keeping a horse on their own ?!

S

somerset-lass

Well-Known Member
Joined
26 June 2009
Messages
65
Location
somerset
Visit site
hi, my boy is currently out in a field 24/7 & paying diy livery.He is out with 2 ponies for company. My partners dad has now said that i could keep him at home in a field on the farm, but this would mean my boy being on his own, i am not sure what he will be like as i have never kept him on his own - what would you do ?
Obviously this would save me a lot of money as i wouldn't have to pay livery, just hay & feed.
 
Either get a companion - there are tons of horses looking for homes at the moment, ask if anyone at your current yard would like to put their horse with yours, or keep him where he is. Horses are herd animals and it is not acceptable to keep them on their own at all.
 
Personally I would never ever keep a horse alone, they are social herd animals.
However, I'm sure many people will tell us they have done it successfully!
Would it have any company at all? Goats or sheep etc?
 
I think it totally depends on the horse, and you won't know till you try tbh. I had a horse who was very anti-social and was never happy in a herd. He went to a new home as the only horse on a farm and is as happy as larry - loves his sheep friends.
 
Years ago I kept a horse on her own for about 9 months, she seemed fine, until we met another horse out riding, when she went completely berserk. We moved home and she had a pony as a companion and she was happy to leave the pony each evening for her stable, so long as she saw him during the day.

My pony was on his own for a few months when my horse died, he doesn't get hysterical about it, but he obviously prefers to have a horsey friend.
 
My horse is happier on his own, however he does have horses and sheep in surrounding fields and goats that seem to like to wander into his paddock. You could either get a little companion but then it isnt going to save money, or you could get a couple of sheep/goats as they tend to get on with them.
Are there animals on the farm he would be close too? How does yours react if he is left in the field til last? If he is calm and not worried he will probably be ok on his own, if he looses the plot he wants company!
 
I know a couple of people in America who do this because they have such large properties nd the horses live at home. No one could fault the care their horses get but I always think it's a little sad for the horse to not have a horsey mate to knock about with.
 
I've kept my pony on his own before for a few months, he was fine with it but he does prefer having friends. I think it depends on the horse but i think the majority would be unhappy without other horses.
 
I wouldn't keep a horse alone personally, when I had 3 and we took the other 2 out for a whole day I always borrowed a companion for the 3rd one for the day as don't like turning a horse out alone if they can't at least see another horse.

If I were you I would move to the farm but get your horse a companion, if you get something quite hardy it shouldn't cost you too much to keep.
 
I would get a small companion that shouldnt cost much to keep my shetland just costs feet trimmed thats it, have wormer left each time from sizes of other ones so doesnt cost extra to worm and doesnt need hard feed.

I do however keep one of my mares by herself after talking to the vet as well we decided it was best for her as she plays with the youngsters and hurts herself shes just had treatment for her hocks so needs to take things easy which she will not do if shes out with others. She has 3 goats with her so not by herself as such and can still see her friends across the road and also means i get to deal with how attached she is with the youngster.
 
it really depends on the horse - the odd horse is happier - the odd horse copes/is fine - but generally a horse is happier with company or at least being able to see other/touch over fence etc if on individual turnout
 
I agree they tend to be better with company and I had my horse in a field by herself but with horse in adjoining fields. I still felt bad for her so as soon as was able, I bought a 2nd pony.

I moved from the last yard because she had a horse next door to her, but they moved the horse without telling me and my pony jumped 4 fences to be with company.

You know your horse best and what they'd be happy with.
 
Would your partners dad mind another person's pony being kept with yours if you explain yours will be needing company? I'm thinking if you could offer a grass retirement type livery you could gain enough income from that to cover the whole cost of feed etc for yours.

Or encourage your partner to ride and get a companion that way!
 
Mine has been at working livery at a big equestrian college for the past two years with loads of other horses around; but he has lived on his own before without any tears or tantrums - he's a pretty laid back sort of guy so is equally content on his own or with lots of others.

Since leaving the big yard, he had to be on his own for the summer due to the fact that I'd been promised a pony/companion in the field by a neighbour, but basically the daughter got precious over it and wanted it over at their place and not here, so he's had to be on his own after my best endeavours to provide company for him, and he's been fine, absolutely fine. We've had sheep in the field and he's been fine with that, also we're on the road here and so he's seen quite a lot of other horses coming and going, especially as within a two-square-mile area of here there must be about 200 horses in various places, so its not like being totally on his own there's other horses in the field across the road that he can see and hear.

On a farm there will probably be cows or whatever? So you might find yours is OK - I had a little pony years ago that we kept on my uncle's farm and he was out with cows 24/7 and I honestly believe he thought he was a cow!!! So it might be worth trying and see how things go.

The only thing you might find if your horse doesn't ever see other horses though is that he might get quite nappy and/or totally daft if he's ever in a situation with lots of other horses - so that's something to bear in mind.

But I do believe that some horses (like mine) are quite happy with their own company and/or other livestock. Of course the ideal would be to perhaps chum up with someone else and have another as companion, but then the problem you'll have is when you take one out and leave the other one!!! - and a lot of farmers wouldn't be happy to have a horse tearing around on their precious pasture; again something to think about.

Also bear in mind that some horses can react aggressively to sheep - we had one here years ago that as soon as it was turned out galloped at them and started to bash out at them with its forelegs and nearly killed a sheep, so try it in a small space with a long lunging rein first.

I'd be inclined to try solo living and see how it goes, but be prepared to re-think if necessary rather than your horse be unhappy.
 
Sorry, but I know i'm going against the general grain here but our daughters pony is kept on her own. She does have sheep in the paddock with her, but if they dare stray into 'her' part she chases them away (said paddock is fenced in 4-sheep can walk under fence). When we bought her, we also bought a companion pony as we thought that would be for the best. She thought differently. She hated said companion pony, would bully it and she was frequently in a very bad mood. We sold the companion and our pony was so much more relaxed straight away. I know that horses are herd animals, but I think they can be a bit like people-some like their own company and some don't.
btw she was bought from a livery yard and we bought the companion from the same owner, so they knew each other in advance.
 
Last edited:
I personally don't agree with keeping a horse on its own as it goes against what they are - a herd animal. I'd get a shetland to keep with your horse. Or you could ask around locally and see if anyone wants to keep their pony or something at yours?
 
Sorry the other thing I meant to say was that if getting another pony as companion, in my experience you have to work hard to get the "right" combination. We've recently had a pony here as a livery, now gone thank god, and it just hated being with other horses. It was stabled next to mine at night and all it did was just try to reach its head around and bite mine, poor lad, every time he stuck his head out.

Also, with my old boy, now gone bless him; he'd lost his field buddy and was feeling very sad about it all, so I let a friend put her two young Arabians out with him. Big mistake! It was like two young hooligans annoying an old man trying to sleep! - didn't work at all and made him even more miserable than he already was.

So its not just a case, IME, of just plonking two horses together and thinking everything will be fine coz it just might not be and you might end up with a situation you wish you didn't have.

I agree with poster above (sorry can't remember name) re horses being quite happy to live solo; it depends on the horse and the situation. Mine will live on his own quite happily - has done before and will no doubt do so again if necessary, and as my trainer says, if a horse is unhappy on its own it will fret/break out/develop stable vices/whatever, but he hasn't done and has been fine on his own all summer, a very chilled out horse.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top