Separation Anxiety in Horses

Abstract

Abstract Although there are no published statistics on the prevalence of separation-related behaviour (SRB) problems, they are likely to be a common issue in horses and constitute around 20% of the author’s caseload. They may present as difficulty catching and leading horses away from their social group, inability to settle (such as box walking or weaving when stabled, walking or pacing the fence when left behind in the pasture), difficulty with loading and travelling, napping when attempting to ride out alone or away from a group, and increased handling or riding difficulty at horse shows and other events. The normal state of the horse is to be in a group of other horses; it is entirely natural and to be expected that horses will become stressed when isolated from others. Horses need to become gradually habituated to isolation from other horses and can be easily sensitized to other fears when first exposed to frightening stimuli in isolation from other horses.