Moving Homes – New Horse Behaviour

Horses are creatures of habit and change generally creates anxiety and stress…

The amount of stress generally depends on the amount of change that takes place.

Horses find security in a familiar environment, being kept with the same herd of horses and their daily routine remining the same. Even travelling your horses to a show or to stay over at a competition or a training camp can mean your horse needs time to relax in his/her new surroundings. Moving yard can be particularly stressful for horses as they are leaving behind other horses that they know well, surroundings that they are used to as well as the people they know.  The latter is particularly impactful when a horse is sold.

Stress, how to recognise it.

Stress in horses can be especially useful in horses in terms of their survival in the wild, it helps protect them from potential danger and helps them learn and adapt to a new environment. However, when stress levels are high and prolonged then this can have a negative impact on a horse’s health and wellbeing. 

Your horse’s behaviour will likely change when they are stressed, they can become more difficult to handle, appear very agitated and unsettled.

You will know your own horse and therefore any changes to their behaviour can indicate that they are stressed.  Signs of stress can include; flared nostrils, widened eyes, high head carriage, loose stools, tense muscles.

Studies have shown that when horses are acutely stressed, passing frequent and loose droppings alongside not eating and drinking normally can cause more lasting problems.

Heart rate is raised when stress occur as well as an increased rate of breathing. Other signs are jumpiness, bolting and freezing and that can put you, and others, at risk when handling your horse.  Some of these behaviours can be mistaken as the horse being “naughty” however, they are actually markers of a horse that is stressed. 

It is also important to note that some horses may appear more withdrawn as a result of feeling stressed; just like people, not all horses react in the same way to change.

How to help with settling in

Planning ahead can make a huge difference to managing your horse’s stress when moving.  For example, if possible, make sure all farrier and vet visits etc are done at the previous yard before moving so that they have time to settle into their new yard before these visits are needed again. 

Try to be understanding and give your horse time to settle by removing any additional pressure in the first few days/weeks until your horse becomes more relaxed. 

You may need to step back a little on your horse’s training at the new yard initially as they may find it more difficult to concentrate in the new setting. Stick to simple exercises that your horse knows well and that you can easily offer praise for getting right. 

Making Friends

Introducing your horse to new field companions can be also a worrying time in terms of the increased risk of injury that can be associated with horses meeting each other for the first time and establishing the new pecking order. 

If possible, put your horses in a paddock on their own next to the one with the new horses so that they can get acquainted gradually. Then, once they have all settled a bit add one new horse at a time to your horse.  This is not always practically possible and if not then just monitor the horses during the introduction and make sure they have enough space so that none of them can be trapped in a corner etc.

Look after their gut

Try to avoid changing your horse’s feed at the new yard, where possible. Ideally, feed the same type of forage and bucket feed. As I have discussed in any articles previously, changing your horse’s diet needs to be done gradually to avoid any upset to their gut.  The stress of moving and travelling in itself can impact your horse’s gut.  If you do need to change forage source, where possible, take some of the forage from your previous yard and mix it with the new forage to make the change more gradually.  For example, if changing from hay to haylage mix hay with haylage for the first 2-3 weeks, starting with three quarters hay and one quarter haylage and building up to haylage only.  Studies have shown that abruptly changing your horses forage can have a significant impact on gut microbes, which in turn can impact gut health and your horse’s overall health.

Yeast has been shown to help maintain the microbes in the gut during time of change and therefore feeding a gut supplement that contains yeast is recommended.    Studies have shown yeast to reduce the impact of change on your horse’s gut, which in turn helps maintain gut health and can reduce the risk of gastrointestinal issues occurring, such as colic.  Changes is also known to impact your horse’s behaviour.   There are numerous studies in a number of different species that shown a strong link between the gut microbes and the animals’ health, well-being and behaviour.  Therefore, maintain gut microbes is also very important in terms of your horse’s behaviour.

Stress can also impact directly on behaviour, when a horse encounters a stressful situation, the body reacts by releasing cortisol and adrenaline. This increases heart rate, sharpens the senses and prepares the body for immediate action – this helps horses to respond to danger.  In addition to managing the change as best a possible to reduce the stress, it can be beneficial to feed a calming supplement.  Studies have shown that feeding a calming supplement containing tyrosine can help alleviate the behaviour consequences of stress. 

A combination of feeding a yeast to support your horse’s gut alongside a calmer can be a good approach to helping your horses during the period of moving yards alongside managing the change as gradual as possible and making the change as easy as it can be. 

Article written for Premier Performance by Professor Jo-Anne Murray.