Dilema over my too attached horse

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sparky1981

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Please help!I have two horses. One i have had for many years and is semi retired. The other is a young competition horses that i have had for nearly a year. We have recently moved house and i have brought the horses with me. Which was difficult as the older horse doesnt like to travel and had to be sedated.Unfortunetly my older horse has become totally dependant on my younger horse as they were the only 2 horses at my new house and i havnt been able to really do anything with my younger horse since July. About 6 weeks ago i moved them alittle bit further down the road to a yard with another horse for my old gelding but no facilities for my young horse. (there werent many options of yards around)

This is alittle better but my competition horse is still being completely wasted to the point where i have tried to find a sharer that can ride him in the day when i am at work as by the time i finish it is dark or selling him, However he is a fantastic horse and up until we moved here we were doing really well. I have been offered a place back at my original yard (we were there for many years)that is near where i work and has a floodlit school and all my friends are there who would help me exercise him. Which would solve some of my problems but i would want to only take the younger horse as my older one seems settled and due to his travel issues i think would be better staying at my home. Problem is whether my older gelding will settle with the other gelding without my younger one being there and what i can do if he doesnt.

Ive been totally running my life round the older horse as i love him to pieces, Im sorry this is so long and confusing!
 
I understand where you are coming from, but I would say bite the bullet and move the youngster. I had 2 that were V attatched, then one day one of them broke its leg and had to be pts immediatly. Leaving the other one on his own all night, which he hated, stood and weaved all night :@ but as soon as we gave him a new friend he was absolutely fine. I stressed all night when he was on his own, but aferwards I see it was for no reason. Im sure after a day or two your 'oldie' will settle down, and soon make friends with the other gelding.

Hope this helps!
Good luck xx
 
Does the other gelding where your two are atm go out and about a lot? I.e. if you move the youngster will your oldie be left alone a lot? If not def go for it. :-) Perhaps consider something else local (i.e. oldie can be ridden/lead there) with more horses for the oldie later on if possible or cross fingers that someone else takes your youngsters place where they are now. Sounds like you care about both your horses, you need some fun too though :-)
 
The other horse at the yard doesnt doesnt get ridden at all the moment but is hoping to do alittle riding a few times a week soon.(his owner isnt too well so cant to 2 much) My older one could go in his stable when she did this and sometimes i could ride him out with her. (Can you tell ive been thinking of all different possible problems constantly)If worse came to worse i could take him up to the competition yard too but travelling him is a nightmare. I feel im stuck in the middle trying to keep both horses happy and want the best for both of them.
 
I think you just have to go for it. Horses are expensive and we need to do what we want with them. If you are prepared for the older one to get upset, ie get some sedalin and maybe some mag ox to help keep him calm and relaxed

In fact i would start feeding something like mag ox a couple of weeks before the move so it is in his system already when you move

Good luck
 
I have thought about sedalin as thats what i had to do when took the other one competing once when he didnt have the other gelding at the yard now for company but was so worried about him came back. What is mag ox?is that an instant calmer i have him on american magnitude supplement at mo but not sure its doing much (so i can hack/ride out younger horse)
 
When you take the younger horse away, get one of your friends to take the old horse out for a ride/walk at the same time. When Oldie gets back to your field, he'll find it less stressful or might not even notice that his younger mate has gone!
 
yes thats a good idea. I dont want him to see the other go. I constantly worry about the older one and to be honest i think he plays up to this and some of it is attention seeking but that doesnt make it any easier
 
madhossy said:
When you take the younger horse away, get one of your friends to take the old horse out for a ride/walk at the same time. When Oldie gets back to your field, he'll find it less stressful or might not even notice that his younger mate has gone!
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doubt this will work as he will be calling to him hence getting more worked up, and when he does come home and his buddy isnt there then he will be worse. Im sorry i dont believe in the sedalin approach, I personally wouldnt split them up. xx
 
i dont know what to do.If i dont split them older will always rely on my younger one and he should be competing. Only other option is for me to pay someone to ride and compete the younger one where he is so can stay with my older one i guess
 
i always used to take the golden oldie with me to shows and that made him very happy and it also provided comfort to the youngsters - a reassuring face, their buddy if you like. There are pros and cons only you can decide what is best for your horses xx
 
Could you possibly afford to get your older gelding a small pony companion and introduce them intially at the current yard they are on and take away the youngster and the move the older horse and companion back to your home and on the same day move the youngster to the competion yard? If its a small older pony (always looking for homes) then you have full control and they can always be together so you dont need to worry to much about one of them being taken away. I never have just 2 in a paddock for this reason if I can avoid it tend to have 3 and that way if one is taken out to be ridden etc then there are still 2 in there. I know you have this with the other gelding they are now living with but if he does go out to be ridden etc then you may experience the same problem whereas if you are in control of the companion you wouldnt have this worry. Just a thought.
 
i would love to be able to do that but he doesnt travel (he has quite a few hangups)and throws himself on the floor in panic!I think he needs a companion that stays with him all the time really.
 
I have considered the getting him a companion of his own, but think would have to be a larger horse as we have very rich grass. Im not sure i have the time and £ to have 3 really but will have to consider it.
 
I understand your dilema, I used to own a horse that was really attached to my old pony, in fact they were attached to each other but the old pony was sensible enough to be able to be taken away for rides etc but when the horse was taken away from the pony they would shout to each other and the horse would then refuse to leave the yard and before really distressed it was a nightmare to be honest.

When I decided to sell the horse I was really worried about splitting them up (I have a mare and foal also so there is other company but she is very not touchy feely and the two boys used to love grooming each other) but actually it was fine. I stabled the others and took the horse to his new home, got back and turned the others all out together and the pony never seemed to really miss him despite their strong bond. I think that they come to accept it after a few days and just get on with it as long as they have other company.

I would go for it if I were you, you want to compete your younger horse and you should be able to do that!
 
Re the last post. Thankyou your old situation sounds similar to mine as my older horse is perfectly happy to hack out on his own without the other one. Its just when i take my younger one away. I am going to try turning out the older one with the other gelding a few times to see how they get on (they have an electric tape between them at the mo) and see if i can up the length of time they are serparated to try and get him used to being without the other. Its stressing me out and i have been trying to decide whats best to 4 6months now!
 
I think your horse will cope if you moved the youngster away however as already highlighted if the other horse is ridden then you are in the same situation. I think the older one will just stress in the stable instead.

You could advertise your young horses stable however which means there is more chance of him having company.
 
Just a quick update. I have moved my younger horse.
My older horse is like a different horse now, totally relaxed and back to his old self. I have now decided it was more an attachment to me and not to my other horse and all his difficult behaviour started after i got another horse. I think it was a jealousy thing and he wanted more of my attention.

So thankfully now both horses are very happy.
 
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