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Post by claire on Jul 13, 2016 21:40:23 GMT
What do you do with two horses that fuss when separated? They have been brought along to the point that they ride away from one another fine now. However, if you leave one tied to the trailer at a show or anywhere away from home, that one still fusses. How do you deal with this?
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Post by horseguy on Jul 14, 2016 13:57:14 GMT
Horses are herd animals. In my experience the best setting general for them to avoid this kind of "buddy sour" fussing is to have them in a large herd. If that is not a possibility, I suggest having them apart a substantial part of the time.
Most horses learn to let go of fussiness from experiences that continuously desensitizes them. For example, if a horse is uncomfortable in a trailer, I will let them spend a day or two in a trailer. I will take them in and out to stretch their legs, but they will spend the majority of their time in a trailer with hay and water, weather permitting. I is not a good idea to do this in the very warm months.
A horse that fusses at a trailer, I will tie to a trailer in the shade for a long time like 8-10 hours, again with a hay bag and water. I always tie them at the wheels so if I am not there every moment and they struggle and fall, the tires prevent a leg from sliding under the trailer. It is best to keep an eye on them, but you usually can't every minute.
The underlying principle is, as with most things, communicate to the horse that this is simply part of their life. Pampering them, making it easier in special ways does not help. They just have to have enough time to accept that standing tied alone is part of their life. The older they are, the more difficult anything like this training is. I say generally after 8 years old it gets harder to teach acceptance in this way but it can be done with persistence on the part of the trainer.
It would be helpful to know what you mean by "fussing" and the age of your horse.
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Post by jimmy on Jul 16, 2016 18:57:46 GMT
What I do is up to the context.
If a young horse paws, whinnys, throws a general fit when separated, I may take the tough love approach. I might leave them tied and let them have their fit. The patience poles are really good for that. A tall metal pole with an axel hub on top where a chain is tied. You tie the horse to that and he can go round and round without tangling. He feels he can move his feet some place, as opposed to tied straight to a rail or fence or cross ties.
Hobbling is a good thing to teach a horse too.
When it comes to a horse that doesn't like to be separated, and I am shoeing that horse, I will indulge him by tieing another horse someplace close. In that context, my job is to not kill myself shoeing him, and my job is not to be training him. So if he needs a buddy tied close, I will.
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