Separation anxiety - getting urgent now

Spot_the_Risk said:
Re the feeding, check the Allen & Page website and you will see that C&C and R&R are not designed to be fed together, but progressively. For horses in light work, A&P suggest their Fast Fibre, and as the work increases, you would go up to R&R, then C&C, then Power & Performance. For example, we have quite a few customers whose horse are hunting twice a week, are hard and fit, and are on C&C. Unless your mare is working very hard, I'd cut the C&C out completely. Also note that many people think that C&C is a calming feed - it isn't. A&P state that it won't make your horse any more fizzy/lively (my words not theirs!) than it already is, and it will keep condition on.

Re the seperation anxiety - sorry but I can't help you, I've been going through the same thing with my youngster...
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Thanks, so would you use FF INSTEAD of speedibeet?
 
Ive not read the other replies so apologies if someone has already said this, but have you got a mirror to go in the stable? My KWPN gelding was very attached to the horse next door and used to rear up/panic/box walk when it left. I got a mirror for his stable and he loved his new ''friend'' calmed him down no end :)
 
I'd echo someone above who said about a group of more than two would help - my mare was a total nightmare when was turned out with just one other. Jumped gates, jumped out of stable, box walked, pawed the ground continually.... I moved to a yard where she was out with 4 other mares and she was instantly better. Still gets stroppy if left alone in field/on yard, but managable. Surely there must be yards in the area who have 3+ horses together? Or could you take back shoes off if it would mean she could be with more horses?
 
I do feel for you - my mare was awdul when i got her, my problem was leading her away form the field (big herd of mares, yard was a 5 minute walk). she would rear, spin, srike out, kick at us, gallop round on the end of the rope - whatever it took to get back to them! so i know how you feel.

We had to gradually improve her confidence - i.e. she needed to learn to trust us and learn that is was ok to be on her own. so, weeks of feeding just 10 m from gate, then 20, then 30, then briefly in the yard to have a ncie massage and feed then back out, etc etc. I relaise it's different for you as your mare is being LEFT on her own rather than being the one to LEAVE, but i think the principle is the same - as someone else said, it's probably a case of taking out her friend (if you can) for jsut one minute, then putting her back, then two mintues etc etc... is there any way you cna do this?

I'd echo the rescue remedy and stuff too, anything that relaxed her, and the FF feeding...
 
PS, Che has fast Fibre and HIFi Original, looks really well on it this year and no fizziness. He also has a stable mirror and drools over it, hes so vain!!
 
It sounds as if your YO is trying to be as helpful as possible, so hopefully, you're not in danger of being turfed out just yet! I've had a bit of experience recently of this sort of thing and it's an absolute b........r to sort out.

It's unfortunate that you say there are no yards near you with group turnout. i eventually had to do something and moving to a less pressured yard where he's turned out with five others certainly helped solve my problems. Although he can still get bothered if he's the first horse in at night, basically I got my little horse back, instead of the neurotic, teetering on the brink of nervous breakdown ASBO pony he'd turned into!

I have no idea if it helped the situation as we moved yards at much the same time, but I was recommended Bach Flower Remedy Chicory, which he's been on for two months now, (I give about 6 drops per feed), and also Pax calmer (again I don't know if it had had effect though it has had some rave reviews)
www.paxequine.co.uk).

I have no experience of them but would agree that the mirror suggestion is very definitely something you could try.

Best of luck with this, it's no joke trying to sort it out. One thing i would recommend, is to get a pair of steel capped boots. I've been trampled on too many times by a frantic horse who's taking no notice of where he stamps his feet!
 
I had similar problems. Improvement has been noticeable having changed his feed, I'm using straights and a calmer. Further improvement has come about after introducing Carron Oil - is this advertising? I'm not associated with the manufacturers. I only wish I had found the stuff sooner. Good luck I hope you can get the problem sorted, its such a trial and stressful.
 
rescue remedy is totally safe to use with animals - I've used it on birds before, lol.

If you have a Holland and Barratt near you, they sell the diluted Neroli, which is ready to use. The other oil which may well help is Lavender. You could get one of those plant spray bottles, fill it with water, and add about 10 mls of lavender (NOT spike lavender as this isn't as relaxing !). Then spray the stable and even the bedding very lightly. Ask the horse if the smell is acceptable beforehand tho.

This is where I buy my essential oils btw -

http://www.essentiallyoils.com/Oddments/Contact_Details/contact_details.html

In the meantime, rescue remedy can be used even as many times as every half hour till the crisis passes. It may certainly be worth try a calmer such as Wendalls - fully herbal.

pm me if you need to ask anything !! sm x
 
You need to give her time and be very patient with her, start by having a regular routine then start making little breaks in it, just small enough changes for her to cope with like bringing her into the yard for a quick groom and a treat so that she associates being separated with a positive experience. Then build up from there.

I've had my horse since October and he moved yards in November, it's only now that he is settling down, he has also jumped fields, bronked in his stable, box walked, screamed until his favourite field mate is turned out and taken down electric fencing. Being passed from pillar to post does not help them at all, they need to know that they can trust you and their surrounding. Unfortunately my horses behaviour means that I have to be first on the yard on a morning on a weekend so that he gets turned out at the same time as the others. It also means I can't bring him in until the others start coming in but I am finding ways of managing his behaviour and working around it. There is no way I can put him in his stable if there isn't another horse in on the yard but I can now tie him up, tack him up and ride out alone which is a huge achievement, previously I couldn't even tie him up to remove his rug. He has to be fed before or at the same time as others otherwise he box walks. He's also a TB so is also a natural stresshead and he was really underweight when I bought him.

Have you looked at her diet, reducing the starch may help?

If you start to struggle with her weight try bailey's outshine, my lad managed to continue to gain weight over winter with about a scoop of it per day mixed into his usual three feeds.

Mine is turned out with 5 other horses and I think it took just short of three months for him to settle in with them.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. Today her separation anxiety was so bad, after tacking up and getting her into menage I just gave up - didn't even get on - and I needed help to get her back to the stable. Her season is strong, she couldn't listen and was calling to the others and she was "squirting" (yuk!) everywhere.
Heyho, tomorrow's another day.
I'll give it some time, I guess but starting to think about selling her now, if things don't work out. Having a horse is supposed to be pleasurable, isn't it?.:rolleyes:
 
Rotchana said:
Thanks for the replies everyone. Today her separation anxiety was so bad, after tacking up and getting her into menage I just gave up - didn't even get on - and I needed help to get her back to the stable. Her season is strong, she couldn't listen and was calling to the others and she was "squirting" (yuk!) everywhere.
Heyho, tomorrow's another day.
I'll give it some time, I guess but starting to think about selling her now, if things don't work out. Having a horse is supposed to be pleasurable, isn't it?.:rolleyes:
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I think it would be a shame to sell her, some horses need time to settle in, I didn't even ride Toby until February (bought him in October), selling her on will probably make her worse. Can you ride at her usual coming in time or early on a morning, I've had to do this, bringing her in from the field, tacking up and going in the menage alone is a big thing for them to do when they have separation issues, Toby still screams when I do it now but at first I couldn't even bring him in and tie him up to get his rug off then trying to free school him even was a nightmare he would stand at the gate screaming and would completely ignore me. You need to take things slowly and give her a chance, be patient. And no horse owning isn't always plain sailing and pleasurable, sometimes you have to put some effort in.
 
YES!!! it is supposed to be enjoyable and fun! and when you are going through what you are (i have been there too!) then there isn't any fun. Yes we should take the rough with the smooth but when it's all rough you need tostart thinking about putting yourself first.
Horses need time to settle, but when they have serious seperation anxiety then sometimes they never will. This was said to me by an expert in that field.
Giving my boy back was the best option for me, i knew i was starting to doubt myself and lose confidence, and most importantly i was paying a fortune to feel upset, stressed and annoyed. That is NOT what it should be about.
 
I feel for you as it's b****y horrible when they behave like this. I'm afraid I'm another that would say that this mare needs to be in a larger group. Failing this I would try and put her with another horse, whom she isn't quite so attached to.

I always try and seperate my liveries who get this obsessive bond with each other - it is always counter productive and tends to upset the balance with all the other horses in the field.

She could do with being with an old matriarchal type mare who wants the ocassional scratch and chat but then says "right,, B off now, I need to graze":D. This type of horse is worth it's weight on any yard!!

So if moving to a larger yard, or yard that has group turnout is not an option, I would suggest changing her friend. Definitely sort the diet,, as little sugar as possible, and I would cut out cereals too. The grass is coming through, I know mine have all got silly spring fever at the moment.

Good luck, I hope she improves for you cos it's no fun when they are like that:(.
 
forgive me for sounding thick but most horses dont like being in a field on their own? Our YO has simple rule of person taking last but one horse in, must bring the other one in too. Is it only 2 horses in your field?

YO cannot blame you if horse goes nutty on its own, most would. Personally???? would move to bigger livery yard that has more horses, or ask someone to bring horsey in.....its a no brainer really.

Doubtful if horse already suffers this that it will get better and "get used to it", they dont, it tends to make them worse!!
 
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