With the UK being back into a national lockdown I’m sure we can all agree we are feeling a little socially deprived and some, at time very lonely, which leads me to discuss the importance of socialisation in horse.
Animal research suggests there are unique effects of social isolation and social deprivation on the brain and behaviour in adolescence; although the isolation in these studies is more extreme than the reduced social interaction associated with physical distancing, this suggests that adolescents might be particularly affected by deprivation of their social needs. With this in mind we should be actively encouraged to socialize our young horses with different surroundings and humans, unfortunately it is common for us to hear of owners ‘turning them away’. Without adequate socialisation the horse quickly learns to view man as a potential, persistent threat. Alongside all the thousands of other little things in the environment that the horse can find threatening. Is it any wonder many often feel frustrated with a spooky horse? Lack of socialisation in the horse leads to an impaired welfare and an under-socialised horse can never relax and with a life full of threating things this can progress to chronic stress making learning harder and day to day behaviour becoming more and more disorganised. Ultimately, then his health is compromised and he becomes more susceptible to infection and other immune-mediated problems.
A horse should not be kept on their own as this is likely to affect their emotional wellbeing, as a prey animal, a horse relies on the herd for shared vigilance and safety by ensuring they always have an equine companionship you are fulfilling one of their greatest needs in life. Horses are highly social animals and having access to others of either sex and varying ages allows them to become well rounded psychologically. Allowing your horse to be part of a regular herd gives him the best chance of finding a pair bond and fulfilling his most fundamental needs
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