Hello everyone!
It has been a long time and I have written some comments in other postsas I was looking for a suitable palce to tell my latest "Willow ancedote"...
Willow may be the equivalent of a Mustang; she is an autoctonous filly from the North of Spain, some kind of mountain semi-wild horse. But she is my horse and naturally I want the best for her. Therefore she goes in at dusk and has done so ever since she came to me at 5 -6 months old. She is now 3 years old and had never stayed out during the night....
She feels most "at home" in the big field at the back of our stone house, that is the continuation of our garden so I thought she would love to stay out full time given the mild temperatures and the new grass.....Hah!
She resigned to it when she realized noone was going to turn her in that night (last Sunday). I took her some carrots and a piece of bread to munch and refilled her water trough. My husband saw her yesterday morning, gave her an apple and some carrots before going to work. When I got up and went out to see her she looked at me mournfully and came to me and leaned her head on my shoulder with such a look of contriteness...... I have mentioned elsewhere that we brteathe into each other´s nostrils. We did and I had taken a carrot with me and her brush. I brushed her mane and her flanks and she never moved. I watched to see if she was eating which she was but she still looked ...contrite, that is the word. I think she felt she had done something wrong and I had punished her by making her stay out all night. I had thought I was doing her a favour but it would seem I wasn´t! All day she was on her best behaviour - I mean she is very playful and usually teasing, and loves being outside and runs away from me to come back at a gallop and stop right in front of me etc...And she is very gentle and sweet but I swear, yesterday she was "trying to make up". Maybe it´s bad psychology but last evening she went to "her romms" for the night...
If it is not raining or even in warm weather, if it is only drizzling I let her out all day but turn her in for the night. have I spoilt her? or because she lives with a human she has a right to "her room"and the company of our rabbits for the night and the nasty weather?
This morning as I had to come to the city I left her in because the weather is crazy in Cantabria. Our morning ritual of breathing into each other and messing with my hair was as usual and she gave me a "good girl look" before turning back to her carrots and dry hay fro the day. I was thinking of turning her out again for the night when I get home but maybe she does have a right to be sheltered at night. What do you think? Funny though, if you had only seen her face.....
Thankyou in advance and sorry it is long!
Christy
← back
Horse Behavior and Training
Funny Story!
Rewards
Subscribe to Equus Online University and become a part of Monty's worldwide mission to leave the world a better place for horses and for people too.
Students automatically gain access to special rewards, such as exclusive discounts at the Monty Roberts Online Shop. Visit Monty Roberts Online Shop.
Christy
Great story! The phycology of animals is not that far removed from our own reactions to situations. She obviously did not understand your intentions and was not comfortable being by herself outside at night.
I have paddock and run in shelter for my horse. He stays the night in the shelter rather than outside. He had spent 9 years in a stable so when I moved to my present location he was a little confused for the first week. It was a change from his normal routine that was the problem, not the situation itself.
Sounds like your horse wants if not needs to be inside at night. Don't know if she would have the free choice to be outside or inside but that would relieve her apprehension.
Cheers
Cute story Christy and thanks for sharing it. I think horses appreciate consistency and tend to be creatures of habit. As she has been in her stall at nights ever since you have had her that is now where she feels safe and comfortable at night. She was obviously quite concerned about being left in the big field by herself at night. Without your presence she was probably also fearful of predators at night by herself in that big space. I think it would be different if she had a companion horse. She does sound like she is a very lucky horse with a nice cosy stable for the nights and a nice big paddock for the day. If it is no hassle for you I would just continue to put her into her stable at night where she is the happiest and safest. She has effectively communicated this preference to you!
Absolutely. I have come to the conclussion that I am "her herd" and that she felt I had punished her for something when I left her alone in the dark. I feel so terrible about it! As only other horse lovers can understand.... I wonder what Monty would say to this... I will most certainly continue turning her in for the night or else I shall have to bring out a tent and camp with her!
Thankyou for your replies!
Christy
Hi Christy,
We all love the Willow-story!
What may be of concern is that she's alone and no one is being "on watch" when she's asleep. In a herd situation they take turns watching over the others, so that they can have a deep REM-sleep period. Getting her a companion, even if it's a goat, might make her feel safer in the dark out in nature. I guess she didn't close an eye during her lonely night out there. Keeping a horse by itself might look OK, but we all know they are herd-animals and need company. Your rabbits do provide a substitute herd.
Miriam
Hi everyone,
I wish I could have another animal for my horse but I do not have the health required.
My little one also thinks of me as her herd and is put in at night, we have a hybrid of coyotes here and they pass right through our property, perhaps they would not pass so readily if she were outside and I do not want anything to happen to her.
I was concerned about her being alone but her vet said she's content because I get to spend a lot of time with her, one at a time seems to be all I can manage right now.
My daughter has a herd and she feels sorry for MY STAR especially when we have so many bugs and her horses stand there swiching their tails to keep the bugs at bay for each other. I use a lot of spray on her.
The funny thing with her is, on the wall next to her stall is a light switch and she turns it on at night, I come out in the morning and the light is on and she is lying there sound to sleep.
Also, at a certain time in the evening she'll be waiting at the gate of whatever pasture she is in for me to put a halter on and bring her to her stall for the night, it's cute!
My Star
As long as your horse is not showing signs of becoming stall sour it sounds like she is perfectly content with the arraingment she has. On trick that you might want to keep in mind or even try it if you think if might be beneficial to My Star. On the race track horses spend most of their time in a stall. While they get plenty of exercise it all happens within an hour or so and the rest of the time they are in a stall. Trainers discovered that if you put a rabbit on a cage on the wall or on the floor next to the wall the horse will become much calmer and happier. It seems that the rabbit is constanly moving wither its nose or ears and it is lile horse TV. Some trainers have also used pigmy goats, cats, chickens etc as stall companions. While our horses have the freedom to move from shelter to paddock we will give them a "busy ball" to play with. Fortunately my horse loves to watch other horses as well as humans and is content to stand and watch for hours at a time. He is a stallion so I guess he is checking on his heard!
Cheers
Thank you Dennis very much!
I have been worried about her and do not want her to start bad habits, weaving, cribbing, chewing wood, etc.
I love rabbits and they wouldn't be too much work for me and I already have a cage ready to install on the wall.
I'm sure she'll react to the change but it will help. I also have the busy ball, it was recommended by her ferrier but she needs more.
Would it be bad if the rabbit's waste were to get in her stall, the bottom of the cage is wire also and I only have one solid wall in her stall. My husband is very intellegent and could probably install the cage on the open side of her stall, slightly outside of it!
She is bedded down about 6pm and let out around 7am.
She has a pasture connected around her stall, (Stall: is 13 feet by 13 feet and open at the top to the rest of the area), and the funny thing is rather than her spend her day in the pasture, she prefers to stand in her stall, have a bite outside, go back in, do her business and drink her water, go back out and so on, for the whole day. She's really comfortable in her stall, it has 2 inch thickness of rubber matts on her floor, wall to wall carpet (ha, ha).
I also have other things hanging on string around her stall to keep her occupied but she bores very easily.
I have the means to get another horse or companion but not the health and I want her to have the best care I can offer her so she will stay healthy.
I try to run her every day and train her, weather permitting, and on the days I cannot my husband puts her in her large pasture and you should see her go, she loves to run and can jump straight up in the air like a Jack-Russell dog.
I do not have another horse for her to watch but she watches us when we are outside and any thing that happens to go by.
Tommarrow I will have my husband get the cage ready, on the wall and I will get a rabbit. My daughter has some and my granddaughter will show me how to look after it, I have never owned one of those, we'll see.
She loved our chickens, but so did the fox!
Again, thank you so much, I really appreciate this.
What kind of horse is your stallion?
Ronda
Hi My Star,
Well, well your My Star has all the comfort there is. I was laughing about the carpet, I can see that. Does she have also a telephone to give you a ring when she needs something else haha..?
It is very easy to keep a rabbit, as long as they get there food and fresh water every day. And they like to have a stroke. I would be a little bit carefull about the wire bottem. Is it small enough so the rabbit can't get stuck in it with it's feet? Otherwise you can put a piece of wood what you can clean easy on the bottom. They need straw and hay and probably you will "loose" that when there is no sollid bottom.
Hopefully you will call the rabbit Dennis, because it was his idea haha.... (ITS A JOKE DENNIS).
Good luck with it and hopefully we will hear how My Star likes her new friend.
Cheers, May
My Star
Sounds like your horse is being taken care of very well. Lucky girl! Rabbit droppings will not be a health problem for you or your horse.
My stallion is a Peruvian Paso whos breed has not been altered for over 450 years. He is a gaited horse that glides rather than trots. If you are interested you can see my horse at his web site http://peruvianstallion.com/Home_Page.html
He loves to show off and be with people.
Cheers
Hi all,
it sounds very sad to me that many horses are still kept on their own, although you all love them very much and care very well for their health and eduction. I also see that it's not always easy or even possible to realize a situation where the horse lives with a companion or in a herd.
Still I feel that I need to say: Can you not - instead of thinking about keeping rabbits - think a bit more about what it means for your horse to be kept alone?
There is a PhD thesis on the importance of social relationships in horses, written by Machteld van Dierendonck (access is free: http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/dissertations/2006-0419-200436/index.htm). I cite: "It is shown that social positive physical interactions (allogrooming, play) with other horses is an ethological need and therefore indispensable in modern husbandry systems. Ethological needs are so important for the animal that husbandry systems that lack the possibilities to execute such behaviours will cause chronic stress. It is concluded that all horses need physical social contact, and that horses, which lack appropriate social learning experiences during ontogeny, may be hampered in their social functioning later in life."
The same author has also co-authored a book ("het tevreden paard", in Dutch) on how to house horses to keep them happy. She says that, based on her above mentioned scientific results, humans are a very non-satisfactory surrogate for horse to horse contact, even if you train your horse regularly and frequently. The message of that book is that the first two important things to keep a horse happy are horse-friends and a large space where they can move freely (paddock etc). Goats and cattle also seem not to be an adequate substitute for horse-friends. For me, her line of thought makes sense, as horses are herd animals; but of course everyone should decide on his own.
I have seen old horses on offer for free that cannot work or be ridden anymore but need a good home and would make excellent companions...
Chris
Very interesting comments. I agree that under ideal situations that you would have more horses to maintain the herd environment, My suggestions are not to substitute the herd with a rabbit but rather to provide distractions and play objects to at least keep the horse occupied. This has been a well proven method of keeping horses from becoming sour (mentally stressed)
As stated My Star first choice would be additional horses but she is unable to do that at this time.
I completely agree that humans can never be a substitute for a herd, but they can be very good caretakers and keep their horses physically and mentally healthy without other horses if it is necessary because of finances or health
Cheers
Hi Chris - you express good sentiments here and ideally all horses would have a companion horse and I am sure we would all be in agreement here. However this is not always possible. Owners are restrained by finances, time, health, space etc. so they are unable to provide a companion horse. However both Christy and My Star have demonstrated to us just how much they love their horses and how well they care for them. Hence I feel that their horses are rather lucky. If I was a horse I would far rather live with Christy or My Star than be in a paddock in a herd owned by an abusive, aggressive person looking. In this situation I may have companions but I may also be starving, not be groomed and not have my hooves clipped etc. We need to be careful here in considering the alternatives. It seems to also have been proven that horses living by themselves will bond with any other animal including humans, rabbits, goats, sheep, cattle, cats, dogs, chickens etc. So a rabbit sounds OK for My Star. One of my horses was kept by herself prior to coming to me. Even though she is now in a large paddock with two other horses she usually keeps to herself and doesn't seem to appreciate having companions. So interesting - I have often wondered whether she would prefer to be by herself still.
Hi Christy and all,
This is a very interesting discussion, there is not much I could add to it, accept that some "lonely" horses benefit from a mirror, hung at an angle in a corner from the ceiling, so they cannot touch or break it. Seeing the movement of another horse in the mirror calms them. The sounds of the rabbits and another living being breathing might make the picture complete. Sure we all agree that an equine companion is best, this could be second best and still good!
Miriam
Thank you all for understanding.
We are getting a rabbit, my daughter says why not two and I said no that might make three, etc.
The mirror idea is great and I have one in my bacement for that purpose but my husband had a serious brain injury and is not able to hang it for me right now, but soon.
Again another suggestion given by my ferrier.
You guys are all so cleaver and I appreciate the help.
It's been so rough lately I have been thinking of selling MY STAR to someone younger and with better health but the very thought of not grooming her everyday and seeing her breaks my heart.
I'll keep trying to do my best.
Hi Dennis,
I tried the site you offered, my server would not allow it to be shown, sorry, I really wanted to see your horse.
Bye-bye for now,
Ronda
Ronda
Sorry about that Try http://peruvianstallion.com instead It should work
Cheers
Wow! Loved this web site Dennis. What magnificent horses they are. Congratulations!