Getting Stressed

Question
Hi,I have a 17year old thoroughbred he came from the bluecross, he lives out in the field with 3 other horses and a foal, he is brilliant in everyway apart from when he is on his own he gets very upset, hes fine walking away from the horses but as soon as i tie him up he won't stand still and he gets very aggertated, ive tryed putting him in a stable to tack up and it makes him worse, i also took him to a fun ride and he was a nightmare because there was horses walking past him all the time he got very upset and aggertated and wanted to go with them, ive tryed bringing one of the horses out with him and then putting them back before we go out riding and he still gets upset but as soon as were out hacking hes fine and settles but then when we get back to the yard he starts getting upset again, when the other horses come out with him hes fine, its horrible to see him get into the state that he does so ive started to not ride him on his own and just wait for someone to come out with me, i would be very grateful if you could give me any information on how i can calm him down and stop him from getting so stressed, will look forward to your reply.

Answer
Kim,

You have a horse that is very herd-bound, and they can be extremely difficult to deal with.  Trust me.  

Im going to suggest you try a couple of different things on him.  Get some Bach's Rescue Remedy.  You can buy it at health food stores.  It may seem expensive but you only need a dropperful so it goes a long way.  It helps a lot with general anxiety and fear among other things.  Take the bottle with you in your pocket and give him a dropperful in the side of his mouth or on your fingers and massage into his gums. It does take about 15-20 min. to work but it's a start.  

I would also get him on some herbs to help level his system out.  You may have to experiment with some different blends to see what works for him.  If you don't have someone you can talk to directly about the herbs contact my good friend Loryhl Davis at Herbs of the World.  She's helped me a lot with a lot of horses.  She can custom blend something if necessary.  Very intuitive person.  Again, they will take time to work but should help.  

He needs to keep going away from the group.  Leaving him in with them will only re-inforce the herd-bound behavior.  You may have to recruit some help with him at first, a person to hold him and keep him occupied while you're grooming and tacking him up.  A bag of carrot pieces works well.  He needs to learn to associate going away from the herd with good things.  You can buy a lot of cooperation with treats.  That will at least keep him occupied until you can get the other stuff I recommended.

You could also have an animal communicator talk to him and reassure him that "even though he's leaving he WILL come back".  You will find that your horse has some interesting things to say.  


This is not one of those behaviors that respond well to anything other than patience and support.  It's a very strong emotional issue, after all, horses are herd animals and can build very strong ties with other horses.  You can overcome it, but it takes a lot of time.

Good luck and let me know how it goes.

Lyn