Horses are social animals and prefer to live in a herd. Being prey animals, living in a herd keeps them safe from predators and allows them to display their natural behaviours. It isn’t ideal to keep a horse on their own but sometimes the decision may have to be made due to restrictions on time, space or money.

Table of contents

How can you tell if a horse is lonely?

When a horse feels lonely or misses having other horses around, they may try whinnying for other horses, pace along the edge of a field or constantly look for other horses. Sometimes horses can develop unwanted behaviours such as wind-sucking or crib-biting if they feel lonely or stressed. And some can even seem withdrawn, lose their appetite or look stressed or agitated.

What can I do to help my horse?

1) Trying to find a companion for your horse is the best thing that you can do

Try to find an older, retired horse or pony first of all. If this isn’t possible, you could consider a farm animal such as a sheep or a goat. However, farm animals can have different feed and management requirements to horses; so make sure you research carefully before getting one. A donkey is another alternative as they are similar to horses. And therefore can mimic the relationship that a horse may have with another horse. 

2) Try to keep your horse busy by giving them things to do

Horses are curious animals so will explore and play if given the chance. You can therefore use puzzle feeders or treat balls to keep them entertained.

3) Horses are grazers and need to have access to food for the majority of the day

This keeps their digestive system working effectively, ensuring that there is enough grass for them to eat is very important. If there isn’t enough grass in the horse’s field then make sure you have provided enough hay for them, either by placing piles of hay around the field or by using small holed haynets or slow feeder haynets. This will help to prevent them from eating all of the hay at once.

4) One of the activities that horses do with each other is grooming

Not only is this good for removing dirt or parasites but they seem to create a bond with other horses when they are grooming each other. If your horse lives alone, make sure you groom them regularly, not only to clean them but also to mimic the behaviours of other horses. You may find that your horse starts to nibble your clothes at the same time!

5) If your horse lives on their own, it is likely that they will build a stronger connection with you than they might otherwise have done

Therefore, it is important that you spend time with them. One of the things that you could do is to train them to do different activities – clicker training can be very valuable and is a great way to teach your horse new skills and keep them interested.

6) Arrange to go for rides with other people

This enables your horse to socialise with other horses. It also gives you and your horse a change of scene from the usual rides.

7) If your horse is alone in the stable during the day, it may be helpful to leave the radio on

The noise may make the horse feel less alone and isolated; and they may find the music soothing.

8) Put a mirror up in your stable

When the horse looks in the mirror, they may think that they are sharing the stable with another horse and therefore feel less lonely.

Which horses are best suited to living alone?

Some horses will be better at being alone than others. Behaviours that indicate that your horse might be well suited to living alone include horses that:

  • Are happy to go for a hack on their own, leave the yard without shouting and looking for others, and don’t mind when their friends are taken from the paddock.
  • Usually higher up in the pecking order, these horses may be more confident and less bothered about herd mates leaving them.
  • Haven’t developed a strong bond with another horse in their field.
  • Have had to endure a period of box rest, they have become used to being away from other horses for periods of time and if they managed that without too much stress it should be an indicator of how they will cope with living on their own.

Although horses usually prefer to live in a group, some horses can be fine living on their own; you just need to make sure you do everything that you can to ensure that all of their needs are met.

Remember, though, if your horse is struggling, make sure you discuss it with your vet, and consider a consultation with a qualified Clinical Animal Behaviourist.

Further Reading: