Seperation issues

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foreversunshine

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My 15yr old gelding and 2 1/2 yr old are kept together and have been for almost 2 years in May. Last year the routine was put the baby in the stable whilst i took my gelding away to havk/school etc Never had a problem , baby would always be calm and happy when we got back left on his own.
My gelding had a 3 month break and today i took him out for the first time, again leaving the baby with his hay in the stable. Settled when i left him.
Came back 30 mins later and he had bashed the door off the stable and obviously been very stressed!!
Due to take my gelding out again tomorrow as bringing him back into work but not happy to leave the baby now this has happened!!
Thought about taking the gelding away for very short periods at a time then gradually drawing it out longer.
Ideally another companion would be the ultimate answer but thats not practical right now.
Any tips moving forward please??
Thank you
 
Thank you
He was very chilled when we left him, he was in the stable about 20 mins whilst my gelding was tied up on the yard.
He just must of realised he was suddenly gone and panicked!
 
Slow and steady wins the race I think with this one.

I have 3 for this very reason. And ironically the companion is the only one with separation anxiety! He's a bit of a special case but we work with what we have. I will only ever want to take 1 out at a time so it works for me. Oddly the one with separation issues is fine if I take him out alone.

Could you take youngster for a little walk then pop him back in the stable and take the other for a few minutes and then come back. Will take a while but might help.
 
I would try taking the youngster away from the older horse to start with, they often find that an easier separation. Perhaps keep him hungry until you take the older one away and leave him with food to distract him when you get to that stage.
 
So when you start take one a tiny little way out of the field even just out of the gate at first, ….. but most importantly don’t return until you see a moment of calm.

You need to teach remaining horse being calm is what brings friend back, not rushing around like a lunatic.

What you allow you train!!!
 
foreversunshine said:
My 15yr old gelding and 2 1/2 yr old are kept together and have been for almost 2 years in May. Last year the routine was put the baby in the stable whilst i took my gelding away to havk/school etc Never had a problem , baby would always be calm and happy when we got back left on his own.
My gelding had a 3 month break and today i took him out for the first time, again leaving the baby with his hay in the stable. Settled when i left him.
Came back 30 mins later and he had bashed the door off the stable and obviously been very stressed!!
Due to take my gelding out again tomorrow as bringing him back into work but not happy to leave the baby now this has happened!!
Thought about taking the gelding away for very short periods at a time then gradually drawing it out longer.
Ideally another companion would be the ultimate answer but thats not practical right now.
Any tips moving forward please??
Thank you
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Maybe it was just a once off? Something in the stable scared him? Bird or a mouse maybe? Could try putting on the radio, some toys, a mirror.. have even heard of sticking iPads to stable walls.
As for a companion, could you get a goat 🐐? They communicate the same way as horses do. Some racehorses won’t travel without their goat friend, so, might work?
Could also put just a rope across the door. So feels less confined.
 
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