depressed, upset horse

Question
hi claire,

my wife has two horses a 24 yr. old appy and a 29 yr. old quarter horse.  she has had them for 17 yrs. we have kept them at her parents house for many years.  recently we built a barn at our home and moved them there.  the 29 yr old. is refuseing to eat. and gives us the cold shoulder. i think he is upset with us and has not really eaten its been almost 24 hrs in the new barn.  what worries me the most is that we live in N. NH and its about 5-10 deg.  Is there any way we can bring him around to like his new home?

Answer
Dear Phil,

Sorry for the delay in responding and I'm sorry to hear that your horses don't seem happy in their new home. Clearly you know your horses and I would be concerned too.  The first thing that comes to mind for me is what is different about your new barn compared to where they were?  Is there something in their old environment that is no longer in their new environment?  Could they see each other from their old stalls but not from their new ones?  Was there something that happened everyday that they miss?  Think of everything regardless of how silly it might seem, because it may well be something that seems insignificant to you but is a big deal for them.

The biggest immediate concern is keeping them hydrated.  Do a pinch test on their necks and see how quickly the skin returns to flat is there is a delay they could well be dehydrated and you should call your vet.  Do not risk colic with older horses, you just don't have the same margins you do with a younger horse.

Older horses can be sensitive to their surroundings just like older people they don't always take change well.  I would be happy to brainstorm ideas with you which would probably be easier to do over the phone.  Check out my website www.equilibrateequine.com re scheduling a phone consult and we can set up a good time.

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Regards,

Clair Thunes, PhD.
Independent Equine Nutritionist.
Equilibrate Equine Consulting.
clair@equilibrateequine.com
www.equilibrateequine.com