At 22:23:49 on 09.09.11, NMH wrote:
I'd never go for this as a choice! but having so suddenly lost Cloudy, Sky is on her own. She's adapted remarkably: some may say it's partly because she saw the whole event with Cloudy & 'knows' he's gone. I could say more about that... but it's NOW I'm focussing on for her: I'm going to replace Cloudy, but haven't wanted to rush in with a replacement & all that entails, if she seemed ok, & she does. I'm spending extra time with her, just loafing in the field with her! & bringing her in weekends, when I can (she seems fine either way, but is used to being out 24/7). Any experiences of other people, with horses suddenly alone, I'd be interested in. She's only 5 & I don't want this to deprive her socially! going to see a possible new one next weekend. Thanks

At 00:33:53 on 10.09.11, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
I am sorry to hear about cloudy :( and i think horses can cope well alone but it isn't right to me anyway but as long as its not permanent it should be ok for some time, if it will be a while, which it could be after losing cloudy get a goat or something :) i have always wanted a goat or sheep and it would be the perfect excuse hehe yeah im going to shush about the goats now but seriously if she doesn't seem down (or is as good as she can be after losing her friend) then i wouldn't worry too much as long as it doesn't become permanent or they can become really hard to reintergrate (sp?) with other horses

At 10:58:10 on 10.09.11, Loes and co wrote:
My friend has a horse who has lived on his own for many years , in saying that he doesn't have an equine companion but shares his field with sheep. She didn't choose this option but it was an established situation when she was offered him. Now she prefers it as she is convinced she is closer to him that way and he seems to be fine with this set up. Personally I am already worried about finding my Chazbo the right companion when we move to a house with land so I can keep him at home. Good luck with Sky and finding a new horse and sorry about cloudy xxx

At 16:32:16 on 10.09.11, NMH wrote:
Thanks folks, hadn't thought about Jess's comment that re-integration could be a problem. Another worry is, will she get all the more excited, in the short term, at events? Will try & ride out with someone else in the meantime, but Loes is right, it's more complex with your own land to keep them socialised

At 21:41:08 on 10.09.11, Rahara wrote:
We have about 15 between mares, foals and youngsters, they do enjoy each others company, BUT the gelding Blake my old boy is in field on his own now because he bite's the others and I mean big chunks, as result of being on his own he now won't even tolerate any horse passing through his field, a few weeks ago we had to bring 2 youngsters through his field and he went in for the attack, there again he's a gelding, my mare Diamond goes into a depression if she's on her own, but one of the other mare's Callie wouldn't blink an eyelid if she never saw another horse once she's got food she won't even share with her foal,as Jess said you could have problems later. I'm trying to hack out without company, I normally take the dogs but it got so she wouldn't go ahead if the dogs were behind she's so clingy, it's so funny how differant they all are like ourselves. Once again sorry for your loss...

At 12:15:59 on 11.09.11, JaymeeLS wrote:
Saffie's on her own at the moment. There are neighbouring horses in adjacent paddocks though, she just doesn't have a paddock buddy. Funnily enough, she was bought as a companion and then the horse who she was bought for got sold, and next month she'll be having two 6 month old foals to run rings around her. Uh-oh!

At 16:46:57 on 11.09.11, FarmGirl1 wrote:
Hey, a couple of years ago i kept my horse in a field full of cattle and he loved it! but as soon as the cattle had to come inside he changed completly. He would just stand by the gate all day, it is very easy to see if they are really struggling with the lack of a companion. However my new horse is on his own at the moment (it wont be for too long though) and he is fine. it just depends on the horse and he should be fine as long as you give him lots of extra attention. also, they tend to get very over excited if they see a horse on a hack or at events if they dont spend much time with a companion.

At 19:09:31 on 12.09.11, Flicka wrote:
Sorry to hear about Cloudy-how is Sky coping on her own? I know horses can grieve when they lose a companion. She may not want a replacement straight away. But you know her really well, and can read how she's feeling I'm sure. I don't think in an ideal world horses should be kept on their own but I wouldn't worry too much in the short term and I agree with FarmGirl1-different horses will react differently. I do know a guy who kept his horse on it's own, it was an ex-racehorse and he never seemed to have any problems when he brought it out hunting. Anyway I wouldn't recommend rushing into buying another horse, I made that mistake when I lost one of my mares and didn't make a very good choice.

At 21:29:38 on 13.09.11, cyberannie wrote:
So sorry about Cloudy. Sky may be a little bewildered for a short while and may even be a bit clingy. My Ben was when his mum was put to sleep - followed me everywhere! But they do cope extremely well and as you are looking for another already, I am sure Sky will not be lonely for long. Some European countries (Germany being one), have made it illegal to keep herd animals singly - you have only two weeks before you must provide another equine companion. The UK is not so strict, and as you can read in some of the previous comments, many horses even prefer being alone. Ben doesn't care either way now. He either has a playmate or more grass all to himself - its a win win situation!!! The best of luck finding another friend xx

At 10:54:10 on 16.09.11, Part Arab wrote:
I know how you feel NMH. Once again let me say that I'm so sorry about Cloudy and as you know I feel your pain having recently lost my young mare to what the vet described as a freak accident. Sienna definately perked up her aged self while Piper was here over the winter! Now she is the only horse again she seems to be coping well. She has ganged up with the goat and they seem happy together. Similarly to Sky with Cloudy, Sienna "knew" what went down with Piper and where... it seems to me that she just accepted it and got on with her life as it is now. I wish I could do the same. I'm still crying every day and wondering what I could have done differently with Piper to keep her safe :(