My mare's pasturemate is moving out.. ways to keep my mare from freaking out? UPDATE!

[sublimequine]

So, my mare's pasturemate is moving out. She is my mare's only pasturemate, although she shares a fenceline with two geldings. So it's the two mares on one side, the two geldings on the other.

I'm really concerned my mare is going to so insane the day her pasturemate leaves. The mare is retired, so she basically never leaves the paddock. On the rare occasion she does (ie, for vet or farrier), my mare RUNS the fenceline and screams her head off. It doesn't matter if the geldings are there in the neighboring paddock, all she knows is her friend is gone and she's not happy. :no:

Any ideas on how to keep her from losing her mind on move-out day? I'm hoping the barn will put another horse in with my mare the same day her friend moves out (ie another horse my mare's accquainted with), but that may not happen. And even if it does, it may not stop my mare from having a meltdown.

I really can't afford to have her running the fenceline for who knows how long after the pasturemate leaves. She's rehabbing from an injured shoulder, and I even worry about colic or something from that kind of stress. :sigh:

Her friend moves out April 1st, so I have a bit of time to figure things out. I'm hoping to talk to the BO about putting another horse in with her basically the second her friend leaves so she's never alone in there, but besides that.. how can I keep my mare from losing her mind and possibly hurting herself?? :confused:

UPDATE PG 2! :)

[BuddyRoo]

Given the fact that she's rehabbing plus it's mud season which lends itself to the possibility of slipping, tearing something, etc...I would put the horse in a stall. You have any padded ones?

Also, you may want to begin working NOW on rotating their turnout or pulling your horse in for a few hours at a time to get her used to it.

Lastly, may want to talk to your veterinarian about a sedative.

Main thing is that you do not need the horse hurting herself.

[Auventera Two]

Why can't she go in with the two geldings? I've never boarded at a place that kept mares and geldings separate. Some places do, but if the geldings don't think they're menly men, what's wrong with it?

Beyond that, I'd say it's time to train marsiepoo to not be herd sour.

When one of mine is left home along, she screams and runs the paddock fence but she gets over it within a few minutes.

Sorry but I just don't have tolerance for horses that can't be tied, can't be left alone, can't be trailered, can't get shots, can't this, can't that.......I have enough stress in life without dealing with crazy horses. :eek:

If your horse has geldings she can see and/or touch over the fence, she will probably just get over it in a few hours, or a day or two. If she's a danger to herself, put her in a stall. But if she's that herd sour, that will probably flip her out also. If it were my horse, we'd start training right now on the herd sour business.

[sublimequine]

Given the fact that she's rehabbing plus it's mud season which lends itself to the possibility of slipping, tearing something, etc...I would put the horse in a stall. You have any padded ones?

Also, you may want to begin working NOW on rotating their turnout or pulling your horse in for a few hours at a time to get her used to it.

Lastly, may want to talk to your veterinarian about a sedative.

Main thing is that you do not need the horse hurting herself.

Stall is a no-go, she is a stallwalker and will pace herself silly in a stall. Did I mention she's a tad neurotic at times? :lol:

I totally agree with you, keeping her from hurting herself is my absolutely #1 priority. I'm just not sure what my options are for keeping her safe, which is why I'm asking. :)

I don't really know much about sedating horses for things like this, I don't want to like knock her out.. if they wear off and she "comes to" and realizes her friend's gone, will she freak out? Sorry, like I said, I've got basically no experience with sedatives.

[sublimequine]

Why can't she go in with the two geldings? I've never boarded at a place that kept mares and geldings separate. Some places do, but if the geldings don't think they're menly men, what's wrong with it?

Beyond that, I'd say it's time to train marsiepoo to not be herd sour.

When one of mine is left home along, she screams and runs the paddock fence but she gets over it within a few minutes.

Sorry but I just don't have tolerance for horses that can't be tied, can't be left alone, can't be trailered, can't get shots, can't this, can't that.......I have enough stress in life without dealing with crazy horses. :eek:

If your horse has geldings she can see and/or touch over the fence, she will probably just get over it in a few hours, or a day or two. Not the end of the world.

There's not enough room on the gelding side for her, the shelters only have room for 2 horses each.

I can't have her running for an hour, let alone a few hours or days, with her shoulder. That's my main concern. If she weren't rehabbing, I wouldn't be so concerned about it. But there's no way in heck I'm gonna sit back and let her mess her shoulder up again when we're almost in month NINE of rehab. :lol:

[Auventera Two]

Ask the vet about dormasedan, rompum, or some ACE granuals if you're that worried. If my horse were that neurotic, I'd have the vet on the farm the minute the mare is taken away so sedation can be given if necessary. Otherwise you'll have to get a shot or granuals yourself ahead of time and administer them prior to the event. I personally don't like ACE but plenty of people have ok luck with it. Sweets reacted badly to romifidine hydrochloride (Sedi-Vet) as it was wearing off - similar to how some horses act with ACE. I won't use that one again.

[BuddyRoo]

I still would consider sticking her in a stall and sedating her. I don't know what all the different sedation options are, but no matter what is used, I wouldn't feel comfortable turning out a sedated horse.

Stall walking is better than running a slippery fenceline IMHO.

I don't think sticking her in with the geldings will help much since she's not attached to them but to this mare. She's not HERD bound as much as she is totally Buddy Bound.

I've seen a handful of horses like that. They have one buddy who they just cannot live without....they can have the whole rest of the herd there with them but it matters not. They want THAT one!!! WAAAAAAA!!!!

[sublimequine]

I still would consider sticking her in a stall and sedating her. I don't know what all the different sedation options are, but no matter what is used, I wouldn't feel comfortable turning out a sedated horse.

Stall walking is better than running a slippery fenceline IMHO.

I don't think sticking her in with the geldings will help much since she's not attached to them but to this mare. She's not HERD bound as much as she is totally Buddy Bound.

I've seen a handful of horses like that. They have one buddy who they just cannot live without....they can have the whole rest of the herd there with them but it matters not. They want THAT one!!! WAAAAAAA!!!!

Yep, exactly. The strange thing is, if MY mare is the one leaving, she's fine with it. I can take her into the barn and on trail rides all over the property, totally out of sight of her friend, and no problems. But if her FRIEND is the one leaving, it is CLEARLY the end of the world. :rolleyes:

Perhaps I'll put a call into my vet and see if he thinks some sedation might help. I have a feeling if I can give her another buddy in her pasture with her, she'll be a lot better, but I want to be prepared for anything.

[sch1star]

Take advantage of your time. Is there a way to introduce another buddy to her turnout or change her turnout now? Or to keep her away from the other mare for small periods of time, working up to longer periods as the departure date gets closer?

I hear you on the shoulder. Your vet may have some good advice and be able to help. Nothing wrong with a few well placed pharmaceuticals!

[sublimequine]

Take advantage of your time. Is there a way to introduce another buddy to her turnout or change her turnout now? Or to keep her away from the other mare for small periods of time, working up to longer periods as the departure date gets closer?

I hear you on the shoulder. Your vet may have some good advice and be able to help. Nothing wrong with a few well placed pharmaceuticals!

Yeah, I'm going to be talking to my BO Sunday or Monday about the new buddy, maybe we can introduce them now so by the time move-out day rolls around, she'll have already made a new friend ready to be in with her.

Thanks for the bit of reassurance, I don't want to be the girl that dopes up her psycho mare.. but I don't want to be the girl with the twice-injured horse either! :lol:

[Auventera Two]

That's not strange at all! When the horse is alone, she's ALONE. The lion might jump out of the shadows and eat her. When she's with a human doing work, she's in a herd of 2 and is not alone.

The other thing to do is to take your mare out for a nice long walk and hand grazing while the other mare leaves. Make sure she cannot see the other mare leave leave, or see/hear the horse trailer and hubub going on. Return her to the field only when trailer is long gone. Take her in the field, doing some ground work, give some treats, groom her while in the field, then let her go. Stay with her for 30 -60 minutes and if she acts wired up at any time, go up to her and groom her, do ground work, etc.

I would definitely try to not let her see the buddy leave.

And personally no way in hell would I just throw a new horse in the field with her the minute the other is gone. That is asking for big trouble. You have a mare on her own turf suddenly faced with an outside mare who is NOT her buddy. You are just asking for trouble with that. You're likely to have galloping and kicking, squealing, you name it. The geldings will be fired up. I would not try that at all.

And don't think of sedating as doping your horse up. Carefully timed and controlled sedation can be a very valuable tool. I request my horses be sedated for tooth work even though it probably is not necessary. I do not want to take a chance on a horse panicking and rearing or throwing its head sideways with the speculum in place. That is absolutely dangerous, and given how hot my Arab is, I will not take the chance. I don't consider it doping up a hot horse for tooth floating, because she would probably be just fine without the sedation, but its my choice and right as the horse's owner to request and receive the sedation :)

[sublimequine]

That's not strange at all! When the horse is alone, she's ALONE. The lion might jump out of the shadows and eat her. When she's with a human doing work, she's in a herd of 2 and is not alone.

The other thing to do is to take your mare out for a nice long walk and hand grazing while the other mare leaves. Make sure she cannot see the other mare leave leave, or see/hear the horse trailer and hubub going on. Return her to the field only when trailer is long gone. Take her in the field, doing some ground work, give some treats, groom her while in the field, then let her go. Stay with her for 30 -60 minutes and if she acts wired up at any time, go up to her and groom her, do ground work, etc.

I would definitely try to not let her see the buddy leave.

And personally no way in hell would I just throw a new horse in the field with her the minute the other is gone. That is asking for big trouble. You have a mare on her own turf suddenly faced with an outside mare who is NOT her buddy. You are just asking for trouble with that. You're likely to have galloping and kicking, squealing, you name it. The geldings will be fired up. I would not try that at all.

Sorry, I should've clarified on the new buddy thing. There is a gelding that used to live in the neighboring paddock who is now in a different paddock, that may actually be able to move in with my mare. She already knows him, he's an oldster and calm as the day is long. But even then, I'd get them turned out together well before move-out day and make sure they play nice without a fenceline in between them.

I like the idea of taking her out and spending some time with her while the move-out's going on. Maybe if I keep her busy and not let her see the other mare leaving, it may go better.

[atr]

Your horse needs to be gone when friend leaves--take her on a trail ride or something so she doesn't see the actual departure.

And apart from that, I'd second better living through chemistry.

[Zu Zu]

Some mares need mare companionship - how about before the first -- finding a "baby sitter" another mare --even pony mare or mini? With this economy there must be available companion mares for FREE - get a small mouth to feed who will survive under your present mare's routine - and care and feed - her age or older! Ask your vet he may be able to help you out with a new pasture mate - he must know of others needing the same type of support.

[sublimequine]

Your horse needs to be gone when friend leaves--take her on a trail ride or something so she doesn't see the actual departure.

And apart from that, I'd second better living through chemistry.

That made me giggle. :lol:

I'll be sure to call the buddy mare's owner and ask when EXACTLY she's leaving that day, so I can be there and get my mare out of sight of the ordeal. That's definitely a good idea, thanks folks. :)

[sublimequine]

Some mares need mare companionship - how about before the first -- finding a "baby sitter" another mare --even pony mare or mini? With this economy there must be available companion mares for FREE - get a small mouth to feed who will survive under your present mare's routine - and care and feed - her age or older! Ask your vet he may be able to help you out with a new pasture mate - he must know of others needing the same type of support.

Unforunately I can't afford another horse as a companion (board on two would kill me). But I'm going to really try and work with the BO on getting a friend for her, and get them turned out together before the day comes.

I just hope the BO is receptive to my idea of getting SOMEONE else in with my mare.

[Auventera Two]

Yeah, I definitely think the trauma of watching the friend get on a trailer and leave would be much worse than coming back from a long trail ride or hand walk and the buddy is just not there. Horses know that trailers take horses bye bye. But if the friend is gone when she returns, she'll probably be more confused than panicked since she didn't actually see the trailer come and get her friend. Couple that with a little bit of sedation and she probably won't even notice.

And I've never had any problem with turning out a sedated horse. As long as the field is completley safe, the horse knows it well, and they're not out like a light, there shouldn't be problem. You'd want enough to take the edge off, not make her wobbly.

I think you'll be okay! :)

[sublimequine]

Yeah, I definitely think the trauma of watching the friend get on a trailer and leave would be much worse than coming back from a long trail ride or hand walk and the buddy is just not there. Horses know that trailers take horses bye bye. But if the friend is gone when she returns, she'll probably be more confused than panicked since she didn't actually see the trailer come and get her friend. Couple that with a little bit of sedation and she probably won't even notice.

And I've never had any problem with turning out a sedated horse. As long as the field is completley safe, the horse knows it well, and they're not out like a light, there shouldn't be problem. You'd want enough to take the edge off, not make her wobbly.

I think you'll be okay! :)

The paddock she lives in is very safe, and she knows it well, so that wouldn't be a problem.

Can you sedate a horse after they've begun to freak out, or do you have to do it before, if you're doing a feed-through sedative? I'd hate to give her some Ace or something premptively, if she was not gonna lose her mind anyways. But I guess that wouldn't really hurt her, would it? :confused:

[jn4jenny]

The paddock she lives in is very safe, and she knows it well, so that wouldn't be a problem.

Can you sedate a horse after they've begun to freak out, or do you have to do it before, if you're doing a feed-through sedative? I'd hate to give her some Ace or something premptively, if she was not gonna lose her mind anyways. But I guess that wouldn't really hurt her, would it? :confused:

Nope, can't hurt really. Some horses don't respond to certain sedatives, so make sure you test run the sedative of choice before the big day gets here.

If you prefer not to use feed-thru, you can have your vet give you the injectable Ace, which also can be shot directly to the mouth (just take the needle off the syringe). That's what I carry in my emergency trailering kit.

[sublimequine]

Nope, can't hurt really. Some horses don't respond to certain sedatives, so make sure you test run the sedative of choice before the big day gets here.

If you prefer not to use feed-thru, you can have your vet give you the injectable Ace, which also can be shot directly to the mouth (just take the needle off the syringe). That's what I carry in my emergency trailering kit.

I didn't know you could give injectible Ace orally, good idea! :)

I think I'll call my vet and ask for something. It may be good just to have on hand, I think.. :confused:

[sublimequine]

Anyone else? :)

[sublimequine]

A little update! My mare got turned out with her new buddy today in the outdoor for about 10 minutes (it would've been longer but it was raining and it started raining harder). We let them sniff noses on the leads first, my mare took one whiff and was like "Oh yeah, I remember you.. now, back to scavenging for hay!" Poor new buddy basically got ignored. :lol:

Then we unhooked the leads and let them loose. They sniffed again, then wandered off together, about 3 feet apart. They acted like they had been together since forever, it was great! Then my mare decided to play with/impress the new buddy with her awesome gymastic feats. She'd go TEARING across the arena, buck 7 or 8 times on the way, then come to a sliding stop and prance about. Her buddy would watch, calmly jog down to the other end of the arena to be with her, then rinse, repeat as my mare continued RUNNING from side to side.

She kept trying to get him to play, shaking her head at him, kinda bucking at his general direction (not kicking, her ears were up and she was being silly the whole time, so luckily she was not being aggressive), but he wasn't having much of it. He kinda looked at her like, "Look lady, I'm an old man, I don't do that stuff!" :lol:

We're going to turn them out again a few times before the big move-out day. But me and Carlos (the guy helping me with all this :) ) think it's going to work out fine. The new buddy is NOT a challenging type and will basically just avoid or ignore any horse that tries to pick fights, and my mare is not the aggressive type. If she REALLY is provoked, she'll assert herself once or twice, then be done with it. She's too lazy to chase and bully others, she'd rather just make an ugly face or flash her butt at them and be done with it.

So I'm encouraged! I may still pick up something to ensure she stays calm (I don't think I'm going to need an actual tranq now, but perhaps some "Calm and Cool" paste or something?), but it looks like my mare is going to like her new friend. :)