One or two

[SantaVera]

Horse watching around the local area I have noticed a few horses which live alone. All of these have no other animal company for example there are no sheep in their paddocks. Three of them are without sight and sound of other horses,one gets to go out hunting. All seem quite calm and settled in good condition. Then there is a lady who has two horses and rides one which doesn't like leaving it's field companion and the companion neighs pityfully when it's mate is out and about.i know received wisdom is to keep at least two together, but from observation I m wondering if keeping two is actually more stressful for both horses than one alone.

 

[twiggy2]

It's a good question and I really think the answer depends on the individual horse, owner and lifestyle.
I would love to be able to keep an established herd of 4 or more on a large rough acerage, in reality that is never going to happen. I have had a pont who really didn't care about company and was kept alone at times, my youngster was the same as was my older mare, all hacked alone etc no trouble.
In reality I am faced with either having 3 or 1 next time round, I don't have the ground for 3, I don't want 2 to get really attached to each other, I can have a few sheep as company and if the horse is happy with that great, if not 2 more ponies it will be.

 

[SpeedyPony]

Personally I think one is worse than two- as although 3+ is ideal I would take stress for a couple of hours per day over low grade constant stress over months or years.
That said, I'd probably have been considered unethical the first few months I was taking the old boy out and leaving the youngster behind- she had at least one, usually 3 other ponies for company but still screamed her head off. She's now settled down and will call perhaps once or twice when we leave/return (I have had reports from people around that she's quiet once we're gone), so I imagine that they can acclimatise to being alone for an hour or two as well, although personally I'd want them to have company of some kind at all times.
I think a lot also depends on the individual- the young sec d mentioned above would be a horror if kept or left alone, but the miniature Shetland used to be the old boys only companion and barely seemed to notice when he went out.

 

[twiggy2]

I honestly don't think they all worry about it but agree its really down to the individual horse, I expect them to worry and am always surprised when they don't seem too.

 

[pistolpete]

I think a horse on its own is pretty unfair. Mine would hate it and so would my previous horse. They’re herd animals. Safety comes from company. I do understand the dilemma of taking one out and leaving one to stress but agree an hours stress is better than 24!

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Horses are herd animals, so they should be able to express natural behaviours, in a herd. There are ways to minimise/accustom horses to the stress of being left at home while a companion is taken out, most involve food. Horses which live entirely alone learn to keep quiet so that they don't attract the notice of predators they may well, in fact probably do, appear to be content but that doesn't mean that they don't feel stressed by their situation.

 

[9tails]

Three

 

[SantaVera]

Three

Agree, until two go out to hack together. LOL . I just find it interesting that the single horses seem more settled than the pairs. Wondering if any research has been done into this.

 

[ycbm]

It depends on the horses.

Some horses seem happy to be kept alone but the only way to know if that happiness is genuine is to give them company and see their reactions in a group situation. I think most would soon make it clear they wanted company.

As far as 2 go I've often had 2 and never had a problem taking one away for several hours. 3 should, in theory, be foolproof but horses are great at making fools of us.

 

[Barton Bounty]

It depends on the individual horse, I could happily have kept BB at a property on his own with no other company I think. And I dont think Orby will be too fussed either, he is quite chilled and happy the way he is

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Agree, until two go out to hack together. LOL . I just find it interesting that the single horses seem more settled than the pairs. Wondering if any research has been done into this.

They appear to be settled because they daren't do anything to attract attention. That doesn't mean that they are settled or comfortable living alone.

 

[Arzada]

Horses which live entirely alone learn to keep quiet so that they don't attract the notice of predators they may well, in fact probably do, appear to be content but that doesn't mean that they don't feel stressed by their situation.

This. Mine at one time lived in a field which immediately adjoined a lone horse on a large acreage. The lone horse was nearly always to be seen standing in a small area which was the highest point of its field. This was its safest place. It was also one of the few places it could see ours. Occasionally it would be at the lowest point if our horses happened to be down at the stream.

All seem quite calm and settled in good condition

There's a limit to how long a distressed horse can charge around. Of course lone horses are quiet in their fields. They may however express themselves in other ways that we don't see eg when being handled

 

[Winters100]

Personally I believe that in general (of course there are exceptions to every rule) horses are happier with company. Some years ago, when I had just the 1 horse, I moved her to individual turnout as she did not like the 2 youngsters that she was with. I thought she was happy, and she could see and touch others over the fence. It was an eyeopener to me when a new pony came to the yard and we tried them together. Suddenly she seemed 5 years younger and was playing with him, grooming him, snoozing in the paddock while he watched, and no longer coming to the gate as soon as she saw me. I now have 3 turned out together, there are many times that I take 2 out and leave 1 alone for a while, and this is no problem, but I don't think I would ever opt for individual turnout again without a specific reason.

 

[planete]

My pony seemed perfectly content on his own with horses in the surrounding fields. But moving him to a herd set up has completely changed him. He was always a spooky ride, loking for wolves as far as the horixon or behind every bush. Over the last few months he has become more and more chilled. After our last move a few weeks ago (the whole yard had to move) he has hacked out on his own from day one in places he had never seen before and felt as safe as houses. I never thought the day would come and had resigned myself to having a very nervy pony. I think his new lifestyle has given him the confidence and resilience to stress he did not have before.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

My pony seemed perfectly content on his own with horses in the surrounding fields. But moving him to a herd set up has completely changed him. He was always a spooky ride, loking for wolves as far as the horixon or behind every bush. Over the last few months he has become more and more chilled. After our last move a few weeks ago (the whole yard had to move) he has hacked out on his own from day one in places he had never seen before and felt as safe as houses. I never thought the day would come and had resigned myself to having a very nervy pony. I think his new lifestyle has given him the confidence and resilience to stress he did not have before.

The trouble is, that as with humans, when individuals are stressed as their 'normal' condition, something extra can tip them over the edge jnto "I can't deal with this". When they are not under stress as a matter of course, they can easily deal with an additional stressor.

 

[SantaVera]

My pony seemed perfectly content on his own with horses in the surrounding fields. But moving him to a herd set up has completely changed him. He was always a spooky ride, loking for wolves as far as the horixon or behind every bush. Over the last few months he has become more and more chilled. After our last move a few weeks ago (the whole yard had to move) he has hacked out on his own from day one in places he had never seen before and felt as safe as houses. I never thought the day would come and had resigned myself to having a very nervy pony. I think his new lifestyle has given him the confidence and resilience to stress he did not have before.

Very telling, appears to prove that they are better with company. I haven't obseved the local single horses being ridden, I expect they will be quite alert to things too, it's very interesting that your horse now feels settled even when hacking alone, that's encouraging to hear.

 

[GoldenWillow]

It depends on the horses.

Some horses seem happy to be kept alone but the only way to know if that happiness is genuine is to give them company and see their reactions in a group situation. I think most would soon make it clear they wanted company.

As far as 2 go I've often had 2 and never had a problem taking one away for several hours. 3 should, in theory, be foolproof but horses are great at making fools of us.

I have kept horses in various permutations of company, mainly on yards, and did discover one that was genuinely happier on his own. This happened by accident, he was kept at home with a companion and seemed fine although he came with a lot of problems. Companion needed to return for a while so he stayed at home with sheep as company, he seemed totally happy but I was concerned. He went on livery to an excellent yard that had good settled herd turnout. He was always by himself in the field, through choice not bullying, and gradually seemed to get more stressed in general. He was a nosy, friendly soul and I thought he'd thrive on the lovely yard that he went to. I brought him home and due to an accident companion couldn't come straight away. He came home, sighed and you saw him relax as he came off the wagon and settled down straight away on his own. He'd stop grazing and look if horses went passed his field and out hacking went oh look there's a horse, cow, sheep in a field but that was it. His behaviour improved as well.

I was not too happy about keeping him constantly on his own so when I was offered a pony on permanent loan as a companion I took him on. It took him three to six months to settle with companion and I regretted it many times but owner wasn't in a position to take pony back. They did settle but he taught me many, many things mainly that there is no one size fits all.

I do think it's important that horses are acclimatised to being on their own for periods as you never know when they might have to be. For me it's it's as simple as making the time to take companion away from riding pony for walks and making sure that he is happy in his stable during the time companion is away.

 

[First Frost]

Until earlier this year I always had 3. All would hack out alone and where happy to be left alone if the other two went out. Then I decided to sell one because I simply couldn't keep 3 in full work and a friend desperately wanted to buy one of them. My biggest worry was that the remaining two would become too clingy. as it happens they have continued to be very settled even as a pair. Maybe this was because they had already become accustomed to spending some time alone, or possibly I have just been lucky with my ponies.

I wouldn't keep a horse alone, they are herd animals and need contact with their own species. Horses that live alone might seem settled but I think they must be dealing with continuous stress, not a situation I would be happy with.

 

[dottylottie]

both of mine will go out on their own, but neither of them appreciate being left on their own in the field - i think i would have to have a 3rd if they were at home, and then i’d have to have a 4th to keep that one company when me and my mum ride together

there’s a pony near me that lives completely on his own with no other animals either, the house has a few stables and when they first moved there i kept hoping to see a 2nd in there but still not

i think keeping one entirely alone is cruel, and a horse that seems “content” is more likely shut down. i have no objection to individual turnout, but keeping a horse entirely isolated isn’t fair in my opinion.