Keeping a horse alone, how do you feel about it?

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Horseymumma

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Everyday I pass a field close to my home where two horses used to be kept.

Very rarely is anyone ever present (the last person i saw there was an RSPCA inspector) and the field has no shelter and is full of rubbish.

Both horses looked skinny and unkempt, (never ever rugged and these aren't heavy, native types either who perhaps could cope with winter weather and being naked in the open).

A little while ago one disappeared and ever since then, the other has been alone without another horse in sight. :( it makes me feel really sad to see and personally I couldn't keep my boy alone when I see how much fun he has with his friends when he's out.

I was just pondering really and wondered what other people's views were on keeping horses alone?
 
This would also make me feel very sad, horses are heard animals, mine doesn't like other horses really and is aloof but he likes to know they are around and tends to stay within eyesight of the heard.
 
It's completely & totally wrong, & pure selfishness on behalf of the owner. In an ideal world I'd have any owner who keeps a horse out of sight of others (except for very extreme circumstances & only then short term) prosecuted for cruelty. With a prison sentence served in solitary confinement.
 
i think if i were you i would want to check around the field to make sure the other hasnt died or fallen into a ditch or something? tbh i would report this again, the rspca obviously know who owns the horse and they can make sure its cared for properly
 
Depends on the horse but as a general rule, every horse should have a buddy! This would make me gutted, I'd almost be tempted to offer a bit of wonga and take it home myself. Poor beggar not even able to see another nag to chat with over the fence, especially after living with a companion for so long :-(
 
Littlelegs said:
It's completely & totally wrong, & pure selfishness on behalf of the owner. In an ideal world I'd have any owner who keeps a horse out of sight of others (except for very extreme circumstances & only then short term) prosecuted for cruelty. With a prison sentence served in solitary confinement.
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Your insane
 
Why? Personally I'd have animal cruelty of all types punished much more harshly. I'm not suggesting a life sentence, but if people can't empathise themselves about how a herd animal feels when its isolated, a few days of experiencing it themselves might get them thinking.
 
My ex-neighbour (we moved, so don't know the story now) kept a shettie mare all by herself in a manky field, full of weeds. I know they are good doers to the max but this was a miserable bit of grazing even for a pony on restricted grazing. The weeds were higher than the pony's back! Poor little thing never had company, the girl who had it went off to uni leaving her parents to watch it so don't know how much human attention it was even getting :( it always looked so down in the dumps. Last I saw it it had some kind of horrid scabby skin thing going on .... It's not really a case that any welfare people would take seriously as it's a good weight, has a shelter and always has access to water. I guess people need to realise that there's more to keeping a pony than having its bare minimum physical needs met, it has mental health needs. Pony looked depressed as hell to me .....
 
Sad, you see horses in isolation everywhere.

Scruffy little paddocks to palacial stables.

All horses need feedom to move and horses to interact with.

If you cannot meet all their needs don't have them.:)
 
Littlelegs said:
Why? Personally I'd have animal cruelty of all types punished much more harshly. I'm not suggesting a life sentence, but if people can't empathise themselves about how a herd animal feels when its isolated, a few days of experiencing it themselves might get them thinking.
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Because people make mistakes with animals all the time. People need educating, not given a prison sentence! It's ignorance the vast majority of the time, not intentional cruelty. Just like someone who doesn't realise they are a bit to heavy for their horse, or someone who doesn't realise the importance of correctly fitting tack.

What if everything else is perfect? A pony who has a warm stable at night, plenty of grazing, doesn't want for anything yet is kept alone? You think that owner should then get sent to prison? Which would mean they lose their job and would likely affect their whole future because they failed to meet one need of an animal through their ignorance of believing he was happy?

Yes I quite agree actual animal cruelty needs to have stricter consequence, but not ignorance.
 
My horse is kept alone. There are a few in eyesight but none in touching distance. She doesnt care, when i've tried sharing my field with other horses she literally tries to kick them to death. Its not worth risking the life or injury of another horse. I know of plenty of horses that dont live in a herd an they are both mentally and physically healthy (:
 
They have been reported to the RSPCA several times, but the horse is still standing so nothing is done. It does however, make me wonder what happened to the other one...

I just don't see the point of having a horse that you leave in a field and never see to at least give them some bonding time. It makes me think some people own a horse just to say they own a horse!
 
Hate seeing horses kept on their own. If you've got your own land then surely could get loan horse from Blue Cross, etc to keep company, or even a couple of sheep would be better than nothing.
 
Jessi&Magic said:
My horse is kept alone. There are a few in eyesight but none in touching distance. She doesnt care, when i've tried sharing my field with other horses she literally tries to kick them to death. Its not worth risking the life or injury of another horse. I know of plenty of horses that dont live in a herd an they are both mentally and physically healthy (:
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Interesting, must be a relief knowing she doesn't care.

Do you think her aggressive behaviour towards other horses shareing her space is because she has been isolated for a period of time? Could she be kept with other horses before her isolation, or was she always like that?
 
My old loan pony used to be kept alone, because he was a stallion then gelded late. At the time (20 years ago) I thought he was OK and I would take him daily to say hello over the fence to a few horses down the road.
As the years passed I finally bought my own pony Rusty and kept him with him. I never realised how lonely he must have been, he'd been kept alone for 10 years :( I loved to watch them play together for hours and it gave him a new lease of life. He still liked his quiet time when I took my pony out for a bit, though.
I still feel bad about it years later, I was young and didn't know any better, and I looked after him better than his owner who just neglected him for years.
They had such deep bond when I had him put to sleep at 29 I was worried how my Rusty would cope. He never called for him that day (he always called for him!), but lay down where I'd had the deed done in the field. He sniffed the ground where the body had laid and stayed in that spot for 24 hours. It was very moving as he seemed to process it.

I've never kept a horse alone since.
 
I don't think ignorance is any excuse vieshot. If people can't be bothered to learn about the very basic requirements of an animal before they take it on, then I'm afraid I have zero sympathy.
 
I prefer mine to have equine company, however her current companion is 30+ yrs old, and his owner won't be buying another when his time comes.

I am unable to afford a second horse/pony and so I do worry about what will happen, she's too old to sell, and I wouldn't anyway, so the alternative would be living alone or pts if a companion couldn't be sourced. My mare has lived on her own apparently quite happily before though, it isn't always a black and white picture.
 
Littlelegs said:
I don't think ignorance is any excuse vieshot. If people can't be bothered to learn about the very basic requirements of an animal before they take it on, then I'm afraid I have zero sympathy.
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But when so many people keep horses alone is it any wonder that people believe it to be okay? After all, professionals quite often refuse to turn their horses out in company in case of injury. So if someone new to horses helped out at said competition yard then eventually got their own then who could blame them for being ignorant in thinking it was okay to keep a horse alone?

Gentle guidance goes a long way for most. Yes if after being told that what they are doing is cruel, they refuse to change then yes, come down hard.
 
Jessi&Magic said:
My horse is kept alone. There are a few in eyesight but none in touching distance. She doesnt care,
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How does a horse tell you that they don't care?

Do you ever wonder if her isolation could have contributed to her aggressive behaviour? How did you introduce her to field companions? Did you just put them in her field?
 
Im on phone so currently cant quote. No idea on previous keepings, i bought her from a field of 25, she had been excluded from the yard along with a young filly. She came to live with me and my gelding, he was verrrry submissive so let her rule the place, he was put to sleep last year and when he went i moved the horse from the field beside her (who also lives alone) and after 40 or so mins of ignorance she chased and chased this horse round for ages. The owner didn't want him in there anymore. This has been repeated with the horse on the other side of her and she attacked him too. The first was a young gelding pony and the second was a 16.2 veteran tb. She's also been put in their fields for a while then they've been put back in and she's still aggressive.
I am assuming she's happy, she doesn't seek attention from them, i never see her at the fences and the one time i did she was trying to kick through it.
I'm happy with her mental and physical state of mind.
The field also wouldn't be able to accommodate another horse, i wouldnt have the time or money to afford another (:
 
When one of my was PTS due to colic my gelding spent 8 months on his own. He did have a horse friend I borrowed from college come home for 2 weeks at Christmas but she had to go back. I tried to borrow a friend for him until I bought a new one but struggled as due to our set up couldn't have anything wimpy or that needed stabling. He obviously wasn't happy but he coped. Nowadays I think it would be a lot easier to find a temp friend if I needed to but back then there wasn't facebook pages or internet forums to ask on.

My BBB doesn't like other horses but I could never keep her on her own. She likes to be able to see others and although she doesn't seem to mind being the first turned out/last in (individual paddocks) she likes to know they are there. And will shout from her stable until the mare next door comes in. She will bite her when she comes in but she still wants her there.
 
Horses can be funny things. My mare absolutely hates the other mare on the yard even though that mare adores her. When turned out together, she spends her whole time chasing her away, but if you brought said mare in, she would go beserk on her own. They currently both go out with my gelding, who is boss of both of them and things are mostly peaceful when he is there.

We also have a cob on the yard that has to be turned out alone as he is aggressive to other horses. However, he would be very unhappy if he could not see and touch the others. Yes, he would settle alone, but he is much happier kept alongside others.
 
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This is an interesting discussion - I have had quite a bit of personal experience of this issue over the past few months.

My 18yo gelding found himself 'home alone' when an old friend was pts and then the ;ivery sold hers. Yes he coped and was seemingly quiet and I have to confess, his manners improved. Another member of my family had a similar situation and her chap was not making a fuss but looked jolly sad, a chum was bought for him. I too have decided to find my chap friends and he will be put at livery so he has company. Sadly if one has facilities it isn't always easy to find a companion, the paddock and stable are the easy bit!
 
Please don't judge - how can anyone say we cannot know what a horse feels and then in the same breath say they feel lonely? My mare is not happy with other horses. We've had her for a lot of years now and when we bought her she was very aggressive towards people and other horses. We gave her a routine, which she loved but still was unhappy with other horses, she didn't like being groomed or participating in mutual grooming with other horses. She was very low in the pecking order but we had a wonderful gelding who wouldn't allow her to be bullied, but she just wasn't interesting in interacting with other horses. She must be the most intelligent horse we have and was absolutely bombproof ridden and very correct in her conformation. We've had 4 fantastic foals out of her and they were not like her (and before I get jumped on they were wanted and have great homes - in fact we were offered money for her as a broodmare, no way she's staying with us), but she ran with her stallion and showed no interest him unless she was in season, in fact it was he who interacted with the foals (she would let them suckle but it ended there). She can see a couple of other ponies, but she just isn't interested. She isn't without company as I bought a couple of goats and we have chickens which she seems to like. I don't know why she is like this, but I do know by now what she will tolerate and other horses just don't do it for her. I know I love her and as much as I would love another horse there is no way I will put her through the stress of having to deal with it.
 
Very difficult to judge really - morally horses are herd animals and therefore with their best interests at heart they should at least be in view of another horse and ideally be able to intereact. I have kept my mare in her own and she was fine and actually became more attached to me which was lovely from a selfish point of view. She seemed happy because she didnt need to fight iver her food, she never had to put her ears back or assert her authority or be bossed around. But it is quite clear to see that she is more content with a companion when they graze side by side. I feel sorry for the poor horse you have seen OP because it seems that not only do they not have a companion but they are not cared for particularly.
 
Dovorian said:
This is an interesting discussion - I have had quite a bit of personal experience of this issue over the past few months.

My 18yo gelding found himself 'home alone' when an old friend was pts and then the ;ivery sold hers. Yes he coped and was seemingly quiet and I have to confess, his manners improved. Another member of my family had a similar situation and her chap was not making a fuss but looked jolly sad, a chum was bought for him. I too have decided to find my chap friends and he will be put at livery so he has company. Sadly if one has facilities it isn't always easy to find a companion, the paddock and stable are the easy bit!
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The Blue cross are appealing for people to take youngsters as companions, if you are interested you can check out on their web site.

Friends in Denmark have had to buy a second pony because the law changed there and you are not allowed to keep a lone equine, which poses and interesting question if you do have a horse that is not good with others.

We had a gelding some time ago who came from a yard, after buying him we were told of his reputation for being bad tempered and not able to go out with others, we were able to put him out with our older mare, but when he went to camps etc we had to keep him away from others. I later found out that he was reacting to being bullied himself as a youngster.
 
All three of mine go nuts if left alone. Alfie, the riggy one will scream his head off and work himself into a sweat, though he's fine if he has human company.

Ollie won't hack out alone without an argument, he's a very insecure boy. I turn him out first in the morning and he'll roll in the mud whilst calling to the others - as though he isn't sure which is the priority. Shetland seems least bothered - but I was involved in an accident on new yrs day because I went hacking down the bridleway and left the pony on her own. She wriggled under the hedge and bolted after us, scaring the cr@p out of the big uns. Everyone fell off. Horses went through a barbed wire fence and vet had to come out.

I'd never ever keep any of them alone. They're quite good at expressing how unsafe they feel without one another.
 
I think there is a big distinction between a horse like my large hunter gelding that attacks anything in his field (no hes not a rig, not medically anyway), massively territorial and will not tolerate it, not even a pheasant, and definitly not a horse or a sheep, but for who even so I bought a horse to keep him company who is just over the fence and they can groom and touch and whinny at each other, and the scenario of a horse kept by itself and who doesn't touch see or hear another horse.

the former to me is acceptable and in some cases appropriate, the latter is not acceptable for anything other than the limited time gap between one of the two horses passing away and you being physically able to get a replacement.

Ie horses can be in different fields but they must be able to touch groom and interact with other horses
 
I see what you mean re comp yards vieshot, but I don't view that as being alone. Whilst I wouldn't do it myself, I don't think individual turnout is cruel, when other horses are around. By alone I mean without another equine in sight, which wouldn't be the case on comp yards etc.
 
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