Separation Anxiety and the Herd Kept Horse.

I know lots of people have issues with their horses and separation anxiety, whether that be their own horse doesn’t like being left or a field companion becomes stressed when they are left alone.

Horses kept in many situations often find themselves in pairs or small groups. The his is considered a very ‘typical’ living situation. There are, however, huge advantages to keeping horses in herds of at least several in number when it comes to separation anxiety. This may seem like a bit of an oxymoron being that if there are more horses around then surely there are more horses to get ‘attached’ to but in my experience it has the opposite effect.

We know that horses kept isolated and in chronically stressful situations (which can include repeat episodes of separation anxiety) are more likely to have permanently elevated cortisol levels.

In mammalian studies, stress in more anxious individuals has been shown to cause ‘under-confidence’. This can easily translate to horses who are more prone to anxiety then being unable to deal with being left alone by closely bonded field companions. This is compounded by the fact that horses may naturally experience some level of stress when they are alone purely because of their evolutionary make-up is that of a herd animal.

In my experience, taking individuals that are prone to separation anxiety and putting them into a [stable] herd situation brings about very different behavioural responses to separation.

Firstly, they are able to form bonds with several group members. This means that they are never being left without a bonded friend when one or two other horses are removed.
Secondly, as they stop fearing and focusing on separation they begin to gain confidence if they are the one to be separated. In the knowledge that they have a herd to come back to at the end of every session. It also helps that the rest of the herd are happily going about their business and not panicking that a friend has been removed because they too have lots of friends who remain.

As an extra measure of good practice, at Graveney we make sure that all herd members get a chance to come away from the main herd for differing amounts of time. It may be for a feed, it may be to chill with a haynet for a couple of hours (we also make sure they are for POSITIVE experiences!) but it helps to further consolidate they can be away and calm for certain periods of time. If we only ever take our horses away to train them and potentially expose them to situations they aren’t enjoying then we can’t blame them for disliking the notion.

What we also find is very important is that horses are allowed to settle and bond fully BEFORE this starts. If they are never fully comfortable in the group before they are asked to leave it then that stress doesn’t get a chance to dissipate. We usually aim for a couple of months (assessed on each individual) before they start practicing being away for any length of time.

We never see overwhelming separation anxiety in our established herd members. They have been given the time they need to develop their inner confidence and confidence hey repeatedly learn that negative things don’t happen when they are alone.

This brings me on to a little sidenote which is still very relevant here. Training. Often, horses leave the herd when they are to be ‘trained’. Now as I’m a qualified positive reinforcement/LIMA based trainer it is pertinent to think about the experiences our horses are having when they are being trained. Because if we cause stress (intentionally or otherwise) when our horses are being trained then we are very likely to push them to revert to anxiety based behaviours when they are removed from the herd in general. We should be very mindful to create positive experiences for the HORSE outside of the herd.

©️Lauren Johnson 2023