Step 14 – Separation Anxiety
Step 14 - Separation Anxiety
Another thing to consider, at this point in time, as we are starting to take our horses somewhere to work, is the potential for Separation Anxiety.
As you know, horses are herd animals and have strong social bonds, so when they are separated from their friends, they can become shifted into the sympathetic nervous system and show outward signs of anxiety. Â
If your horse is struggling with separation anxiety, we recommend watching the videos in the Separation Anxiety playlist and dedicating your efforts to resolving this issue. While it may not be the news you were hoping for, addressing this concern is essential because the effectiveness of the entire process hinges on our ability to attune to our horse’s emotional state. Overlooking their anxiety about separation creates a challenging starting point. It’s vital to remember that when a horse is in a state of anxiety or stress due to separation, their learning capacity is limited, as significant learning occurs when they are not in the sympathetic nervous system mode.
There is an alternative in that you could work on the exercises that we are introducing next if your horse has separation anxiety and work on that issue as well. In this case you could work your horse where they are most comfortable or take the other horse with you and keep them close where you work your horse.
A reminder how to use this course: click on Mark Complete below and if your horse does not have any separation anxiety, then you can go to Step 15 tomorrow. If they do have some separation anxiety try to get it resolved before moving on.
My horse sometimes has an issue with leaving his pasture mate as she has a fit. I do think moving away from her more slowly sounds good and I look forward to the upcoming videos. What makes getting to the round pen even more of an issue is all the yummy grass on the way he would like to stop and eat. May I know how to best go about letting him eat some without creating a bad habit? If the walk went completely smoothly it would take us under 5 min to get to the round pen–if he stops because his pasture mate is crying and then because he’d like to eat grass–this walk can get closer to 20 min. Should I just let him stop and eat two times on the way, sometimes let him and sometimes say no?
Yes, you can stop and let him eat, but make sure that you allow him to eat, dont try to prevent him from doing so then losing the arguement.
My mare is very herd bound to her pasture mares. I have to work towards gradually getting close to her (using Change in Focus with the flag) to where she will stay beside me when I bring out the halter. Once haltered, she won’t move unless we do small circles. Eventually I walk out in front of her to end of lead rope & invite her to walk up to me with my body posture. We repeat that enough times that we become far enough away from the mares eating @ the round bale that my mare will then walk beside me to the pasture gate. At the gate her anxiety increases a lot & she becomes very skittish. This behaviour continues on the outside of the gate. I have waited with her at both of these locations, assuring her with my calming voice that all is well. When she looks towards her pasture mates I acknowledge that by looking also. The same for any other visuals that she looks towards. I gently draw her focus back to me by touching her side near where her front leg attaches to her body (ie. armpit). In time we go for a walk down the trail alongside the mare pasture. She initially frequently looks over to her mates but in time her head drops & she & I walk together in sync. I would appreciate your comments on my process. I have not provided details regarding a couple of catastrophic events that occurred when my mare was outside the pasture but am ok to do so if you require them.