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I had to move my horse away from other horses
Hello Franklin:
My question is this; I have a 10 yr. old mare, she is very sweet and loving. I recently moved her away from a herd of horses. She was the lowest on the pecking order and was picked on quite a bit. I moved her to my parents farm where she is the only horse out there. We have cows so she won't be by herself and she is now the boss over them. She has been there for a little over two weeks and is still acting spooky and nervous. I groom her every day after I ride her and feed her, talk to her to seattle her down. She is acting spooky on the ride, she never did this before. I have walked around the acreage with her so she would not be too scared.
Is it a bad thing to move a horse from a herd to being by themselves. Should I do more ground training such as longeing her. She has always been respectful on a ride with me. I don't want to cause any mental damage to her by moving her.
Sincerely, Debbie
HI Debbie,
Having to change the location of a horse happens a lot. It will always be traumatic for the horse. It is too bad she is the only horse on the 'farm'. Cows are a little company but not much. Horses like their own kind. It can take several months for a horse to be comfortable in a new home.
It is important you spend a lot of time with the horse doing some light action and activity on the ground. Don't worry about riding too much as yet. Spend a lot of time on the ground as this is where your relationship is really forged. You will bond with your mare more and more if you have easy and simple action with the horse on the ground over some time. Riding is great, but should be the icing on the cake of your realtionship with your horse. Yes more ground play, as much as you can do would be wonderful and will make a huge difference.
Again, it is not a 'bad' thing to have moved the horse. The only down side is that she is the only horse there. Consider a companion for her. Good Luck and Please keep me posted......
Sincerely, Franklin