I am looking at a yearling (POA filly) that is very attached to her pasture mate (QH gelding). She is fine when he is in eyesight, but does not like to be separated from him. Example, he was in the barn, she was outside in paddock. Granted, she does not have good halter manners yet, but she would run you over to get back by the barn & her buddy. Once he was returned, (and had trotted to other side of the paddock to eat grass), she did not join him, but was content to hang her head over the fence & visit with us humans. She has been sheltered & never off the farm, at my house she would have 3 horses rotating in & out on a seasonal basis to keep her company. My hopes are to turn her into a trail pony/kids 4-H/POA show pony. She is very attractive & well bred, making it hard to get over this possible personality problem. Any thoughts? Will she outgrow this? Will it get better in a new environment where she will have no choice?
Posted 2005-07-20 3:08 PM (#28316 - in reply to #28312) Subject: RE: separation anxiety
Expert
Posts: 2828 Location: Southern New Mexico
You can work her out of it. My older mare was like that. It's her herd instinct telling her she isn't safe alone. (or she could be spoiled, but you work her the same) Just be patient, do not allow her to have her own way. Depending on how bad she is, she may not be safe for a child, but with time she probally could be.
Posted 2005-07-20 3:21 PM (#28320 - in reply to #28312) Subject: RE: separation anxiety
Expert
Posts: 1719 Location: PA
If she were mine, she would probalby never be turned out with other horses. Horses with this type of attachment anxiety need to learn that they will survive alone!
Posted 2005-07-20 8:09 PM (#28335 - in reply to #28312) Subject: RE: separation anxiety
Expert
Posts: 1989 Location: South Central OK
Be very careful of letting her in with other horses. Not if but when she reacts it may get worse. She needs to live in a place alone where she can't see other horses and over time she may outgrow it. When around others she needs to be supervised so the herding instincts will die off and she can reattach to her human owner. You will need to spend hours everyday with her, talking, brushing, bathing, playing and touching so this bond will form.
Posted 2005-07-20 8:21 PM (#28337 - in reply to #28320) Subject: RE: separation anxiety
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 322 Location: Fort Madison, Iowa
I have three horses and two that are especially attached. They even will be out in the pasture eating side by side. I have a local park I haul to for trailriding. I ride both and leave one tied in camp. They know the trails well enough that they know when they're getting close and will start calling to each other. The one I'm riding I have to work with to make sure they don't rush back to each other. The more one rushes, the more work they get going in circles, walking in s's, just giving them a job to keep their minds off their separation anxiety. It seems the more I just tie them apart, the better they get. I really helps a horse just to be tied for hours by themself. I've even just separated them in different pastures for a few days and that helps. It can get better but you have to take caution because they can be dangerous and you have to have a lot of patience.
Posted 2005-07-20 9:42 PM (#28342 - in reply to #28312) Subject: RE: separation anxiety
Regular
Posts: 62 Location: Western Wisconsin
Thanks for the advice. I think I've decided to go ahead & buy her, take the chance. It's really the only thing about her that was negative. I do have the option of rotating pasture mates once she arrives at our place, and I think once she's settled in, I'll shuffle around again so she's completely by herself. Send the other horses down to the summer pasture at my parent's place. Tough love as a yearling will be a lot easier than when she's older I think.
Posted 2005-07-21 9:37 AM (#28355 - in reply to #28342) Subject: RE: separation anxiety
Expert
Posts: 1719 Location: PA
If you pasture her alone but she can still see her buds, you will not solve her problem. She needs to be totally separated, maybe forever but hopefully not. Separation anxiety can really be a pain. I feel it's worse than a horse that cribs.
Posted 2005-07-21 3:58 PM (#28389 - in reply to #28355) Subject: RE: separation anxiety
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 326 Location: Palmdale, CA
Sorry to disagree, but since this is a natural instinct, it's darn near impossible to make it go away. I don't agree with isolating the horse (as a long term strategy, short term isolation is fine, like being turned out alone, or stalled alone for a couple of days). Your horse will be more content and healthier with other horses. If you put her in isolated confinement, you may just create other problems. And then, how could you ever bring this horse near other horses, or prevent this horse from ever seeing or interacting with other horses? The problem isn't solved or dealt with that way. What you need to do is build up her confidence. If she freaks out when you are leading her away from other horses, engage her mind, get her to start thinking about you by controlling her movements. She needs to view you as the lead horse, then she will not get so apprehensive when it's just you and her. This takes an investment of time, just like any relationship.
Posted 2005-07-21 4:28 PM (#28392 - in reply to #28389) Subject: RE: separation anxiety
Expert
Posts: 1719 Location: PA
I agree about being an alpha. All horse owners should be top dog. When I said that the horse should be isolated, I meant that she should not be turned out when others are out, even in another pasture. That doesn't mean she has to live in a cave. She will be around her buds when everyone is in the barn but she will learn that she CAN be alone and not die. I also agree that the owner should have plenty of interaction with her, not necessarily when she is having an anxiety attack though. I certainly don't want her to think that if she has a hissy fit she gets attention. I'd walk thru the barn and let her see me but not really pet her. Just act like nothing was wrong. But when she gets calmer, she should have lots of human contact. I've had a few with this problem. Luckily, only one was mine. I treated each one this way and all of them came around, some sooner than others. One was a really spoiled horse that was brought in on board. She was used to having her way and liked only horsey company (didn't want to be caught!). I isolated her like this for a month. There was plenty of screaming and pawing for a while till she got used to it. But she actually got really sweet and looked to me for company. She even came to me when I called her. Anyhow, this is what has worked for me.
Posted 2005-07-26 12:37 AM (#28571 - in reply to #28392) Subject: RE: separation anxiety
Elite Veteran
Posts: 1011 Location: Oregon
I would separate her for short periods of time at first. Since she has always had buddies to be with, separating her can be a very tramatic experience for her and may do stupid things. I have seen horses so herd bound, that they will end up going thru fences or trying to jump them and not making it. Another thing to watch for is stress colic. I used to take my yearlings for walks around the neighborhood. It would get them away from their buddies, and give me a chance to work on their ground manners and get them used to stuff outside their comfort zone.
separation anxiety
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