Rescue Horse Rehab

Do you have any advice on the emotional rehabilitation of horses coming to rescues from abusive situations?
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Q: I'm hoping for any information I can get about the emotional rehabilitation of horses coming to rescues from abusive situations. Our (rescue) horses are not ridden and are likely to be with us for life so there is no training agenda. Still, we have some behaviors that I wonder about.

Three of our horses exhibit extreme separation anxiety when apart from their pasturemates. This goes beyond the label "herd-bound." There is serious agitation including sweating. Two of them can somewhat manage grooming sessions on their own but are quite visibly stressed despite treat rewards and gentle handling. The third seems literally traumatized if friends are not brought in with her. With the only aim being their happiness and well-being, do we continue to accommodate or try to wean them off of this dependence? Is this extreme version of herd behavior a common result of abuse/neglect?

Also, ground manners are a problem. Only one of these horses can be cross-tied. The other two have to be groomed in their stalls. I tried to work on that problem a while ago, but by myself I can either acclimate them to the cross-ties or groom them, and there is never enough time for a session of both. I admit, too, that we still have problems with two of the horses standing for the farrier and the vet. One always requires an intramuscular injection of Ace (Acepromazine, a sedative) for the farrier to do his work and rears repeatedly during veterinary treatment.

I don't know whether, or how much, to push them beyond their comfort zone after all they have been through

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Written by:

Sue M. McDonnell, PhD, is a certified applied animal behaviorist and the founding head of the equine behavior program at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine. She is also the author of numerous books and articles about horse behavior and management.

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