Horse newly moved house, now is all alone, should I get her a paddock buddy? Sorry if the structure is not in align with this sub-reddit, I don't frequent here often.
I have a 24yo 14 hand mare that has been with me since 2007. At the time of purchase, although I do not remember, my father says she had horse companions nearby.
When she lived at our old house, she always had companions, or, at the very least, a horse in a nearby paddock. Those horses belonged to agisters who rented our paddocks to keep their horses on them.
We recently moved house, and the terrain has significantly changed (from flat grassy land to hilly forest), and in addition to that, she no longer has any fellow companions. To top it off, none of the neighbours have horses, so there are no horses in sight.
She moved down on Sunday, and it is now Tuesday, she has not moved from her spot, and the hoof prints show she has just been pacing around in her spot. She doesn't seem agitated or stressed, she just refuses to go anywhere besides her spot. When she arrived, I made sure to lead her around the boundaries of the paddock so she knows the rough 5 acre terrain that she resides in.
The thing is, I understand she has had a sudden change of scenery and companions. However, she has always bee a loner horse, she doesn't depend upon companionship. In fact, she's perfectly happy being on the complete opposite end of our old 20 acre property, whilst other horses hang out at the other end. This has always made me think that she would do fine if she was ever on her own.
I am now very worried for her, I am thinking of purchasing a paddock buddy for her at a local horse auction. But am not sure if I should give her a week or 2 to settle in. My dad is worried that because she is old, she may stress herself out and become ill as a result if we leave it for too long. There is a horse auction this Friday, I am uncertain at this stage if I should go and look for a companion for her.
I am not at my father's new property very often too. But my dad is making an effort to check-in on her everyday. But she is a retired horse, so we don't ride her. We just want her to live out her retirement happily.
Any advice is welcome, I just want people experienced with horses to give me some advice or personal stories of how they handle their horse when they became suddenly alone.
Thank you in advance.
Submitted August 21, 2017 at 08:40PM by Sakura_lu
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