Horse showing separation anxiety after yard move

[Flick240]

Hello, hoping someone can help and advise.
I have a chestnut mare who has always been turned out in a herd. She has never shown any attachment to any horse and normally pulls faces or kicks out if any come close to her. She normally grazes on her own away from others!
We moved yards last week and she is now turned out with just 1 mare who has been on her own for a while. They are surrounded by other horses though. My mare and the mare she is out with have started showing signs of separation anxiety. Both will lead in or stay out without the other but will call. Also fine in stable but again will call. I took mine out for a hack today and she was a nightmare. Calling constantly, napping (rearing) and clearly very stressed trying to spin and bolt home. This resulted in me getting off for my safety and I lead her in hand the rest of the way. Will it likely go away once my mare has settled as conscious it’s all still very new and it takes months to settle into a new place or should I be looking to do something sooner rather than later?

 

[Smoky 2022]

I have had a similar problem with my mare when I moved yard . I had the rearing When she behaves like this I span her in circles and she soon gave up. She eventually stopped and was happy away from the herd after a few weeks.

 

[Flick240]

I have had a similar problem with my mare when I moved yard . I had the rearing When she behaves like this I span her in circles and she soon gave up. She eventually stopped and was happy away from the herd after a few weeks.

Ah amazing! Thank you this is really reassuring. I’ll make sure to try the circle trick. Thank you so much xx

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

It may just take time she is in strange place and hopefully she will settle.

 

[Flick240]

It may just take time she is in strange place and hopefully she will settle.

That’s what I’m hoping, fingers crossed!

 

[Darkstar11]

I have had a similar problem with my mare when I moved yard . I had the rearing When she behaves like this I span her in circles and she soon gave up. She eventually stopped and was happy away from the herd after a few weeks.

Hey,

my mare shows similar behaviour, so you do fast circles to get her feet moving? I have been recommended this to try! Thanks

 

[Caol Ila]

Here's another perspective. Some horses who are used to being around lots of horses will do really weird things when their only equine contact is one horse. And it might not get better, no matter how many circles you do.

I bought my old mare - as a seven year old - in 2000. Up until 2012, I would not have said this was a horse who suffered from separation anxiety. She would go into the barn alone, hack alone, whatever. We'd moved around a lot. I'd gone from Colorado to Massachusetts, spent four years bouncing around barns on the East Coast of the US, then moved to the UK in 2006 and gone from Durham, to Edinburgh, then to Glasgow. My horse was not good with other horses and needed individual turnout, but she was happy being surrounded by them and watching them go past her pen or stable. We'd been at a lot of busy yards.

Then we moved to a quiet yard where all the stables were higgledy-piggledy in converted barns and cowsheds. You'd have two horses there, three horses here, two horses somewhere else, etc. My horse shared a barn with one other horse, and the other neighbors were behind a wall. Not in sight. My horse became a nightmare. If her neighbour was not in the barn, she would lose. her. sh*t. Spinning, calling, speed box-walking. If you were stupid enough to try riding, she would explode. But if the neighbour was in her stable, my mare was her normal sweet, compliant self in all things.

No horsemanship trick in the world could fix it. What did sort of fix it was the yard building an American-style barn, so all the horses lived under one roof. But she was always a bit weird about being in when the others were in their far away summer turnout fields. What fixed it 100% was moving (to the yard where my horses are now). It's a busy yard where there constantly horses about, and my stables are in a courtyard so they can always see someone.

Some horses don't cope well from living in a group situation to living with only one equine buddy.

 

[Equi]

Are there any other options on the yard for turnout?

 

[Winters100]

Personally, unless there are other options for turnout, I would just carry on, separate them at various points during the day as is convenient (for example bring yours in and tie her on the yard while you do jobs), ignore the calling and be prepared to be firm.

Regarding hacking I think you maybe need advice from someone a bit more experienced than yourself. I do not really believe that she was trying to 'bolt', as unless you are a very strong rider she probably would have done so had she been trying. A horse who truly bolts is dangerous, and not one who I would ride. Likewise are you really sure that she was 'rearing', and not just showing her displeasure by bunny hopping? If the latter is the case I would suggest a schooling whip and a sharp reprimand, but you must get advice from an instructor who sees what is actually happening, as if the horse really does rear then it is serious, not a suitable horse for a novice, and it is a vice which must be disclosed should you sell.

It does sound to me that the horse is a bit unsettled, and in this case she needs a human to tell her 'don't be silly, stop this nonsense now', rather than letting is escalate to more problems.

 

[Flick240]

Are there any other options on the yard for turnout?

Sadly not :-(

 

[Flick240]

Personally, unless there are other options for turnout, I would just carry on, separate them at various points during the day as is convenient (for example bring yours in and tie her on the yard while you do jobs), ignore the calling and be prepared to be firm.

Regarding hacking I think you maybe need advice from someone a bit more experienced than yourself. I do not really believe that she was trying to 'bolt', as unless you are a very strong rider she probably would have done so had she been trying. A horse who truly bolts is dangerous, and not one who I would ride. Likewise are you really sure that she was 'rearing', and not just showing her displeasure by bunny hopping? If the latter is the case I would suggest a schooling whip and a sharp reprimand, but you must get advice from an instructor who sees what is actually happening, as if the horse really does rear then it is serious, not a suitable horse for a novice, and it is a vice which must be disclosed should you sell.

It does sound to me that the horse is a bit unsettled, and in this case she needs a human to tell her 'don't be silly, stop this nonsense now', rather than letting is escalate to more problems.

Thank you for your advice. I am working with my 2 trainers. I wouldn’t consider myself a novice however I’m aware of my limitations with riding so am always looking for advice from those more talented and experienced than myself.
I will never sell her. So that is not a concern.
thanks again for you advice.

 

[ohdearme]

Hello, hoping someone can help and advise.
I have a chestnut mare who has always been turned out in a herd. She has never shown any attachment to any horse and normally pulls faces or kicks out if any come close to her. She normally grazes on her own away from others!
We moved yards last week and she is now turned out with just 1 mare who has been on her own for a while. They are surrounded by other horses though. My mare and the mare she is out with have started showing signs of separation anxiety. Both will lead in or stay out without the other but will call. Also fine in stable but again will call. I took mine out for a hack today and she was a nightmare. Calling constantly, napping (rearing) and clearly very stressed trying to spin and bolt home. This resulted in me getting off for my safety and I lead her in hand the rest of the way. Will it likely go away once my mare has settled as conscious it’s all still very new and it takes months to settle into a new place or should I be looking to do something sooner rather than later?

Hi! Just wondered if your mare ever settled? I'm in a similar boat now and debating whether to stick it out or move back to old yard!

 

[Flick240]

Hi! Just wondered if your mare ever settled? I'm in a similar boat now and debating whether to stick it out or move back to old yard!

Ah I am sorry you are having a similar challenge! Yes she did indeed settle. It took around 4-6 months but she is happy now and is back to her normal self not caring about the other horse haha! The other horse still calls for her but she just ignores her now. I have my horse back to normal. Hopefully it will be the same for you! I have everything crossed for you xx

 

[Flick240]

Ah I am sorry you are having a similar challenge! Yes she did indeed settle. It took around 4-6 months but she is happy now and is back to her normal self not caring about the other horse haha! The other horse still calls for her but she just ignores her now. I have my horse back to normal. Hopefully it will be the same for you! I have everything crossed for you xx

To add what I did! I did a lot of work on the ground with her. I bought her as a 4 year old and spent the first year just doing groundwork with her. She is now 7 so is very experienced with groundwork so when I asked her to do the groundwork at the new yard she knew what was being asked. I think if you haven’t done lots of groundwork before maybe that would be an added level or stress or confusion but I’m not an expert! We did it away from the other horse and worked our way up to longlining on hacks. Eventually she calmed and I got back on her on hacks and she was perfect. I just took it slowly with her, I have built a really strong relationship with her and so we just took it at her pace. She told me when something was a step too far and we went back and just kept working up to the scarier bits for her. I think it was a combination of that and her having the time to settle. I’m no expert and never will pretend to be. This was all thanks to amazing guidance from my trainers who know me and her very well. Good luck! Xx