anyone keep 2 horses together???is it a problem???

my tb has separation anxiety, though i would never use that as a reason to deny him company

i can't expect my horse to focus on anything if he's having a nervous breakdown. lucy rees has a good chapter on horses and nervous breakdowns in her book, i forget the title, something like "inside your horses mind"
 
I don't think I'd really like my horse to be without company either, and am going to be looking for a companion for him hopefully later in the year.

I don't think he suffers from separation anxiety, more like just general anxiety - he spent several months over the winter being scared of a feed bucket!! :rolleyes: Don't ask...
 
Cody was kept with just one other for just over two months and now there are three of them.

In both circumstances they all call to each other and so on but he has never refused to leave his field and they are all just having to get on with being split when one is worked. He certainly became more settled after a couple of weeks with just Barley but now Cass is in the equation (since last Fri) he has to get back to being settled again but I am sure it will not take long.

Personally I wouldn't want to keep a horse on its own - they are herd animals and whilst of course we want them to bond with us, we can't be with them all the time so they have a lot of hours being lonely. I know Cody would hate to be kept on his own.
 
If you are herd leader the horse you want to work with will go with you, you'll have no bother that way, but if Mr. Clingy is left at home running up and down the fences trying to jump out you might have a problem. 2 minis doesn't even equal one standard and in our calculations two standards make an Icelandic. so with two minis you'll still only have one standard Shetland. if you learn to keep their feet in good order that cuts down on one bill. They will eat no more than a bigger one.

We have 30 horses and they have pair bonds within the herd, If you take one out the other will shout about it, but they have therest of the herd to keep them company until their pal gets back.
 
i have had just 2 in together before and it was always the smallest that made the most noise and did the most escaping :rolleyes: now we have 3 and it is easier as the 2 left behind have a bit of a shout and then get back to the all important eating, my friend also has her 2 ponies with ours in their own paddock and one of hers gets stressed when i take one of mine away :confused: so no right or wrong on this one, horses are herd animals yes, but you have to weigh up if the stress of separating a pair is more or less than one living on it's own.
 
Wally said:
they have pair bonds within the herd, If you take one out the other will shout about it, but they have therest of the herd to keep them company until their pal gets back.
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That is true and sometimes the unlikliest pair bond. Paris has bonded with Mysty she throws a strop if Mysty is taken out the paddock to be worked even though she is within sight the whole time:rolleyes: I usually ignore her and tell her that pregnant ladies should not get themselves into a lather over nothing:) Mysty I have to add has pair bonded with another horse and could not care to figs about Paris except when it is gang up against Cindy time:rolleyes:. Herd politics are fascinating:D
 
I always think it was Shetland ponies that discovered escapism and taught other ponies lol

Shetlands are experts at getting out of a paddock through the most unlikely gap.. I've seen one literally go right down on its knees and wriggle under the fencing.... cool thinking or what LOl
 
From past experience, I'd say it depends on the temperment of the 2 involved. If they are quite independant they don't seem to mind but we have had horses int he past who were quite dependant on each other and that was very difficult. I think it also helps if they are used to being separated on a regular basis right from the start so they get used to it.
 
Try a couple of minature goats, they are great fun, kids can groom them etc.
Just make sure you have excellent fencing as they are great escape artists as are shetlands. You spend you time rounding them up feeling like Hiedi otherwise !!! As I found out to my cost once when I looked after my friends horse and her 3 goats ! !! but they make brilliant companians.
 
Yes, and yes! In our one year of being at the yard we're on, my mare has had 4 different field partners and she's a nightmare every time! She had to be separated from the first as they were a bit TOO flirty with each other if you know what I mean :o The second because they are both mares with similar nutty personalities and were a nightmare to catch or feed seperately, it got to the point that the other owner was afraid of mine booting her as she tried to take hers out. No 3 is very old and my mare bullied her :rolleyes: And we're now onto day 9 with no 4 who is already beginning to show signs of attachment. He stands at the gate calling for her while she's gone :rolleyes:

She's gotten a lot better over time but in a perfect world I would have her with a herd, definitely, it's much better for them.
 
Remmysmum is right. One of my friends (who is gettin on a bit now, like me) has nearly always kept her horses on their own, she reckons the bond with her and horse is much stronger that way, although as I said in my earlier post she did keep a couple of goats with them so they were not completely on their own. We used to meet up and hack together etc and over the years kept a couple of horses together, I must admit we never had any major problems one leaving the other, bit of running around by the one that was left, or a bit of calling out, but certainly no major incidents, perhaps we were just lucky.
 
You know what, you are probably right. Thinking about it the horse never did take much notice of the goat or vice versa, but it was another animal in with the horse so he was not alone. However, I agree they are a pain in the butt to keep in. The goats I looked after were very human friendly though and very sweet. They did however all have a kip together in the field shelter.
 
I have my two in together and Katey sometimes neighs for Polly and thats it. Polly doesn't care if I take Katey out for a hack with the girls from the yard and leave her in the field.

I think it all depends on the horse because when we had Daisy,Katey and Polly I wasn't able to take Katey out of the field without Daisy going mental even with Polly in there.They were all great friends.Yet Daisy would go out for a hack by herself.
 
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