Separation Anxiety!

Dizzleton

Dizzleton

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I have a 17hh BWP gelding who hates to be separated from his friends whilst stabled.

We have a small yard of 4 horses (2 geldings and 2 mares) My boy is turned out with the other gelding and the mares go in a separate field.

Whilst out grazing if the other horse is taken from the field Diz will run round and neigh for about 10 minutes before going back to grazing. But when he is stabled he will literally break down the door and run to find his friend.

He can be taken away from all other horses with ease (hacking, schooling, trailer, box, competitions he is happy to do alone) I can even bring him in from the field and stable him alone with a little fuss, but nothing silly.

So in conclusion he just hates being left in the stables alone. He will race round his stable, neigh, dance and try and jump the open window at the back, when that all fails he barges the door down; it's very dangerous and I really don't want him to get hurt.

Is there anything I can do to stop him turning inside out when his friends leave?

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I like Faracat's idea.

This probably won't help much but as youngsters I really started to try and get them used to being on their own for about 5-10mins in the barn. Reason being over the years I found that youngsters were always flipping out if one came in before the other. Screaming for their friends and forgetting any sense of having basic skills. Depending on work either my husband and I may be bringing in on our own. So brought in with yummy haylage in stable, no feed. Once they were quiet, straight back out to the herd. Sometimes I just brought in for a brush and some haylage. Then back out. As nowadays it's a mixed age herd they all know that sometimes they have to go away from the group and will be going back in. And I do have one group of just 2 horses. Those are the geldings. But what you do when they're that big and older I really don't have a clue. And just to clarify, I do not want any horse on their own. People who haven't been able to raise their horses from a very young age can't help how they form bonds and time away from others. After a couple of years of young horses losing the plot when a buddy was out of sight I just tried to do it differently and I don't think I'm right. If I'm honest, over the years I've found that geldings were more buddy bonded than mares. But that's just in my dealings, again not right. And if a horse comes to us with serious issues in this department I am going to have to work around it some. I don't want them getting hurt.

So best of luck and a stable mirror could help.

Terri
 
Echo Faracat, the stable mirror really helped with my anxious gelding who was especially difficult when leaving his friends, and I now have one for my mare too and she adores it!
 
Thanks for the help guys.

I've tried a stable mirror which he totally ignored and carried on his usual antics :(

Is there any training tips I could use?

He never used to come in on his own without being a total prat; but with lots of patience and treats he will come in fine on his own and just stand there but refuses to listen to me when the other horses are taken away
 
He has broken down his door twice whilst I've not been at the yard.

I have someone to turnout for me in the morning and they are fully aware about his anxiety of being alone.

The first time was back in 2011, the lady (now left the yard) who turns everyone out took her two out first then took Paddy (his best mate) and turned him out leaving Disney on his own.

The second time was just last week. She came up and turned her two out in the arena as the fields were snowed under, she then took Paddy out leaving him on his own again.

He gets a little silly if Paddy is still in and the mares go out; but he'll settle down once they're out of sight.

Like I said in a previous post he is fine being brought away from other horses and he's even happy if the horse we're hacking or at a competition with leaves him. He just can't cope if everyone is turned out without him.
 
Unfortunately I can't get to the yard in the mornings before work as it'd be far too early.

Should I attempt to calm him whilst we practise bring the other horses to and from the stables? He gets a bit dangerous, but I need to sort it out before he hurts himself.

p.s his previous owner used to shut the top and bottom door and let him 'sweat it out' as she so crudely put it
 
There is a solution but it takes time and isn't always totally succesful. Basically you need to allow him to learn that his friends DO come back in time, and that he can cope without them for short periods. It needs to be a carefully structured programme of taking him away with a small distraction such as a feed, and then returning him when the feed is finished. So long as he remains calm, gradually extend the period he can tolerate when he has finished the feed - the trick is to return him BEFORE he begins to stress, and build his tolerance in that way. There are no quick fixes - as a prey animal horses depend for security on the rest of their herd and don't like being on their own for long periods. I had one here who had been with his dam until she died and then on his own. When he came here he had company for the first time for years and was very reluctant to lose it. He did learn, bit by bit, and he was rewarded with a treat for remaining calm, and that he did get back to his friends in due course.
A structured programme with rewards for remaining calm is the best way I know.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
Exactly!

The answer is obvious, imo.
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Like I said, he is fine with leaving the horses behind, but can't cope when he's left in and everyone else goes out.

I would like to get to the root of the problem and solve why he won't be left in on his own. I don't want to mask the problem by always turning him out first.
 
JennyConnor said:
I would like to get to the root of the problem and solve why he won't be left in on his own. I don't want to mask the problem by always turning him out first.
Click to expand...

For some horses, that's simply the way they are. It's not masking anything to work around it.

So, have him turned out first, and problem solved.
 
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