Separation Anxiety, also known as Buddy Sour, Barn Sour, Herd Bound, is not a vice. It’s not something to punish or ignore, or worse, keep them alone to prevent the unwanted behaviour. Doing that makes their worse nightmare become a reality and then they live it day in, day out, in lonely misery.
I had a gorgeous little pony called Grace once upon a time. She used to live at a riding school, but could only be ridden by one person and just barely. She was a traumatised and deeply troubled pony with endless hoof problems and abscessing from previous laminitis and she also had severe Separation Anxiety. They would lock her in a stable when she “carried on” when her friends were taken away to be ridden.
I asked if she could come and stay with me to keep my new horse company and they let me take her. She was such a gift and I miss her a lot, especially as she was a little clicker training star.
I spent a lot of time, effort and love on helping her overcome her Separation Anxiety. It took the time it took to overcome the trauma of her being locked up away from her friends.
All I can say, absolutely ignore advice that seems to work against the horse or tries to change the horse’s feeling of wanting to be with other horses. Or worse yet, advice that tells you to lock them up and let them freak out, struggle, fight and paw a hole in the ground until they give up in sadness and resignation.
There is an answer, a training solution, but it doesn’t involve the horse continually re-experiencing that dreadful fear and panic. It’s done in a humane way and in a way the horse can actually enjoy the process!
Be brave, smile and walk away from any advice that involves “work” or isolation. Think about how your horse would feel, how traumatising, for being locked up and punished for being a herd animal, a horse.