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What can i do i feel so bad2007-11-24 21:21:21

my 17yo mare, rainy, has always been the matriarch. she's always been in pasture and would pin her ears and bare her teeth at every mare. i figured that was just the way she was. i moved her over to another ranch in april and put her in a pipe pen for the first time in her life, and shes done really well. she started bonding with a 8yo rescue paint mare Lexi, who was her neighbor. i started putting them in pasture together, and they were never more than 7 feet apart. they started getting upset when one left; they would scream and pace back and forth and not stop until they were together again. seperation anxiety, i guess. i started training lexi from the ground up with permission from her owner, and she's been doing really well. i was so happy for rainy that she finally found a 'soulmate' or something. but then i heard lexi is moving away on the first. what can i do for rainy, because i know shes going to be devestated.

Answers:

She's gotten buddy sour (when they attach themselves to another horse to the point where it causes a problem). It's a good thing the other horse is moving before Rainy's behavior escalates. She'll be a bit agitated for a while and she will call out, just make sure she can't hurt herself if she gets worked up. Don't feel bad for her, just give her extra grooming and handgrazing time.

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I like Starlights answer

This is difficult as I have seen it before. I like to keep my horses in pair when they bond but separating them is like weaning them from eachother, you will have to do it the same way, the horses will get over it and your mare will find another buddy.