Seperation anxiety

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hairymolly

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My mare suffers from terrible seperation anxiety. She really stresses when on her own and gets very bargy at the door. I try to have her friend next door as much as possible but as she is stabled on a DIY livery yard this is not always possible. She is turned out every day all day and is only in at night. She is so bad that it is very difficult to even tack her up or change a rug in her stable when her neighbours are not in. There can be a horse in the stable block opposite her but she does not seem to count them as her friends and stresses, squeals her head off and runs over anyone who opens the door. Suggestions please. Was thinking off getting a stable mirror, has anyone had any experience positive or negative with a stable mirror?
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i am watching this with interest my Section D is pretty much the same, luckily I have managed to pair him up with a friends horse so he is never on his own for long but would love for him to settle on his own.

x x
 
Our 13.2 gelding sounds just like your mare. I have read countless articles on this... all about gradually getting your pony to accept being alone.. etc etc. None of these worked with our boy. HE WANTS COMPANY!!! he shouts loudly at the stupid people who dont listen!!!!
Anyway... he gets turned out with others, he is in an open fronted stable, on an enclosed yard, so he can 'talk'to his friends if and when he wants to. If he goes to shows, he takes a friend with him. He gets tied up next to his mate when the farrier comes... etc etc.
My point is, I don't think he will change. And why should he? He had a very bad start in life... and was seperated from his mother too early.
Isolation scares him.
So we work with him, not against him.
Now he is happy. He keeps weight on, works nicely. He isn't nappy, and will hack alone. He feels secure.
It took us a long time to understand want he was trying to tell us... more fool us.
Listen to your horse, she will tell you if you can hear her.
Good luck. x
 
I would love to be able to ensure that my mare always had a friend with her, but as she is stabled on a livery yard where most of the clients only own one horse I am not in a position to do this. I cannot insist that someone else keeps their horse in when I want to ride or they dont ride at certain times etc. I do my best and sort things out to make life as easy as posssible for her but it is not always possible to ensure that she is not alone. I dont know if it would be better for her to be sold to someone who had their own yard and could therfore manage things to suit her rather than being kept on a livery yard. I have looked into moving her to an alternative yard but think I would have the same problems on any livery yard. It worries me and I live in fear of her having to go on box rest and having to spend all day in when the other horses go out.
 
Have tried various calmers and have found that NAF magic works the best for her which she is currently getting. It does help her a bit but she still stresses when on her own. She had to be stabled for a few days due to a nasty cut on her leg, she was sedated but I was finding that I was having to give her more and more to keep her calm as time went on. I dont know much about horse sedatives; is it save to use them long term? When she gets like this she actually becomes dangerous to handle, its like her stress just takes over. I understand that horses are herd animals and it is their instinct to seek horse company but I have never seen a horse have such an extreme reaction to being on her own. it takes two people to shut the stable door one person has to go into the stable next door and hold her through the bars in a head collar while the other person leave sthe stable and shuts the door otherwise she just barges at the door. Otherwise it is impossible to even shut the door. As I said I do try to minise the time that she is on her own as much as possible but I cannot totally avoid it.
 
I really feel for you. She sounds exactly like our little pony a few years ago. The words you use... extreme reaction.... when on her own bring back very upsetting images in my mind.
I can offer very little in the way of help, and for that I am truly sorry. But if the situation is getting dangerous.. please be careful. A horses instincts are a powerful thing... and I don't believe calmers work on such ponies.
Our pony had to have a minor operation once. The vet came to sedate him, as the op was carried out at home. But pony was having none of it, and the vet daren't give him anymore sedative...pony would just not go down. Vet came back 2 weeks later, this time we put another pony in with him. Sedation worked immedaitely! The vet was astounded.
I sincerely hope that you find a solution somehow.... maybe you should consider a 24hr turnout livery..and invest in a small field companion?
Once our pony had settled himself to the fact that we would not isolate him again, no matter for how long...he gradually started to trust us.
Everyone who comes across him says he is like a deer in his 'wild' instincts... it is for these reasons that even though my daughter now rides horses... we will never part with him, for fear of him having to tell someone else all this stuff again one day.
Sorry I can't help more... but you are not alone with this problem!!!!
 
Yeah it is a tricky one. The funny thing is she is such a confident horse in so many ways, she is not spooky, wet windy weather does not bother her(she will toodle up from the field like a wee lamb in hurricance conditions) she sticks her head in things most horses would run a mile from. many people have said that she will grow out of it but I cant help but think that this is just her and she will always be like this to some extent. You said your pony will hack out alone, I am curious how does he cope if you are out on your own and he sees horses in the distance, does he stay calm or does he start to stress? Have you ever had to have your pony on long term box rest, how did he cope did you have to keep a friend in as well. You may think Im worrying about something that has not happened but the few days in due to the cut was hell and horses being horses do tend to injure themselves so it does worry me and I dont know if it would be advisable to sedate a horse for more than a few days at a time. Horses why do we have them, they cost us a fortune and cost us many a nights sleep but we love tham anyway and call it fun!!
 
My old horse had it, he was really bad. Couldnt be put in a field on his own. He'd go crazy running up and down. He couldnt be left on his own in the stable with no neighbours. It was a nightmare. It really got me down in the end.

He was great at shows tho maybe because he could see other horses. Sorry cant offer any ideas. I had a stable mirror bought it off ebay in fact still got it somewhere. It didnt work he paid no attention to it whatsoever, it doesnt mean yours wont. Its worth a try. I tried to get on a yard where he wouldnt be on his own (esp. when he was boxed rested after havin an abscess that wouldnt shift) but that wasnt always possible. Hacking wise he couldnt care less if he was on his own but I mainly did a lot of hacking on his own so he got used to it.

Im praying my next horse wont be as bad. Def dont want a horse with separation anxiety again. The magazines say it is possible to retrain a horse out of it but I couldnt see how myself.
 
Our pony hacks alone... and no he doesn't stress when he sees other horses. He has hacked these lanes round here for many years now and so I think he feels 'at home'. I can't honestly say what he would be like in new surroundings.
Touch wood, we haven't had to put him on box rest. But if we did, I think I would have to put him in some sort of corral(sp) next to a friend. He would not rest otherwise.
As I have said, we have learnt to work with his needs, and not against them.
On the plus side... I recently had a an accident and was in hospital for a week. I didn't see our horses for about 14 days.
This pony is not known for his love of humans.... but the first time I went back into the yard he followed me about like a little kitten. I was enormously touched.
He has been the most difficult, and also the most rewarding pony we have ever had. He is highly intelligent and immensly talented. I do believe intelligence is a trait which comes with this condition.
 
I can highly recommend stables mirrors, I bought one and it made a massive difference to my boy within a matter of days.

He was very stressy and anxious when in the stable without any other horses around, he would charge around, screaming and breaking into a sweat. Now he is very chilled out and quite often will just stand and admire his reflection.

I would def give it a try, they aren't too expensive and mine was well worth the money
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Stable mirrors are probably worth a try - but in my mare's case they made no different whatsoever. She cannot be left in the field on her own as she just races around and if we stable her alone she will try to climb over the door! We just make sure she is never left out of sight of a companion.
Best of luck with your horse - its definitely not easy.
 
My gelding is the same if you try and leave him in the stables alone on his own he puts his full weight against the door till it bulges. We have even had to cut a hole in the new stables dividing wall (much to OH's horror) as because, as he couldn't see his shetland friend he didn't believe she was there.

He is completely fickle tho as any horse will do!! He will hack out on his own and be turned out alone if he can see another horse so it seems stable related. Have brought many toys, mirrors etc but he won't be cheated. Won't go in a lorry alone either.

May sound drastic but I know of some people who have got a small pony and section off a small part of a stable so they can have 'live in company' don't know if your box is big enough or YO would let you...
 
My horse is 12, a section D, he will compete/travel on his own no problems but put him in his stable with nothing else and he will stress, and cover himself in foam within 30 minutes. Not tired a mirror might have a look and see if it helps.

x x
 
i had a horse that got dangerous when split up from his pals, he would rear buck take off until he was back with them. i took drastic action and moved him to another premises on his own and he seemed to settle then after a few days. after a few weeks his trust in me grew 100% and he was absolutely brilliant after that. didnt bat an eyelid when by himself or in company after that. it completely turned him around
 
Mine has a milder version - he's fine if he's bought in early on his own but doesn't like seeing others getting turned out while he's left in. He used to charge around in his box and get sweated up.

I got a stable mirror and it had an immediate effect, the YO commented on it and is now converted and thinking of getting one for her youngster. Not only is he calmer and happier but it's saved loads on bedding. That said, he reverted a bit this morning (2 months after getting mirror) - but then his friend down the field was yelling for him plus he was pretty fresh anyway after the weather we've been having has restricted his turnout / exercise.
 
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