Horse who doesn’t like small yard?

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Compasses

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Has anyone ever had a horse who does not enjoy being a small yard? I’ve moved my two horses home. They were previously on a livery yard. One seems to have settled albeit they are quite clingy to each other, though I think this has been made worse by the other one. My second is extremely stressy, does not seem to enjoy it, has got ulcers which are being treated but just seems unhappy and his separation anxiety seems to be getting worse. I’ve put a deposit down on a livery yard for him and decided to keep my other at home as he just does not seem to be enjoying the small yard situation at all. Just looking to see if anyone has had similar and if it rectified after being on a yard again. He has been here for 4 months and is no better.
 
Yes, I moved my two from a large livery yard to a small private yard. I loved it there but like you, one horse settled okay but the other didn’t cope very well at all. He got overly dependent on the other one and had terrible separation anxiety. His ridden work suffered too. I found it all really stressful and in the end I admitted defeat and moved them to a different livery yard. Both settled pretty much straight away but for the one who had struggled the most it was like he just breathed a massive sigh of relief and could. He’s in herd turnout again now and I guess that’s what he needs to relax and feel safe.
 
JBM said:
2 horses always hard with separation anxiety
Usually 3 easier as 2 always in the field
Is he getting stressed when other one leaves or just in general?
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Just in general- he does get stressed when the other leaves but we have ponies as next door neighbours so he can actually see others. He seems just stressed in the stable/field even next to my other lad, very spooky, snorty, agitated.
 
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HelenBack said:
Yes, I moved my two from a large livery yard to a small private yard. I loved it there but like you, one horse settled okay but the other didn’t cope very well at all. He got overly dependent on the other one and had terrible separation anxiety. His ridden work suffered too. I found it all really stressful and in the end I admitted defeat and moved them to a different livery yard. Both settled pretty much straight away but for the one who had struggled the most it was like he just breathed a massive sigh of relief and could. He’s in herd turnout again now and I guess that’s what he needs to relax and feel safe.
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This is exactly how mine is. Ridden work has suffered and performance generally, impossible to go anywhere and overly dependent which he wasn’t like before. I’m wondering if like you he needs the security of other horses to feel safe. He has always been in individual turnout with me and was again fine before.
 
You said he has ulcers, are you 100% these are from anxiety, and that he isn't in pain somewhere and the move has just tipped him from not being able to cope with pain, change etc hence the behaviour and the assurance of a bigger yard was masking the pain which is what's really causing the ulcers?
If that makes sense?
 
Most horses don’t settle well in a pair if the other is coming/ going, it’s very stressful for them to lose the only security they have. Ponies next door are not part of their herd and generally don’t count! You’d be best off trying to get a companion pony that doesn’t leave so he has a constant
 
I think I’d try with 3 first before moving him away. It’s really hard work having your horses on different yards. Also your other would horse would still need company if you moved the stressy one away. I have a lovely little companion pony on loan from a rescue charity. If things don’t work out for any reason she would go back to the charity so I have peace of mind with regards to her future. I also agree with Your Valentine and would keep possible pain issues in mind with regards to his ulcers.
 
Hi all I have definitely considered that it could be pain and will be pursuing further tests if the ulcer treatment doesn’t work. Will try see if I can lend a companion for a week or so and see if it helps. Worth saying neither are currently going anywhere though, they both just sit in the field.
 
Until you decide what to do - 3rd horse or move - have you considered leaving a radio playing quietly when they are in the stable?

Part of being in a larger yard is not only other horses but more people being around. Even if it doesn't seem to obviously help you can try a few different channels and see if any are better (assuming you can find one that they like and doesn't drive you potty!)
 
Not intending to derail this thread, but I have had a couple of horses of whom the reverse was true! The mare had been previously kept with a Shetland pony at owners home. I bought her and took her to a bigger yard where she became very hormonal and alpha to the point where she developed ulcers which we couldn’t resolve. Ended up moving her to a quieter, one to one set up and all settled down. All ulcers symptoms settled down in a couple of weeks and never needed more treatment.
 
TheMule said:
Most horses don’t settle well in a pair if the other is coming/ going, it’s very stressful for them to lose the only security they have. Ponies next door are not part of their herd and generally don’t count! You’d be best off trying to get a companion pony that doesn’t leave so he has a constant
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I'm sorry to contradict you Mule but I've had lots of horses kept in pairs where I take one out for up to 30 hours, and though a minority require a couple of weeks training, and one in particular was frantic at first, they've all been fine.
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The additional difficulty with a companion is we don’t have loads of room- two is about all we can fit really. I have done a lot of work getting them to be taken away etc and one can now be taken away from the other but not the other way round. However at the minute due to the ulcers nothing is happening so they’re together. Again they have individual turnout so just next to each other not in a herd.
 
Compasses said:
The additional difficulty with a companion is we don’t have loads of room- two is about all we can fit really. I have done a lot of work getting them to be taken away etc and one can now be taken away from the other but not the other way round. However at the minute due to the ulcers nothing is happening so they’re together. Again they have individual turnout so just next to each other not in a herd.
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What about borrowing a small pony? They don’t need much extra acreage as they are very kind to the ground and don’t need much to eat. My two that get stressed (I have the herd split across different yards in winter) are stressed whether ridden or not. Extra pony - instant relaxation. Given that the others couldn’t care less it did baffle me a bit but that’s life.
 
Yes, I bought a stresshead from a small yard, though there were about 5 horses. She hated it there but turned into a different beast when she landed on our 50+ horse yard.
 
Mine was previously on a yard of 8 which he liked, moved to a yard of 3 which he hated. Which is another thing of why I’m unsure if a companion would help.
 
Everything you say does sound exactly like mine was. While I was at the yard I had him both turned out with my other horse and had them separated but next to each other and it didn't make any difference either way. There were also horses in the field next door but that didn't particularly seem to help. We did discuss putting them all in together but chose not to for various reasons. I also pondered getting a third but I don't actually want three or the additional time and expense so I ruled that out! I was there about six months in the end and he did improve but not to the extent that I thought he was happy or like he had been before we moved to that yard. Some lessons were really quite embarrassing! I'd not had him very long at this point and when I moved again it was with the intention that either he would get better or I would sell him. Thankfully the change was pretty much instant and like night and day so he got to stay. I think for some horses it must be a safety in numbers thing, which does make sense given that they're herd animals.
 
Friends horse was like this on our private yard. He was beside himself. She had to sell him (they didn't gel as a partnership) and he went to a busy livery yard and thrived. I would possibly look at getting a 3rd, we have a rescue Shetland and he is perfect and very easy to keep. He has no allegiance to any of the horses and as long as there is food is happy! 😄
 
HelenBack said:
Everything you say does sound exactly like mine was. While I was at the yard I had him both turned out with my other horse and had them separated but next to each other and it didn't make any difference either way. There were also horses in the field next door but that didn't particularly seem to help. We did discuss putting them all in together but chose not to for various reasons. I also pondered getting a third but I don't actually want three or the additional time and expense so I ruled that out! I was there about six months in the end and he did improve but not to the extent that I thought he was happy or like he had been before we moved to that yard. Some lessons were really quite embarrassing! I'd not had him very long at this point and when I moved again it was with the intention that either he would get better or I would sell him. Thankfully the change was pretty much instant and like night and day so he got to stay. I think for some horses it must be a safety in numbers thing, which does make sense given that they're herd animals.
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This is exactly like mine, as in you could have written it about him! I’ve said the same if he doesn’t get better with a move he’ll be sold and I also don’t particularly want three though will if forced.
 
My older boy, Pocholo, was at a private home with just two others for a few months when he was younger. He wasn't happy, pulling the stable door frame off at one point and generally being a mischievous demon. He seemed bored rather than stressed, he was also being ridden / trained by my then trainer who did a lot of slow straightness training and similar which I think didn't occupy him physically or mentally enough to keep him out of trouble.

Moved him to a friend's place at a large yard on working livery and his usual personality returned - still cheeky but far less destructive! (He's now 20 and on a busy livery yard...on Monday night he escaped from his field, headed to his stable and scoffed half a tub of treats outside...so he's really not grown up much ;)).
 
Yes, a long time ago I had one who would not settle with me in a small herd of 3, he cribbed, kicked the walls etc, was very hard work and I struggled to get on with him. I sent him off for sales livery and he settled really well and even stopped cribbing. He had grown up on a big yard, and that was what he was happier with. Thankfully he was bought by people on a big hunt yard and loved it.
I’d never come across that before, most of them love the nice quiet family home.
 
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Yes, one of ours gets very stressed when the other leaves to go for a hack, for example. We don't have space for a third though and we just manage it so the time away is relatively short and she's kept occupied.
It is tricky though and definitely one of the downsides of having horses at home with limited space. If you're able to get a third or put in livery, I would.

P.S: There are LOADS of companion ponies waiting to be rescued - maybe one of those?
 
Yes my late mare was like this. I had her with me at college many years ago, and took her to my then boyfriend's brother's place over Christmas break, she hated it! She was always happier at a big yard with lots going on. Always had to have company with her in the field too, no matter how many horses she was surrounded with. Although in the last 6 or 7 yrs of her life (retired) she could cope with being on her own while I rode my other horse. I used to bring her in at the same time and one day she hung back from the gate so I took my other horse out of sight to see what happened, not a peep! So from that day on she stayed out, she would very occasionally walk the fence a bit but the vast majority of the time she was fine.
 
We amalgamated yards, between two of us, the horses were at two different yards. The TB mare came from a small, really quiet yard to a big livery yard. Her box was in a busy section, there was an indoor school. She thrived. I thought she might be stressed, but she loved it. I wonder if it was because she was no longer only really socialised with the pony mare belonging to my friend’s daughter.
 
ycbm said:
I'm sorry to contradict you Mule but I've had lots of horses kept in pairs where I take one out for up to 30 hours, and though a minority require a couple of weeks training, and one in particular was frantic at first, they've all been fine.
.
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Agreed, I've had some that were absolutely fine, could leave them on their own for a week at a time. Others have not been so good. I've had one that was horse aggressive and seemed to prefer living alone. My current horse is on her own and absolutely fine but she is an oldie.

As for the original question, we did have a high mileage ex racehorse years ago that was much better behaved and more relaxed on a big, busy yard, guess that's just what he was most used to and most comfortable with.
 
Years ago I was struggling to keep two fit and in work alongside life, a full time job and professional qualifications. So I sent one of my ridden ones off to a friends large busy livery yard and swapped her for a brood mare. Poor mare was obviously used to far more coming and going than my quiet place, albeit I did have a couple of liveries back then. She wasn’t stressed or anxious and I can’t really describe how she behaved, it was almost as if she was bemused by peace and quiet. But she was fine after a month or so and stayed for about six.

Touch wood I’ve always been alright with two, perhaps I’m fortunate. I can’t be doing with clingy or stressy and mine never have been either (various horses in various combinations).
 
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