Unsettled and uptight mare

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millytilly

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Welcome any suggestions;
3 week ago we moved house and I moved my 2 horses from a busy yard to the stables at the house.

Initially my mare was obviously a little stressed from moving but nothing too unusual and went off her food for maybe a day.

But just lately her behaviour has got worse, she box walks and sweats and has lost weight

She goes mental when she sees another horse ride past.

When she's in the field she's more settled but I don't want to over graze what grass I have left.
 
Sounds like she's missing a busy social life and company to me. Some horses adapt well to a complete turnaround from what they're used to, others don't, only time will tell. What you can do about it is another matter entirely though and possibly dependent on finances.
 
Could she be turned out with some hay? Prolonged stress can lead to illnesses in the long term.
Maybe she will settle, but horses are herd animals. My gelding is very herd orientated and wouldn't settle with less than his own little herd of say three or four others. You probably will find she will fret if you take your other horse out as they will bond like glue now they are "the only ones left" (in their view)
You could try a calmer supplement, maybe your new field is more deficient in Magnesium which can cause unsettled or nervy behaviour. Mg is the main mineral in calmers. My gelding did get unsettled from time to time over silly things but I put him on Brewers Yeast. That sort of behaviour can also indicate ulcers. That seems to have worked for my boy.
Hope she does settle in time.
 
i had a similar problem when i moved to a smaller place, my mare was very unsettled in the stable but was ok in field(at previous large yard she was the opposite, happy in stable and unsettled in field) my solution was to keep her turned out 24/7 over the summer. we got both in to groom and tack up but turned out immediately we returned from riding... when the winter came and she had to be in at night(yard rules) she was fine. its early days for yours and i know you want to save the grazing but i would put her out and if necessary give hay in the field. you may find that after a few weeks she has settled. good luck
 
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