Horse behavioural problems

Question
QUESTION: We just moved to the country and we have a paint female horse that we put on our land. She usually does pretty good but lately the field next to ours put about 13 horses all mares in there and since then our horse has been yapping and running back and forth all the time. She looks like she is going crazy can you help me with this. I just need to know what to do.

ANSWER: Hello Dorothy,

You don't say how long she has been running. Is it a couple of days or a couple of weeks?  It is quite normal for a mare to be excited when she is next to a herd of strange mares and running around is to be expected.  It all depends on how long and what effect it is having on her.  I would assume that if it is just a day or so, she will get tired and then she will become accustomed to having them close by, but not being with them. The only remedy if she won't stop running, and wears herself out, is to pen her up in her stall.

Best wishes,
Dorothy

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for getting back with me so quick. It has been a couple weeks since this started. I wasn't sure if it's because she is by herself now or not. She has always been with other horses and since we've had her she's been alone. We are planning on getting another horse soon so maybe she will calm down. I just wasn't sure if she was getting depressed or what, I just have never seen her act that way before.

Answer
Hi Dorothy,

Yes, it is because she wants to be with them.  Horses are herd animals and they find safety in the herd, so it is a very strong instinct.  It can cause a lot of problems, also, like being herd bound, barn sour, etc.  They also have a pecking order and when she is with other horses, she will have to find her place in the order.  Chances are that if you get another, your mare will be boss if it the new one is a mare.  Gelding...who knows!  She will calm down or become bossy, one or the other.

I have a mare who has always been the picture of tranquility and quiet, until I brought another mare to be with her and she decided that she was boss.  She became a totally different horse...hoity toity, brutal (she bit and kicked the mare)herding her all over the pasture all day long, difficult to lead, all of that, until I separated them again.  Then she returned to being her sweet, calm, old self.

Good luck,
Dorothy