It doesn't feel right.....what am I doing to him long term?

[cblover]

Hi all, humour me......please! You will all probably remember me asking if I should get another (very small sheep size) babysitter for Teddy and Kinzzy, as when I take Kinzzy away for a hack, dressage, pleasure ride etc...Teddy cannot be left in the field alone as he is a baby (9 month). I have to stable him with the radio on and his grille up until I get back. He never refuses to go in his stable although he'd not happy about being left...bless him. I've also started to leave his top door slightly open in the hope I can work on opening it more as time goes on. But.......

It doesn't sit comfortably with me .....what am I doing to him mentally in the long term? When he is stabled like this and his stress level are up (albeit he never sweats, just walks round and poo's a lot) what is he actually learning? When we had a 3rd horse, he happily watched Kinzzy go and come back from the safety of the field with his pal Bounty.......that way I believe he was calm and able to learn rationally that she goes and comes back.

So, do I look for an old shetland who needs a good home....with very small feet as my land (3 acres) can be wet and that is the very reason I am reluctant to get another one.....I literally need one with such small feet it wouldn't make a mess!....or do I carry on and stable him for the few times I'm actually away. Even if I hack every day, he'll only be alone 45 mins tops really. Maybe longer if I go to a dressage event once a month! I'm just so undecided and would really appreciate your views....what would you do in my shoes?

 

[sprite1978]

Id get another. I think he will associate being stabled with anxiety. This might cause you some real problems in the future. Box walking, weaving, reluctance to come in, fretting....

Do you stable your horses in winter? could you just reduce turnout for all 3?

 

[BigRed]

I think you are worrying too much. Put the top grill on the door, but leave it open, so he can look out, and leave him to it. He will learn that the other horse will come back. After all, one day you will want to take him off for a ride and leave the other one.

I am in the same situation. I leave my pony and he shouts his head off, and runs around the field, but according to my husband, it is only when I initially leave and when he can hear us coming home.

 

[ThePony]

We have a similar prob - ours won't stay out on their own, so when we travel one, the other goes into the stable. More because it is safer to have them confined like this rather than belting around their field. OH mare has always found this particularly hard, she is improving though stable is still v pooey and trampled! Occationally she does refuse to go in her stable as she knows next step is her pal is taken away, it really makes me feel bad. Short times of taking them away from each other does seem to make it less of a big deal. Though even a break of a few weeks seems to put us back to square one. We are on livery, but our two seem particularly attached to each other. In an ideal world we would have them in with another friend so that the left one has a buddy. If you can get a companion then I def would as I think that would be ideal, if you can't then I would leave him in his stable. It isn't ideal, but if you can't fit a 3rd onto your land then really what can you do? 45 mins isn't all the time in the world, with fuss when you return so he knows he has been good? Does he go out on his own at all? Just to be lead inhand? OH mare really stresses when left in the stable, but she is much better if she is the one removed to do something fun! (Even if that is just a short walk inhand!). It seems to help her confidence to do it regularly and makes it less of an upheaval when we take the other away.

 

[kirinsam]

I am not sure what is right for your situation but just to say I am going through similar. My youngster now gets v excited when he sees Sams tack because he know that I will leave him with a big feed in his box to keep him quiet whilst I hack. What will he make of it when I want to introduce tack to him I dont know and I dont want to have to bribe him all the time but am determined to keep separating them and OH wouldn't take kindly to 3. With perseverance we are down to a whinney when I leave from Sam and one from Riley when we get back. Keep at it you might win.

 

[nikkimariet]

What you say about his previous behaviour, that he was more settled with company, would make me suggest buying a small cheap to keep companion.

What you say about your land, makes me think otherwise.

IMO you're worrying a little too much. We've had a nervous anxious horse before who hated being left on his own. After just 6 months of being left for 30mins - couple of hourse each day.....he was fine. Think yours deffo stands a chance of getting used to being on his own.

I appreciate that he is young, but I don't think you're doing anything wrong. I think if you did get him a companion, he would be more difficult to keep on his own (what about at a show, or if you were to sell??) later in life.

 

[beeswax]

if he were mine i would pop him in the stable for 30mins a day sometimes even though you were not going to ride out the other one so that he doesnt always associate the stable with being left on his own, if that makes any sense, but do feel that he does need to learn that sometimes he will be on his own if only for a while so therefore i wouldnt get another, i know it is difficult to see them getting stressed but it will be for his own good, we dont know what the future brings us or our animals.

 

[Jericho]

Is there any way you can find out what he is doing whilst you arent there? I have same problem with an 18yr old 11 hh who will barge any door or fence down at the first sign of his companion leaving him. I have to lock him in his stable with grill on top door otherwise he breaks all the fencing and charges around the field like a loony. At 18yrs old he probably isn't going to change. I do know however that once we have gone although he poos a lot and walks the box a bit he does settle and eat hay.

If I had a young horse I would probably build up the separation very slowly, like a few minutes at a time and try leaving them in the field if I could because I think he may start to associate the stable with beingon his own if that is the only time he goes in it.

Edited to say that putting him stable for other reasons is also very good idea.

 

[Wagtail]

I would get another. I don't think it is right that we force our horses to go through things that are not natural and actually frightening for them to suit us. Some horses cope fine, but others never do and never will. My own mare is an example of this. She is just not cut out to ever be alone and I have learnt to live with this. Two of my geldings on the other hand can be left alone no bother, so long as they have food and are somewhere they feel safe. I think that in your youngster's case, he will be learning to assosiate his stable with a bad thing and not a safe thing, so get another. Walking around and pooing a lot through stress can also cause ulcers to develop.

 

[cblover]

Teddy is definately better than he was when I first started putting him in the stable whilst I rode. I have also bought some 'Pax' horse calmer.....the spray you put on yourself and this seems to make him calmer. I think I will also have a look at buying a stable mirror! Are they just normal toughened mirrors or special ones?.....Just that my hubby is a glazier and could get one possibly.

I have started to take him out of the field and leave the other one there, to groom him and give him his daily suregrow. He happily comes away with great enthusiasm but soon as his grub is finished, he's wanting to return. I take him for a short walk, then we go back to the field. He leads really well too, so that helps. Sometimes I have them both tied up and just groom them and return them to the field, he's totally fine doing this. I could be over reacting a tad (surprise, surprise! LOL) but if I thought it was damaging in the long term I'd never forgive myself.

I know shortly I will be over run with grass and it will take careful managing to ensure both get what they need.......but I also know what winter looks like and it isn't pretty!

 

[jendie]

I'd solve the problem with a nice mini Shet)

 

[beeswax]

So you get a lil shettie, then in 2-3 years time when the young un starts being ridden there are going to be times when both horses are out together so what happens lil shettie then gets upset, so what you gonna do then get another lil shettie for the lil shettie. There is nothing more frustrating, heart breaking and upsetting than a horse that doesnt like being left on its own whether to go out for exercise or stay behind at home, nip it in the bud now for you own sanity. Those that say they have a horse who is like this, i bet it is a nuisance and a constant worry to them and a 18 yo they probably wont change, but they also are only like that because it wasnt nipped in the bud when they were younger and so the cycle continues. Yes they are herd animals but we have domesticated them and taken them away from the herd so they also need to adjust a little bit to make our lives easier, we are ofcourse the hand that feeds them so to speak. How many new posts do you read about someone just got a new horse and it was grand when they tried it out, then they got it home and it was suddenly on its own and so it was unsettled and oh no it is now a difficult horse or even (the best one) dangerous, what are your future plans for the young un, think of what will make his future happy should he not be with you forever, some owners beat them if they call back to the others left behind, do you want that for him should you have to sell him oneday, i say no more.

 

[Trinity Fox]

I think if it isnt too much for him i would let him get used to coming in on his own all of my youngsters can stay in stable alone if needed, you never know when a circumstance may arrive when you may need him to do this.

 

[SpruceRI]

I agree to a certain extent with what Beeswax says.... the OP should start as she means to go on. I didn't, and am now paying the price

I used to have 4 ponies who all lived together (out). Remove any one from the field and Rosie would jump out,

Then I was down to 3 ponies. Couldn't exercise my youngster outside the field, unless I tied my Rosie to a tree within sight of us.... which meant no hacking.... when they were in my rented field a mile away from the stables (

I started shutting her in the field shelter which worked for a bit, but then she attempted to jump out and really injured herself.

After that, I could only ride the youngster away from home if they were back at the yard and I barricaded Rosie in her stable with a full grill above the door so she couldn't make any attempt to jump out.... and had my shetland in the next door stable. She got used to that fairly quickly, and after the initial shrill of neighing, she calmed down and ate her hay.

Now, I'm back down to 2. My Shetland is fine being left on his own, but she still isn't. So he never goes anywhere without her.

It's a shame and a pain, but I can't risk her trying to kill herself in her panic.

 

[Charley]

Dead simple - get a stable mirror. They really do work.