There’s a wide range of boredom-busting toys for horses but if you’re on a budget then something as simple as hiding his food will help to keep his mind active.
If this is the case for your horse then you’ll need to make sure you keep him mentally stimulated. While you should turn your horse out every day sometimes this just isn’t the case, he may be on box rest or in quarantine or your veterinarian may advise that he should stay inside for a period of time. This will not only give him a chance to stretch his legs and graze but will also allow him to re-establish his place within the herd: something else that can help to reduce anxiety in horses. Turn your horse out regularlyīeing cooped up in a stable all day long can seriously affect your horse’s stress levels which is why you should turn your horse out every day. Once you know what’s causing your horse’s anxiety you can start to address the problem. Spooking/bolting How to reduce your horse’s stress.No two horses are the same and they’ll all display a different range of symptoms, that said though there are a few common signs that your horse may be suffering from anxiety. Horses want to please us (whether its because they know we keep them safe or because they’re happy if we are) but if they don’t understand what we’re asking them or if we’re giving them mixed messages then they’ll get confused and this is likely to lead to anxiety. While some change is unavoidable and to some extent, a good thing for horses (after all if you’re always riding your horse over the same trail or around a set jumping course he’ll get very bored) making any big, sudden changes to your horse’s feed or routine can have a very negative effect on his mental wellbeing. If you don’t stimulate your horse’s mind he’s more likely to get bored which will often lead to him being anxious and suffering from vices such as weaving or cribbing. Horses are highly intelligent animals that need to be stimulated and occupied.
This is often the result of a bad experience or improper training but with patience can easily be dealt with. Some horses are perfectly calm most of the time but get very anxious when they’re put in certain situations such as being in traffic, being loaded into a trailer, or the farrier turning up. Similar to a racehorse in the starting gates, they often associate the gates and the noise of the crowd with the tense energy before a race. There can be a number of different reasons for this, it could be that he’s feeding off of your nervousness so thinks that there’s something to be worried about or it could be that he’s learned to associate the sounds of an event with feeling anxious. Just like people, horses can get very anxious at events. In your horse’s mind, he feels as if he’s lost his friends and has also lost the protection that they offered. It’s more common when you move your horse to a new yard but can also happen when you’ve taken him away for a short while. This often happens when a horse is moved away from the rest of the herd. All horses are different and can have their own reasons for feeling anxious and stressed but the most common causes are: Separation If you know why your horse is feeling the way he is then you can start to tackle the problem and help him to become a happier and more relaxed horse and generally have a better quality of life.
Understanding what is causing your horse to feel anxious and stressed is crucial in helping them to overcome it. Some breeds, especially hotblooded ones such as the Thoroughbred, Arabian, and Akhal Teke, show stress much more than other breeds but that doesn’t mean to say other horses don’t, they just don’t outwardly show it as much. It can cause the horse to suffer from ulcers but it can also make them difficult to ride, especially if they’re prone to spooking from whatever’s making them anxious. The problem though is that in a domestic setting anxiety or stress can become a serious problem if not dealt with. Like most other animals that are predated, horses live in a constant state of anxiety that actually helps to keep them safe in the wild. The good news is that anxiety and stress are, on most occasions, very easy to treat and a few simple steps or changes to your daily routine can make a big difference, not only in reducing anxiety but also in preventing it. You might not realize it but how happy and relaxed your horse is is part of their health but it can be one of the hardest problems to treat, not because doing so is difficult but because we don’t always recognize the signs and often treat the symptoms rather than the cause.