afraid to be alone

Question
I have two stalls in my front yard. I have one show horse and a new show
pony. The pony becomes hysterical if I try to leave him alone. I've left him
with food but it doesn't seem to matter. He even calls out at the riding ring
when he doesn't see other horses. I tried taking both horses out and
returning with the pony only but he got frantic. Any suggestions?

Answer
Hi Carol,

Thank you for your question. Horses are naturally herd bound animals, but some certainly react more than others. In this case, it's just going to take time for the pony to realize his buddy will come back. I wish I had a specific exercise for you to try, but I really don't. If there are any other horses nearby, it might help to place him so he can see/hear them. I've had clients who leave a radio on nearby for "noise", but in all honesty, it just takes time for them to get used to the idea of the other horse coming and going and some never fully accept the idea, but gradually their actions become less and less, until it's just a whinny here and there and not the frantic actions you now see. I have heard of people using a homeopathic treatment called Rescue Remedy on animals that have seperation issues, with good results, so that might be something to try.

Hang in there!

Happy Trails,

Jen