Keeping a horse alone

Keeping a horse on its own

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parsley

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Its been a long time since I posted anything on here but I have just been talking to someone about keeping horses alone - I mean alone rather on their own in a field with other horses next door?
 
No. I would never do it. I think it is very unfair and totally unatural. I'm also not actually a fan of keeping 2 horses alone together either as I have seen the bad effects of pair bonding and the negative stressful impact it can have on a horse.

The only time I'd ever put a horse in a field alone is so they could meet their new, soon to be field mates over the fence for a few days or if there was a medical reason for it (but would only be shortish term, not forever)
 
Given the choice of keeping two horses together or one on its own, I would prefer one its own. P@ir bonding between two horses cre@tes non-stop @ggr@v@tion. My m@re is currently kept on her own ( for the l@st 3 months) since the l@st livery left - is someone trying to tell me something?:o:D - & h@s been @n @bsolute joy to ride & m@n@ge, shes focusing on me now @fter months of obsessive beh@viour with her st@blem@te.
 
I wouldnt even consider it. Its totally unatural for a horse to live on its own.

As for taking 2 horses away from each other, its like training them to do anything else. if you do it gradually and frequently enough then ive never had a problem. But if you only do it once a week and expect them to be ok then it wont be!
 
Had one that hated every other horse she was ever kept with...the domininant mare personified. She broke another horses leg in a massive field / stable herd situation.

Brought her home on her own, happiest she's ever been, had attention from us when she wanted it, saw other horse on the road past the fields, never batted an eye

Horses for courses as they say
 
I always said I'd never consider it, but my (mum's) horse is moving to a field entirely on her own on Monday. It's either that or sell her, and due to her past injury and her kind temperament I'd be far too terrified that someone would bute her up and sell her on as perfectly sound. We just have no-where else to keep her. It won't be permanent though and as soon as we find somewhere else, she can have a small field companion.

I really don't like the idea but I have also known a horse similar to Twirly's - so obviously there are going to be exceptions to every rule!
 
Horses are social animals, like we are. How would you like to live alone, with no interaction from human kind (incl TV if the horse cannot even see other horses), day in, day out? It contravenes the expanded animal welfare laws where animals have to be free to express their natural behaviours - how are they going to groom another horse if they're on their own, how is one going to stand guard for the other so they can lie down for a few mins and sleep flat out? How are they going to interact with another of their own species?
 
Cazza525 said:
I think its fine. I've kept horses on/off on their own over the years. Never had a problem at all.
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ditto this - some horses are actually happier on their own. Its all about the individual. Ive kept mine on his own, if he had needed a companion i would have got one for him, but he honestly WAS better on his own. My vet and RI also agreed with me, as did his previous owners who came to visit and said they had never seen him looking so well. Oh, and he was often lying flat out ZZZing away, they dont always need another horse to stand over them.
 
I,ve had my mare on her own for 4 years and she is a joy to own, so why am I on foal watch to make it 2 horses again!! i think a companion pony will be needed when I want to start riding again.
 
I think in some countries if you have a horse you are not allowed to keep it on its own (I'm sure my OH said that he was speaking to a dutch or danish work colleague and that is what they said!).
 
QR; Hell no. I would never keep a horse on it's own and honestly I think anyone who does so is selfish. Sounds harsh but that's how i feel.

I could go on forever about the downside and negative reasons why a horse should not be kept alone and I wont bore you with them but for me it's a huge no no.

x
 
i would put on in a field on its own, but always have company directly next door and be able to touch the other horse but not inflict any damage...

Whether people say its ok or not - naturally its not. horses are herd animals. they may 'seem' to be ok, but how would you like to never be able to communicate with another person ever?
 
Generally no, however having said that I rode a horse that was kept completely on her own. It suited her down to the ground as she HATED other horses (would run backwards kicking) and she was much happier there than she was when she was on a yard with other horses.
 
if i had a choice my pony would have lots of friends in his paddock but i only have him so he has to live aloneto start with he was a bit unsettled buthe is asoluley fine now and recently he has been happier as he gets to meet other horses at ponyclub and hacks ot with others too allthough he does get a bitupse when he realises a friend is leaving but as soon a he sees his grass he soon forgets all about them :P
 
heidirusso said:
QR; Hell no. I would never keep a horse on it's own and honestly I think anyone who does so is selfish. Sounds harsh but that's how i feel.

I could go on forever about the downside and negative reasons why a horse should not be kept alone and I wont bore you with them but for me it's a huge no no.

x
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heidirusso
sorry but i find this rude! some people cannot afford to have more than one horse and you should feel very prveidged to have more than one!!!
 
Afew years ago I would have said I definitely wouldn't keep a horse alone as I believed that socialising was such an important part of a horses life. But having seen my old mare, who was a very dominant character adapt easily to a life in a field on her own I think I was wrong. She seemed so much more relaxed having all the grass to herself :-) and noone to boss around all day that I changed my mind.

I now own two horses, a gelding who loves to socialise, so I would never leave him on his own, but also another mare who prefers her own paddock and life without the stress of any competition. I think she could be kept on her own if necessary, but not him.

I think it depends very much on the personality of the horse and if they are kept alone they need alot of attention from the owner to make sure they don't ever feel lonely.
 
Well I must be one of the baddies then because my horse lives on his own! When I bought him the lady always kept him on his own pottering about the yard and she did tell me that he was not good with other horses. I have tried in the past to socialise him a bit but even out hacking with even one other horse and he was quick to kick them or bite them and is generally a very un-happy mess to ride in company generally. He is brilliant on his own and happy doing what he does best as a horse...eat!
Where I live we have the riding school ride by, loads of hackers and in the winter the hunt too and he does not even lift his head to watch.
I can hand on heart say my lad is content and happy in himself in his routine...he is fed, watered, has shelter by means of a field stable all year round, a routine where he is visited twice a day every day of the year by me and I see nothing wrong in that at all.
Each to their own and each horse is an individual too.
 
Absolutely not. That's why I'm trekking round the country to find my recently bereaved warmblood a new buddy.

He is rather enjoying being in livery with lots of mares, so probably doesn't share my enthusiasm to get him back home.
 
Well I've done both. All the horses I've had have been perfectly OK on their own; the last one I had did have another horse he pair-bonded with and they'd both carry on a real hoo-haa if the other one was taken out of the field.

The one I have now is fine on his own, doesn't seem to worry. He's been kept in a big "herd" of about 40 other horses, plus one other in the field with him, and either way he doesn't seem fussed. He's also had to, out of necessity not choice, been solo in the field and in the stable, for a period, and has been OK.

I think that if the horse respects you, the owner, and you both have that relationship, there are situations where the horse will be OK on its own, not that its an ideal set-up, far from it, but I've also heard people say that horses out with sheep will be happier than on their own, or with cows.
 
For those who's horses are now 'happier' on their own, compared to when their horses were overly pair-bonded - did the fact they got extremely upset when their friend was taken away not tell you how desperately they need friends?

I would never, ever keep a horse on their own - the only horses I know who are 'better' on their own are those who have had their head messed up from being made to live on their own in the past. And I know a couple of horses who have serious separation issues from being forced to live on their own.

You only need to watch a group of settled horses to realise how important socialising is to them.
 
I think it depends very much on the personality of the horse and if they are kept alone they need alot of attention from the owner to make sure they don't ever feel lonely.[/QUOTE]

How do you know if a horse is lonely? What signs would they display if any?

This is a really interesting post for me. My mare currently lives alone as her field mate moved away :( YO then announced she wanted no new livery to replace her, so I had no choice at the time. She has shetlands she can see in next field but they can't touch or groom or anything :(

I've been really worried about it for months, and have tried to find a new yard where she would have company. Things are ok at current yard, but no facilities and very few people to hack with. I've found a new yard that ticks every box but it's over 9 miles from where I live, current yard is 3.5 miles, and en-route to everywhere I need to go (Tesco, Cubs, Scouts, etc).

The thing is I just don't know if my mare is that bothered about being on her own. She's got a huge field all to herself, plenty of natural shelter, food, water etc. and she's always really pleased to see me - comes when I call her, loves being fussed, enjoys hacking out etc.

Don't want to hi-jack this thread, but I'm struggling with my decision on whether to move or not...? And I want to do the right thing by her...

Any thoughts?
 
How do you know if a horse is lonely? What signs would they display if any?
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Thats the difficult thing. Horses can only show high stress symptoms for a short period of time. Then they have to calm down and relax a little, and the low grade stress involved with being lonely is very hard to pinpoint. Doesn't mean they are happy, just that they don't display many symptoms.

Some horses become difficult to handle etc, but for most it's much more subtle. They maybe a little more spooky hacking on their own than they were when they live with company. A little more grumpy. They can be a little more pleased to see their owner. They spend a little less time sleeping then they do in company. They sometimes just spend time staring into space (usually the time they would spend grooming or playing with friends). All things that owners very quicky see as 'the norm'

It's all things that are hard to quantifiy or qualify and often can only be noticed when you put them back in with company and they stop doing certain things you took for granted before.

All of mine would eventaully settle down to live on their own, but you only need to see them with their friends as they are now to see how much of their time and life is ruled by living with other horses. They graze near each other. They play. They groom each other. They simply stand near each other, dozing. None of which they could do without friends.
 
I have kept and will probably have to keep a horse alone.

I agree it isn't natural but remember that most of the things we do to our horses isn't natural. Putting shoes on, putting bits in their mouths, clipping and rugging etc.
 
my horse is kept at home , alone , she does not bother at all ,she has 15 acres to roam about in , some sheep and chickens for company, my horse is either eating , sleeping flat out (afternoon nap which she loves ) or having a gallop about the field or being ridden , she is as happy as larry .
 
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