Update: leaving behind the herd-bound horse

[Weezer]

There are 4 horses at my place: my horse and 3 boarders. The most recent horse arrived about 6 months ago and she is extremely herd bound. If she is in a stall and can’t see another horse, she goes crazy to the point I’m concerned she will colic or hurt herself.

I just found out the other 2 board horses will be moving next summer. I don’t want to bring in any more boarders so I’m trying to figure out if I can teach this mare to relax when she is alone. Maybe I can give her some sedatives and leave her in her stall alone a few times so she gradually learns that it’s ok to be in there? I have several months to train her, I’m just not sure where to start.

This horse is an absolute firecracker so I don’t want to pony her with me on my rides. The owner is overseas so I can’t get any help there.

[StormyDay]

Sounds like a simple solution; tell the boarder they will have to leave and have until next summer to do so.
Herd bound horses rarely change their behavior without a change in their environment.

[Red_Barn]

Most horses freak out if locked up in a barn and left alone.

I wouldn’t want a BO to do this to my horse for any reason except medically necessary stall rest - and even then I’d expect to be notified so I could make arrangements myself. I certainly wouldn’t want a BO sedating my horse for her own convenience. I’d also have grave doubts about a person’s level of experience and common sense if she thought this stuff was acceptable.

Have you told the horse’s owner what you’re doing? Email and telephones do work “overseas.”

[NancyM]

Yes, she will likely damage herself if left alone. No, it isn’t something you can get her accustomed to by attempting to “train” her not to feel this way.

If you want to continue to board this horse, you will need a companion for her, that she “likes”, for when you take your horse away to ride. And with some horses, not “just any” companion will do. This is why some barns have a “barn goat”, which serves as a companion and keeps “dependent” horses like this calm and feeling safe when other horses leave the barn. But not every horse will accept a goat, or even like a goat. Even if you do decide to accept another boarder, no guarantee that that particular horse will serve to keep this needy horse calm and happy. But maybe it would.

This is why a small barn usually NEEDS to have at least 3 horses in residence… so that when one horse is taken away to ride, the other two still have the company of each other. Of course, if two people want to ride together, you are left with the same issue… a single horse left alone, and in panic mode, likely to injure itself, or succumb to stress related illness. When you take one horse away from others to ride or train, that horse is not “alone”, because he’s with YOU, the being he holds in great esteem, and he feels safe and protected in your company.

Horses ARE “herd” animals. Some of them are surprisingly OK with being left alone when their herd mate is removed to be ridden or trained. Others are not. Very herd dependent horses are insecure, it isn’t something you can “train” out of them… it’s how they “feel”, and the company of another horse is what they require to feel “safe”. If subjected to enforced isolation, they either survive it, or they don’t. But they aren’t happy about it, and will make their confusion and panic known.

[Equibrit]

Get a donkey/goat/pig or a n other companion.

[Weezer]

Thanks for the feedback. I don’t think a non-horse companion will work because the mini horse is always in a pen by the barn and that doesn’t seem to help her. My gelding is totally fine in the barn by himself and another horse that once lived here learned to be calm by himself but he started out less upset to be alone than this mare. This mare goes into total panic mode.

I was just wondering if other people have had experience teaching a horse to be calm when left alone.

[Djones]

Ride away, come back, ride away, come back, repeat ad nauseum until and if she ever relaxes. Don’t ride so far away at the beginning that she gets more than a little worried. If that means you ride laps around the barn every day for a week, then that’s what it is. Very gradually increase the distance and duration. She (the horse) dictates your schedule and progress.

I have 3 horses and a donkey. Two don’t care if they are left. One gets moderately upset, and quite literally walks ‘through’ Chico-donk if he’s really got himself spun up. Chico is nonplussed either way and just deals with him. Point being, donkey or no, if Chip gets upset, he’s upset.

I rarely feed alfalfa…it’s a good party trick with him to leave him a flake as we ride off. He is sensible enough to enjoy a little crack instead of having a fit.

Your mileage may vary.

[Weezer]

This is really good advice, thanks. I’ll start on that now and leave a horse in the barn with her a few times and then gradually work up to doing it with her in the barn and the others in the field. Then I will get a sense of whether or not she will ever be able to be fully alone.

[lenapesadie]

If she’s really panicky, you might start even smaller by leaving her in stall and walking your riding horse to the edge of her sight line and back. To try and keep her from getting wound up. Best of luck.

[Weezer]

That’s a good starting point, thanks. I’ll start on this now so I have several months to figure out if this is going to work or if this mare will have to leave.

[Red_Barn]

If I was the owner of this mare I wouldn’t want her to be put through all this amateur experimentation while I was away. I’d much rather move her to a more stable environment.

The fair thing to do would be to notify the owner and let her make up her own mind.

[Weezer]

Yes, I’ve already let the owner know. She trusts my judgment to assess whether we can work through this or whether the horse needs to move. I am very risk averse so if it looks like the mare won’t settle, I won’t push it.

[Djones]

what’s your expert advice, then? The owner selected this small boarding barn, knowing horses get ridden out of sight, led out to paddocks, shod around the corner. This is a stable stable

[Red_Barn]

Good plan. I’m sure can find something more suitable - and your own life will be easier too.

Best of luck.

[PaddockWood]

I’ve got one too and only two horses at home. What has really helped is taking the other horse away (1 minute) and come back, doing that daily. Multiple times a day initially. Over and over and longer and longer. We really are doing the horses so much goodness to help them deal with the anxiety and calm down.

If your boarder wants to stay could she take on the responsibility to get this done?

[Weezer]

Unfortunately I’m on my own to train the horse since the boarder lives out of country but I don’t mind putting in the work because the mare is otherwise a good fit with my gelding and mini. I will start on this gradual approach right away and hope for the best.

[Pico_Banana]

I only have two horses right now. I plan to add more for the reasons stated above but in the meantime I have two. One I adopted last year and she is EXTREMELY herd bound.

Here’s what I have learned and some suggestions on things to try.

First, routine is key. I have gotten the herd bound horse to be okay with the other one going out to turnout first because we have now done that every morning for a year. But I am still in the habit of bringing them in together and when I try to bring them in separately, that is not okay. So everything is the same except time of day and it’s in reverse and that is NOT OKAY. (I plan to work on that.)

Second, high value distractions can really help. If I have both of them turned out on the dry lot and then I take my other horse to work her and I put my herd bound horse on the grass, that is mostly okay. Earlier this year when grass was a really big deal, it worked better than later in the year, and they were out on grass together during the day. Taking one away and leaving the herd bound one on the grass was not as successful.

Third, it’s easier to be the horse taken away than the horse left behind. I can take the herd bound horse for walks around the property and she’s fine as long as she is within eyeshot of my other horse. But she will tolerate a much greater distance when she’s the one out then the one left behind.

Fourth, consider drugs and/or a calming supplement. I had her on both a calming supplement and Trazodone for quite a while, which I think helped. She didn’t need a huge dose of the Trazodone, but it did help. I still have her on valerian and I suspect she’ll stay on that for the rest of her life. (She’s 28 so I do whatever I can to make her happy.)

Fifth, be prepared to accommodate the horse in ways you can’t imagine. For example, I leave a night light on for her.

Sixth, try to enlist a helper. Sometimes I can get my husband to handwalk the herd bound horse while I work the other horse. That works well.

Lastly, be prepared with some Ace for times when the horse loses it and you’re worried about her. Better to have it and not use it than want it and not have it available. And make it injectable so you’re not trying to get pills in them.

Good luck! It is doable, but it is admittedly a pain. Once I finish my barn renovations, I am going horse shopping!

[Libby2563]

I don’t have advice beyond what you’ve already been given (the incremental separation approach is how I would proceed to), but just wanted to say that IMO separation anxiety is one of the most aggravating and potentially dangerous issues to have with a horse. It’s a real challenge for those of us with small farms!

[Weezer]

Thanks so much for these tips! This horse has only been here for 6 months and she has been slow to settle in but I can tell she is more relaxed now. She also hasn’t spent much time in the barn but I will start putting her in a stall for a special treat to help with that.

I’m glad to hear that you recommend sedation of some sort. I’d rather use that the first couple times to make everything go smoothly so they don’t have bad memories. We did this recently when we had to shoe a 14 year old for the first time and everything went perfectly. No problems since. I’ll save the sedation for the first time I leave the property and I’ll focus on the baby steps first.

[Spudsmyguy]

My TB is extremely herd bound to his buddy and used to lose it when I took buddy horse off property for a trail ride. Over time, he’s gotten used to it so now, he might whinny once or twice but then goes back to eating his hay. At first sure, I was worried but after about 6 months of this regular occurrence, he realized buddy will be coming back and it became a non-issue.