I've had Pickles for 3 weeks now...she was a rental and lesson horse for years. She's extremely herd bound to say the least. I haven't had success yet with Join-up but at least she's turning and looking at me after 3 attempts and then goes right back to looking toward the rental pen /sigh. I get licking and chewing sometimes and the ear all the time but dropping her head is out of the question for her. I know, I know Patience and time...
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Tiggs4e
Don't give up, you will succeed. Is your horse still at the same location that she was when she was a renal horse? If that is the case it will be much more difficult to get her out of being so herd bound. Having a horse that is herd bound is not necessarily a bad thing. It is only a problem when you cannot keep their attention focused on you. If you have access to a closed in round pen that she cannot see out of you should have more success. I would keep her going in circles (5 rounds one way then change direction) until you get all the signs that she wants to Join Up and will follow you in the round pen.
It may take quite a bit of time to actually have her more connected to you than her herd mates so keep at it, it will be worth all the effort.
Cheers
I have tried in some herd bound horses to desensitize them by moving them away from their colleagues increasing the distance. Going away ten meters, turning back. Then 20 meters, and so on. I had the impression that it worked. I think in this way they can keep in mind the way back and that the separation is not complete.
SUCCESSS!!! Oh my heaven...what a sweet feeling when you turn and ask then to join you and They Do!!! Thank you for your words of encouragement :D
YIPI!
Cheers
Fantastic tiggs4e!! Well done
Dennis, you mentioned that you've separated horses a little at a time. Did you do this by just walking them away or putting them in another area? I have a 26 yr old mare that is extremely bound to an older gelding. They are together 24/7 along with another gelding. My mare has become quite dangerous to me at feeding time. The stable where she is boarded stalls the horses during feeding time. I've been feeding the horses 4-5 times per week. Lately, the tension is quite elevated at feeding time because they know they'll be separated. Two days ago all hell broke lose and although I followed my same routine I ended up on the ground and the calm gelding ended up with a gash on his leg. There are others paddocks to where I can move her and she'll still have sight of the geldings. I'd have to get the ok from the farm director, but at this point we have to make safety the top priority. Do you think moving my mare to another paddock will help?
BTW - We've done join-up. She's lunges well and we get along fine in the round pen and while riding. Her eye is always on her gelding, though.
Hi
You need to separate that horses far enough apart that they cannot touch each other so a separate paddock would be the first step. What you will be doings is what we do when we wean a horse. It takes about two weeks for them to start to settle down. After they get over their anxiety of separation they can be re-introduced to each other if you need to.
One warning, if they become too stressed and aggressive because of the separation, move them closer so they can see each other then try complete separation when they settle down.
There is no one perfect way to do this but the goal is to have too horses that can either be with each other or not without the anxiety.
Cheers
Thanks.