Separation Anxiety.... HELP!!

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StoptheCavalry

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I have a 10 yr old ID x TB who can not stand to be left alone, he also gets very unhappy if a horse leave the stable area even if all the other horses are still there, he seems to think hes missing out on something. He was sold to me saying he preferred to be with others, however I did have him on a 3 month trial so I knew exactly what I was getting. He will jog round his stable throwing his head around and Im really worried he will hurt himself, as soon as the stable door is opened he calms down. Obviously the constant running around makes him very hot but cant leave him with no rugs on the off chance somone may remove a horse from the yard!

He has settled down quite a bit on my current yard but we are moving in 2 weeks so just wondering if anyone had any ideas of making the move a bit easier on him. The yard Im moving to is a bit quieter and so wont have someone around all day to keep an eye on him. Any tips would be gratefully received.

Thanks :)
 
cant offer you any advice, this is very similar to the issues i currently have with my chap, so will read any replies with great interest

my horse also does this if a horse is taken out of field, despite having horses in fields on either side of him :(
 
Zak (the horse obviously) doesnt seem to bothered being in the field on his own, although he has never been left for any length of time, its just the stable with the door closed, door open no so much a problem..... maybe he has claustrophobia, that would be about my luck!!

Some people say leave him to it but not always so easy if hes sweating up and throwing himself around while Im not there. I think hes just an anxious horse but could just do with ideas to calm him a bit.
 
This may seem like a strange question, but what is the routine like at the yard? Is it a DIY yard where all the horses are on individual schedules that suit their owners? Do the yard owners keep all the horses on the same feeding and turn-out routine?

I ask because my horse turns into a neurotic mess, a bit like you describe, at yards where the routine varies or where individual owners have their own routines. At yards where the YO keeps everyone to a strict schedule, she's completely fine. If all horses are fed and turned out together at the same time every single day, she doesn't give a toss if an owner comes to take their horse out of its stable or field for riding or whatever. But at yards where the basic routine is variable, she worries endlessly over what everyone is doing and where they are. I hope she's not the only horse in the world like this.

I figured this issue out due to having her at two different yards where she exhibited this neurotic anxiety behaviour, and then assorted yards over the years (I've had the horse for a very long time) where she didn't. After much stress (for all parties), the only correlation I could find between these two yards and that behaviour was that the YOs didn't keep to a strict routine and the yards had DIYs who did their own thing. I then moved her to a yard where the YO has full and part liveries, no DIYs, and keeps to a very set daily schedule. The behaviour vanished as soon as she stepped off the trailer.
 
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My horse used to be like this. He came from a private yard where all the horses were turned out at the same time. I keep him on a large DIY livery yard and, at first, as soon as people started to turn out in the morning he would weave like crazy and box walk.

I always made sure he had hay to occupy himself and he learnt that he didn't go out at the same time as everyone else. He is now fine.

Your horse may be fine if the new yard is quieter. Could you leave a thermatex rug on so it won't matter so much if he get worked up?
 
He is currently living out and has been absolutely fine with horses coming in and going from the field. When I bring him in he goes in the wash box on the main yard for a brush down, he will get very upset if he can see horses coming and going. He has been on part livery before and was exactly the same, we made a point of turning him out second to try and make him get used to it but it never worked, he would be throwing his head until you clipped on the lead rope then he would walk out sweet as a lamb with no rushing to the other horses. The yard were currently on can be very busy or quiet depending on the day, horses are always coming and going for breaking so there is a lot going on, he is fine if he has a friend next to him

I will be moving him to a DIY yard where everyone has their own routine, I am paying one of the other owners (shes a freelance groom) to turn him out in the morning then I will be bringing him in in the evening. I cant decide if he will be better on the quiet yard with less going on during the day or if I should bite the bullet and pay for him to go somewhere with a more structured routine? He's fine if you tie him up outside the stable on his own, but he obviously cant be left like this all day, its just the stable that seems to be the problem.

Just want him to be happy but also dont want to pander to him if hes just trying it on
 
Sealine said:
My horse used to be like this. He came from a private yard where all the horses were turned out at the same time. I keep him on a large DIY livery yard and, at first, as soon as people started to turn out in the morning he would weave like crazy and box walk.

I always made sure he had hay to occupy himself and he learnt that he didn't go out at the same time as everyone else. He is now fine.

Your horse may be fine if the new yard is quieter. Could you leave a thermatex rug on so it won't matter so much if he get worked up?
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Interestingly I did the opposite. Mine is horrendous to the point a professional yard couldn't deal with him and said if he was human he'd be a serious suicide risk.
I've now been lucky enough to find my own patch. He has occasional bad days but as a whole life is far far easier now I make the rules and no other horses go in our out etc.
The only way the professional yard could make him handle able was to keep him alone totally. I was very unsure of this but tbh after a few weeks he became the easiest loveliest horse ever. On the down side he became difficult to keep weight on, I think he was depressed. He's now fat and happy and our routine no longer has to revolve around him I just have to manage him very carefully. I realise this isn't an option for many people so I hope you find something that works out for you.
 
Sealine said:
My horse used to be like this. He came from a private yard where all the horses were turned out at the same time. I keep him on a large DIY livery yard and, at first, as soon as people started to turn out in the morning he would weave like crazy and box walk.

I always made sure he had hay to occupy himself and he learnt that he didn't go out at the same time as everyone else. He is now fine.

Your horse may be fine if the new yard is quieter. Could you leave a thermatex rug on so it won't matter so much if he get worked up?
Click to expand...

So I should just leave him to deal with it and (fingers crossed) he will learn there is no need to get upset? He always gets left with a net but he tends to snatch the hay and throw it over the door, not much eating going on.

I did tell the other owners when i went to visit he gets worked up if left alone and one of the other owners said her horse was similar and they have just agreed between themselves that if someone is going out and her horse will be on her own they will take her rugs off for when she gets worked up.

There is only 4 of us there and only 5 horses so Im hoping the quieter environment will settle him a bit. Hes very anxious but so lovely and perfect in very other way!
 
Whether they get used to it or not depends on the horse. I think there is a point where you can say, "If he were going to settle, he would have done so by now." It's up to you, knowing your own horse, to figure out where that point is.

Mine had about a year to settle into the scatty routine of a DIY yard and she didn't. Then she lost shed loads of weight, wasn't getting happier, and I guess she "won" because I dutifully went yard hunting and found her a place that would keep her in the lifestyle to which she was accustomed.

My horse is also from the USA and I moved her to the UK in her early teens. It is *much* more standard operating procedure at US boarding barns to have all horses on the same routine than it is here. I have no idea if this has anything to do with why my horse is the way she is, but for whatever reason, I now know how things have to be for her.
 
poiuytrewq said:
Interestingly I did the opposite. Mine is horrendous to the point a professional yard couldn't deal with him and said if he was human he'd be a serious suicide risk.
I've now been lucky enough to find my own patch. He has occasional bad days but as a whole life is far far easier now I make the rules and no other horses go in our out etc.
The only way the professional yard could make him handle able was to keep him alone totally. I was very unsure of this but tbh after a few weeks he became the easiest loveliest horse ever. On the down side he became difficult to keep weight on, I think he was depressed. He's now fat and happy and our routine no longer has to revolve around him I just have to manage him very carefully. I realise this isn't an option for many people so I hope you find something that works out for you.
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I said this about Zak, he actually looks like hes going to kill himself. If I was a groom at a yard I would think twice about going in a stable with him when hes having an episode, but it all completely stops the second the door is open, when I was doing my jobs around the yard I would just hang a leadrope across the door, he wouldnt try and escape but all the throwing himself around would stop.

I might actually try the mirror, if all else fails when I roll out of bed to go and see him I can check my hair in it before work :)
 
I cross-posted with the lot of you. :D

I do not think for one moment that horses field pace or box walk to "try it on." They do so because they are anxious or stressed about something and I do not for one second believe they are capable of "lying" or "faking" those emotions.

The horse might settle and decide that life is okay if everyone is on a different routine. Or he might not. As I said in the above post, only you can figure out where to draw the line between giving him a bit more time or finding a management program that suits him better.

My horse was so happy at her current yard that the YO must think I'm mad, because I rabitted on to him about her pacing when we went to collect her, and in the first few months she was there, I would occasionally ask, "You haven't seen her pacing today, have you?'' Horse has never shown any sign of pacing, so I'm sure the YO wonders what I've been smoking!

I don't see anything wrong with "pandering" to your horse if it keeps him happy and stops him looking like a rescue case. :)

My horse was mainly a serial field pacer, but I have certainly seen cases where the anxious horse was a zillion times worse in the stall. If they're already in flight mode, the stall can make them feel "trapped" and therefore even more freaked out.
 
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My post sounds like he's still alone- he's not I let him get attached to a pony who's not ridden and only when they were in love I introduced two others now he can handle the other two going out to be ridden or coming in for the night without him. I'm working on being able to take the pony away leaving him with the others at the minute! Some days he panics once or twice recently he didn't look up :-)
 
Caol Ila said:
Whether they get used to it or not depends on the horse. I think there is a point where you can say, "If he were going to settle, he would have done so by now." It's up to you, knowing your own horse, to figure out where that point is.

Mine had about a year to settle into the scatty routine of a DIY yard and she didn't. Then she lost shed loads of weight, wasn't getting happier, and I guess she "won" because I dutifully went yard hunting and found her a place that would keep her in the lifestyle to which she was accustomed.

My horse is also from the USA and I moved her to the UK in her early teens. It is *much* more standard operating procedure at US boarding barns to have all horses on the same routine than it is here. I have no idea if this has anything to do with why my horse is the way she is, but for whatever reason, I now know how things have to be for her.
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Yeh, I guess i will just have to try it and see what happens. I have always been on a yard where the owner is my friend and so she would always keep a bit of an eye on him for me so I just worry if he does have an episode there arent many people around to make sure he doesnt actually hurt himself. Trial and error it is then, if hes really unhappy i will just have to try something else
 
Exact same problem as you, today he jumped out to find a group of mares to hang out with as his long term partner has gone to a new home ... Worse thing is he wasn't even really alone, just taped off already in a portion of the field near them yet he couldn't be by himself! Mine paces, box walks etc if left alone. Vet suggested a magnesium based calmer so I'm trying that but only1 week in to it.
 
If you don't mind would you let me know how the calmer goes? I am definitely up for trying anything that works! Just worried when I move ill be stuck somewhere where I don't know anyone with a nightmare horse
 
Of course I will, mine got really skinny when moved yards when bought him and I still can't get the weight on but vet reckons it's all due to this stressing. No idea how long it takes to start to work though... And he moves yards again next week!

It was very cheap to get though, I bought magnesium powder as it was cheap (£5 for 2 months supply) and it is the basis for most calmers.

Will keep you updated
 
Thanks, I've never really had a problem with Zak's weight but he did lose a lot of hair on his neck a few weeks after he arrived. But I'm really not sure if this was stress related or not. It is started after a couple of hours running round the stable with a rug on before one of the other owners saw him and took his rugs off, he was white with sweat so could have been that, but obviously as he was new to the yard there were loads of things that could have caused it. I think the reason he's never really lost weight is because it is literally like a switch, horse will go and he'll go mad, horse comes back and he stops instantly and starts eating! X
 
My welsh x Arab pony has always been a total stress head and just can't cope being out on his own - even with horses next door. We are lucky enough to rent our own little yard now ( my friend and I ) and have 4 horses in total, so just have to plan our riding to make sure there is always a pair left at home. Where we are now he is very settled and happy so moving somewhere where we have no school etc but where he is happy was more than worth it. When we just had three horses, we borrowed a little pony from a friend incase we wanted to take 2 out riding. Even when I take one of my other horses out riding, he gets worried and calls until they come back.

Before we had our own place, if he ever thought he was going to be left alone he would just charge up and down the fence line getting stressed (so leaving rugs off is a good idea!) in his stable he would just weave, call, box walk or on a bad day run backwards and charge at the door!

Stable toys help a bit (nut balls). Ive never found calmers that work either I'm afraid. (I've tried most of the instant syringe calmers and magic powder etc). Also if they a a bit hungry a full hay net (especially Hage!) can keep them happy for a while.

I think some horses just get very anxious and never really settle.
 
Emilynuttall said:
Yeh, I guess i will just have to try it and see what happens. I have always been on a yard where the owner is my friend and so she would always keep a bit of an eye on him for me so I just worry if he does have an episode there arent many people around to make sure he doesnt actually hurt himself. Trial and error it is then, if hes really unhappy i will just have to try something else
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Just a thought - could you make a little notice for your stable door with your number on and perhaps leave a couple of full nut balls outside in a box incasse he gets upset. You could write something light hearted on it like ...'I'm (horses name) and get worried sometimes in new places. If I'm upset please put my nut ball in to keep me busy and text my mum to let her know' - then other liveries will hopefully be sympathetic and help him settle if they can?
 
A mirror should help, I know two stressy horses that have changed completely since having one, you do have to get them in the "right" place and it may need moving a few times before it is where the horse wants it.
If you trust him could you get a stall guard it sounds as if he gets worried when the door is shut, it may be that in a new yard he can see a different view he gets more relaxed, a new yard could be right for him.
 
One of mine is like this. Can't bear to be alone so we try to make sure he isn't. If he has to be then we take his rug off if he's got one on as works himself into a lather in short order. He came out of a racing yard so I don't know if this has any bearing on his case or not. Oddly enough though if he is completely on his own (ie, an only horse) then he is completely chilled out but as soon as he meets another horse he thinks that this is a long lost relation who must not be allowed to get lost again! I've had him almost 12 years so I don't think he's likely to alter now. It doesn't matter if he's in or out and the other horse can be as close as 10 yards away and he still has a turn. He's a funny chap but we just manage it as best we can and try not to get too bothered about it.
 
After a week on the calmer happy to report mine is very much improved, if he is in he still has the odd pace about the stable, but no longer properly box walking, easier to catch and tack up, stands still and is the exact same perfect horse to ride. I was skeptical that it would work but it seems to be making a big difference, he is generally happier and calmer. I used Calmag - basically just magnesium powder - a lot cheaper than using calmers, just added 20g a day to his feed. highly recommended.
 
travelmad said:
After a week on the calmer happy to report mine is very much improved, if he is in he still has the odd pace about the stable, but no longer properly box walking, easier to catch and tack up, stands still and is the exact same perfect horse to ride. I was skeptical that it would work but it seems to be making a big difference, he is generally happier and calmer. I used Calmag - basically just magnesium powder - a lot cheaper than using calmers, just added 20g a day to his feed. highly recommended.
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Thanks for coming back to me, Im going on a horse shop this weekend so will give this a go and see what happens.:)
 
Suelin said:
One of mine is like this. Can't bear to be alone so we try to make sure he isn't. If he has to be then we take his rug off if he's got one on as works himself into a lather in short order. He came out of a racing yard so I don't know if this has any bearing on his case or not. Oddly enough though if he is completely on his own (ie, an only horse) then he is completely chilled out but as soon as he meets another horse he thinks that this is a long lost relation who must not be allowed to get lost again! I've had him almost 12 years so I don't think he's likely to alter now. It doesn't matter if he's in or out and the other horse can be as close as 10 yards away and he still has a turn. He's a funny chap but we just manage it as best we can and try not to get too bothered about it.
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This tickled me, I also think Zak thinks something really exciting must be happening so cant imagine a reason why I would leave him inside when others get to go away. Wierdly, he is not at all bothered if we pass another horse while out riding when Ive had other horses go mad and almost chase the poor thing down the road!
 
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