My horse is buddy sour bad!!!!!!!! help!?

Question

ok my 7 year old mare is buddy sour ... she doesnt like to be away from the other 5 horses she lives with! I have been wanting to ride by my self for some time and the only way i can do that is if i haul her far away to a place where no horses r smelled or seen. I want to be able to not have to go though the long wait and trouble of trailoring her vs sadlleing up and just going off by our self. I sure hope someone out there can help me. i do have a round pen, but it is kinda close to the pasture of other horses ( if that info helps) I would be thrilled if anyone can help.. !! thank you for taking your time to read this. plz answere asap thnx

Answer 1

I know how you feel! My Mare is the same way! When My mare wants to go back to her "buddy" (my gelding) she bolts up home! I don't know why horses do that I just think that they are so attached to the others that is why they do it! Wild horses stay in a herd at all times and when one is lost they all go looking for each other and the lone one gets very agitated! The only thing I could tell you to do is first start riding your mare by the horses on a light ride and gradually get farther and longer rides!

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Most of the seven horses at my place act this way.  One thing to do, as a start, it to tie your horse away from the others.  Once she quiets and accepts the situation,  let her return to them.  When she is OK with that, try leading her away and when she quiets let her graze on the lead for a minute as a reward.  The point is to let her know that she will return to her friends after she has hard fun with you.  It can be a hard point to get through to a horse that is all panicky when away from its herd mates.  It can be done if you are consistent and take little steps.

There are lots of horses in my neighborhood and area, so when I ride out alone, the horse I ride usually gets to see lots of other neighbor horses and that is interesting enough to forget the screaming buddies left behind.  

God luck!

Answer 3

It shouldnt matter if she wants to be with her friends or not.. If she does it away from them she should do it were she lives.... first bring her to your round pen on a longe line... and longe her for a few minutes.... if she winnys just let her as long as she is moving.. You know shes not scared to be alone so it might just that she knows your not gonna work her if shes not with another horse. Bring her in your ring or in your area were you ride and walk her around... if shes fine..bring her back to the barn or were you tack up and tack her up. When your ready to ride lounge her againe in the round pen... if she is good girl bring her to your ring and get on her.....againe if she winnys just let her talk and keep her walking. ( Im not sure how to help you because Im not sure what she does when you bring her away from her friends and get on her alone...)

Answer 4

Horses know there is safety in numbers and thats why some horses do not want to be away from the herd.When you go riding she knows that she is not with her "herd"  anymore and she has not yet accepted you as a source of security amd reassurance.She can learn to do this but it will not happen until you are able to offer her security and reassurance.You need to get your horse attention and gain her trust.She needs to feel you are a trusted companion  and also unserstand that you are in charge so she doesnt have to be.Right now when she is with you she thinks she is alone.You need to teach her she is not alone when she is with you.It takes awhile so start now by asking her to do simple things,,alot of simple things.Praise her when she responds,praise her when she responds promptly and praise her when she is quiet.Plan your rides so you are constantly asking her to do something and praising her for doing it right or for trying.So keep her busy by doing little task,and praise and reward her.The way to keep her attention focused on you is to keep your attention focused on her.Over time she will learn to trust you and she'll relax more.She will eventually learn you are in charge,that she can rely on you to keep her safe,and that nothing horrible will happen when she leaves the other horses.

Answer 5

My experience is that some horses can be trained out of this and some can't.  I have actually had to move a horse to a different facility to get him away from a buddy once.  I tried putting him in a separate paddock and he jumped the 5 foot fence and ran across a road more than once (he was not a jumper, either).  Long story short, after embarassing times and frustrating times and downright dangerous times, I gave up on that one.  It was only with one buddy (not the herd) and he was fine after I moved him.

Horses that are less herdbound or buddy sour can be improved and even cured if you take the time to gradually convince them that they are safe with you as their buddy.  My experience is that this is not a respect issue at all....it is a panic disorder much like you see in people.  If you can gain your horse's confidence in you, you can solve the problem.  A horse develops confidence in you when you establish yourself as the alpha, and you are consistent.  The degree to which the horse can rely on your cues and your responses is everything in dealing with her tendency to panic when she leaves the herd.  If you have that going, then take baby steps in getting her to go farther and farther away from the herd.  Reward her for each increase in distance by not forcing her to go further that time, and so on.  Your rides far from home only work because she has nowhere to go to find "safety" so she trusts you as a last resort.  When you are at home, she isn't reasoning that out....she just knows that safe is not where you are taking her.

Answer 6

Wow. This would suck. What you need to do is put her in another pasture/paddock/stall and let her knwo she will be fine without her friends. Once she figures this out (horses are very smart) then you can reward her behavior!

Soooo Sorry!!

:(

hope i helped a little...never had this experience with my horse...then again i just got him a few days ago.... lol

Answer 7

this is tough...MANY horses are barn sour and it takes time to better this. Start off really slow and start by taking her away with a leadrope. Every time she puts her focus on you, even if it's only for such a short moment praise her. Once she looks away, continue to push her head away. It also helps if the other horse is in her stall...or somewhere not in sight of yours. Give the other horse food or some other distraction so she will not whinny much. She should also NEVER be brought home because of this bad behaviour. Always end on a good note and dont let her get her way. Good luck!