart enough to figure out the mirror image is not worth paying any attention to after a few minutes. It has no scent; it is not ‘real’; so it does not rate as a potential threat or asset and is ignored thereafter.

A buddy might not work if they do not bond at all, but is a better bet than a mirror.

[JFJ]

It can help. I frequently take horses in for quarantine an some have a hard time being separated from the other horses. I put up a large mirror at eye level either in the stall next to them or across. It has definitely helped .

[happilyretired]

FWIW — I visited an acquaintance’s barn recently (she is a dressage trainer and has a barn with ~ 10 horses) and she had a mirror (some type of non breakable material) on the wall of one horse’s stall. She said the mirror “made all the difference” for this particular horse in terms of him staying calm and happy in his stall. So might be worth a try.(Edited to add that the stall was large at 14’X14’)

[gumtree]

I have known a number of well respected TB trainers that swear by their use for horses that tend to be stall walkers, horses that get keyed up when their next stall neighbor is out. The plastic mirror is attached to the stall wall.

[ASB_Stars]

Interesting. I had them in an arena, and I turned out three different stallions- one at a time, of course. The first, a big TB, looked at himself in the mirror from every angle, as if he was admiring himself. Completely transfixed. The second, An ASB, looked at himself, and acted like, "OK, that’s me, ho hum…and walked away. The third, a very well bred TB stallion, who I really wanted to get some turn out time in on, because I couldn’t put him in a paddock, because he’d run, saw himself, and ran dead at the mirror. It didn’t do him, or the mirror, much good. I finally had to go get him to stop trying to kill himself, which was a chore in and of itself.

[SugarCubes]

Interesting responses! Sounds like it couldn’t hurt to at least try! I wonder if Amazon carries plastic mirrors that would work. I’m thinking I could test it this week when I haul out for a lesson and see how he does. If it doesn’t work, I’ll borrow a mini but this would be the easiest solution!

[Ponyclubrocks]

For what it’s worth I have read about people using a mirror in horse trailers to sooth a horse that doesn’t travel well when alone…

[kashmere]

My mare spent about 15 minutes licking her own reflection in the arena mirror today, so…

I mean it might work? Or maybe I just have a very special horse :lol:

[Bluey]

Here is one company that sells those:

http://www.jumpswest.com/barn_mirrors.php

They are very expensive.

[phoebetrainer]

My vet has a life size model horse to keep horses company when there is only one in the barn. It works well.

[Bluey]

[QUOTE=phoebetrainer;8934341]
My vet has a life size model horse to keep horses company when there is only one in the barn. It works well.[/QUOTE]

:lol:

When I had to put our old horse by himself, I was letting him roam the yard at will.

We have two horses of a rather concrete nature as yard ornaments, on a low bridge with an old pony wagon on it with them.

He would leave the real horses and go nuzzle them and lay right by the bridge, in the barditch.

He clearly preferred them to the real ones.

I don’t have the pictures of him any more, but here is the bridge with his new friends: