# Buddy sour horse left behind, what to do?



## Capriole (Sep 24, 2021)

I wrote a huge, long post .... then realized it was probably more than anyone wanted to know 
I've been trying to exercise Prince more, but when I take him out, Farah (20 yr old Arab mare with a messed up leg) loses it...she'll run back and forth, calling for him. I don't want her doing that because of the stress it puts on her leg. The vet suggested giving her some senior feed when I take him out...tried that once...she choked...luckily it resolved and there were no problems. I have closed her in the barn aisle, which has rubber mats so it has some give...but, she still runs back and forth and it worries me. I don't know what to do...I don't think she'd do well taking her with us ..and I don't think it would be too good for her leg(s).
Any advice would be most appreciated...thank you.


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## Abby P (Sep 24, 2021)

Does she have a stall? Sometimes if you put them in a stall with some nice hay it will calm them, and if it doesn't, then at least they can't get up to too much trouble locked in a box. It's a pain in the butt of a problem to deal with.


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## Taz (Sep 24, 2021)

Do you have anyone else around when you take Prince out? If not you could try taking him out and seeing how far away you can go before she gets upset. Then go just to the point where she looks upset but isn't running yet and wait there till she settles ten go back. You can keep doing that over days/weeks and the distance should get farther until she's OK alone but it could take a while. Poor girl. Get another mini, they don't eat a lot or take up much room


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## Kelly (Sep 24, 2021)

You only have the 2 horses? Does she have a buddy when y’all leave? Buy another horse?!  any excuse to buy another horse right LOL! If she doesn’t have a buddy the stall idea like Abby suggested is a great choice. If you don’t have a stall and what I use to do when I only had 2 biggies, (I didn’t want my barn destroyed) is I would tie them to a “thinking tree”. They threw a fit the first few times, but got use to it pretty quick. I would also leave hay for them to munch on and keep them occupied. Good luck, buddy sour horses can be dangerous so be careful. Best of luck!



Edited to add: I would tie them to a tree so they couldn’t see each other at first. They would have to remain tied until they calmed down. I would supervise to make sure neither got into trouble. I would then start extending their times tied to the tree out of sight of each other. If that can be accomplished then I would be fine to tie one to the tree and walk/exercise the other.


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## Capriole (Sep 25, 2021)

ENABLERS!! ALL OF YA!!!! 

They are both at my brother and sister in law's house....but, my sister in law did say she was considering adopting a burro ...maybe I should "encourage" her? 

Farah panics if he even walks too far away from her...the farrier came a couple of days after Prince was delivered....He wasn't very trusting, and he's especially nervous around men, so he didn't want to be anywhere around us. 
We had Farah in the barn aisle and as soon as Prince started to walk to the other side of the yard she lost it... she would have run right over either one of us if we'd been in the way...tried cross ties.....she reared and was throwing herself all over the place...so I let her go, then we had to catch him and tie him near her so the farrier could trim her feet,


Over the last few weeks I have been taking him out...I started with just a few minutes , then gradually increasing the time...the last week or so I've been walking him about 1/2 mile (round trip) she hasn't improved at all...I thought once she realized he would be back she would settle down, but, it doesn't matter how long he's gone her behavior is still the same ☹

She does have a stall, but, when she's stalled she weaves and stall walks, and I thought the bigger space of the barn aisle and the rubber mats wouldn't put as much stress on her leg(s)....I've left her hay, she completely ignores it....and when I gave her senior feed she choked, so now I'm afraid to give her anything.

After her reaction with the farrier (when she could still see Prince) I'm kind of afraid to tie her up when she can't see him. I'm afraid she could hurt herself....if she was completely sound I probably wouldn't worry so much, but since she has problems with her left foreleg (and her right hoof is showing changes because as she gets older she's putting more weight on it) I'm afraid she'll do something weird...twist her leg or something ...

Yeah....I don't know what to do....I wasn't sure about taking on the responsibility of another animal....but, for the physical and mental well-being of both Prince and Farah (the mental well being is mainly Farah...Poor thing...she calls for him, and like a typical male Prince doesn't even notice), it may be the best thing.

Sorry about the length of the post (believe it or not I edited down to this )


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## Silver City Heritage Farmstead (Sep 25, 2021)

Taz said:


> Poor girl. Get another mini, they don't eat a lot or take up much room


Taz has given you some good advice there. (Her whole post, not just what I quoted. ) Dealing with a buddy sour horse is a challenge.

What happens when you take HER away from HIM? Will she walk away? How far will she go before she starts looking back for him? Before she balks? What does HE do when SHE leaves?

If he could care less, I think I'd start doing some training from that perspective. Take her as far away as she'll go. Tie her, groom her, then take her back. Take her as far as she'll go, tie her, go get him. Bring him to where she is, tie him, take her back to the barn.

How is she to work with away from your feeding place? (Barn, paddock, wherever it is.) If you take them both away from the barn, how is she to handle? Does she respect your space? Move how, when and where you ask her to? Does she pay attention to her handler or gawk at all the sights?

She's an Arab and will learn quick. (Once upon a time I apprenticed with a pro handler...I miss Arabians.) I think I'd concentrate on training HER and building up HER confidence. Lack of confidence is kind of at the root of her issue. Get her thinking about something else and she'll quit worrying about her lil' fren'. 

Since she has some physical challenges, why not have her join us over on the trick training thread? As I said, Arabs have agile minds. Put hers to work. She may surprise you.

Oh, and stop editing your threads! If it's a long one just go back to beginning of your post and do this:

**Caution, long thread ahead. Grab a cup of coffee and pull up a footstool** or whatever variation of this catches your fancy.

Good luck and keep us updated with how it's going.

Edited to correct spelling.


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## Marsha Cassada (Sep 25, 2021)

I like the tip about working with the mare to build her confidence. Midnight used to go crazy when I took Dapper Dan out. She's been driving for a while, and now she just runs around a little, yelling when left alone. Nothing freakish or dangerous any more. She leaves him better now also.


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## Capriole (Sep 28, 2021)

Thank you for the responses...sorry for the delay getting back...distracted by the AMHA livestream 

She immediately starts looking back to make sure he's following when I halter her and start walking away...

I haven't actually taken her out of his sight.....I kind of doubt he'll care (luckily he goes willingly when I take him out for a walk....I'm so grateful for that, I'm way too old and tired to be dealing with barn sour ponies ) I wish he'd miss her and run around, at least he'd be burning some calories...

Farah has always been anxious when taken away from the barn...even when she was by herself...last winter when she was alone I tried to take her out every day to work with her...she never got any better.


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## Taz (Sep 29, 2021)

There's a good chance she's worse because she wasn't relaxed when she was alone. I think your best solution is another companion. She might still call and get upset but it shouldn't be nearly as bad. YES, get a burro!!!!


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## Dragon Hill (Sep 29, 2021)

It sounds like another companion will be the easiest/safest way of dealing with this problem. Just be careful how you introduce the new companion. Things could get dangerous for the newbie if Farah decides the newcomer is their to steal her man.


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## Capriole (Oct 2, 2021)

I think everyone is right...the easiest and probably safest thing (for everyone) would be to get her another companion...it would be less stressful for Farah as well...she is 20/21 yrs old, I feel she's kind of been through enough in her life.

If the newbie is a mare we'll have to call her Jolene


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## Silver City Heritage Farmstead (Oct 4, 2021)

Now that _would_ be funny, wouldn't it?

I agree that at her age she's entitled to some eccentricities. Just out of curiosity, does she have any Crabbet or Domestic breeding?


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## Capriole (Oct 5, 2021)

We have no idea...about 7 years ago my nephew was in a gas station and a woman came in and asked if anyone wanted a free horse because she couldn't afford to feed her. He said he'd ask his stepmother, who, of course, said yes (especially after the picture they sent her.... severely underweight horse in a pipe corral with no shelter, and a metal barrel feeder...in the desert... in the summer when it was getting up to 120° + during the day....not that they were feeding her that much....). They could afford to rent bounce houses, tables and chairs and throw a party for the whole neighborhood for their 5 yr. old's birthday, though.

When the vet first examined her she asked if she'd been "charro owned" because she had a lot of thickening and scarring in her front pasterns...which is common when they make them "dance" (not to mention the jagged scar on her hind leg, long scars on her back...to be fair those could have been from an accident, but, still painful), So I think she's been through a lot


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## Taz (Oct 5, 2021)

I'm so happy she finally found a good home! And now she's going to get a second little friend to make her life even better


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