08/23/2026
Separation Anxiety in Horses
Separation anxiety (often referred to as “buddy sourness”) is extremely frustrating for horse owners. Often horses will panic to the point of displaying dangerous behaviors on the ground (such as bolting or rearing) to get back to their friends or “safety” and leave owners having to change plans at the last minute. But why do horses behave this way in the first place? Horses are herd animals and a prey species, meaning that they generally live (at a minimum) in pairs or small groups and base their survival of their species on fleeing predators and dangerous situations as a group while keeping vocalizations to a minimum. What is considered “dangerous” to a horse is measured in their minds, unfortunately, not ours, and can sometimes be hard to recognize for a human who (on the contrary) may not be scared of much and find those fears irrational or not worth getting upset. Horses base their feelings of safety on being in familiar environments, with predictable routines and known behavior patterns of their fellow pasture-mates and daily living.
Several factors can elevate separation anxiety. These can include:
• new herd mates
• pain or dermatology issues (discomfort can increase vigilance, hypersensitivity, and set the patient up to fail an already stressful situation)
• new turnout routines
• new training routines
• a handler that doesn’t seem confident or knowledgeable
• lack of basic manners or training
• environmental changes such as new neighbors, wildlife, increased noises, etc.
• other reasons
So, when separation anxiety happens, where do we start?
• Take the emotions out of the situation and look at the facts: the horse is feeling scared or frustrated being removed from a known environment or safety net. By turning our thoughts on the behavior from “buddy sourness (a negative context) to “separation anxiety” (a more relatable phrase and one many owners can empathize with), we place our own thoughts into a frame to problem solve for the horse and seek helpful resolutions to improve their emotional state vs. seeing it as “misbehaving” and seeking a way to correct the naughty behavior.
• If this is a sudden change, take an evaluation on what could be causing the behavior change and include your veterinarian in the discussion to ensure there isn’t an increased cause for feeling extra “vigilant” or sensitive to overall change. Arthritis, sensitivity to diet, foot soreness, neurological symptoms, allergies or increased social anxiety around pasture-mates can contribute to feeling “over threshold” and can increase stress for the horse, making learning desirable behaviors or feeling safe enough to leave friends increasingly difficult.
• Seek professional support. If your horse is demonstrating dangerous behaviors such as striking, bolting, bucking or kicking when walking away from pasture mates, find a reputable trainer to assist you.
• Avoid trigger stacking. A thunderstorm brewing isn’t the time to pull the horse away for a brief training session. Stacking one stressor on top of another not only makes learning difficult, but can reinforce the undesirable behavior more and end up escalating the situation. Learning to be calm in all situations is what every horse owner wants for their buddy-sour horse, but as with humans, it takes time and patience and strategy.
📚 Strategy Susan Friedman, Ph. D. discusses the hierarchy of behavioral change and breaks down the process into strategic steps with most training sessions occurring within the first three steps.https://www.ccpdt.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Hierarchy-of-Behavior-Change-Procedures.pdf
Step 1: Ensure no medical reason for the separation anxiety. Talk with your veterinarian about your questions or concerns. This is also the time to review nutrition and to set the learner (horse) up for success.
Step 2: Set the environment up to allow for safe and positive learning for the horse and the handler. Remove dangerous trip hazards and ensure areas are free from debris, broken equipment or fencing.
Step 3: Understand how positive reinforcement works and have a good starting point of basic ground manners. SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP if necessary! Reward quiet behavior and standing quietly. If the horse won’t do this around its friends, it probably won’t do it away from its friends. Start small, gradually increase the distance in small training sessions and reward quiet calm behavior while still maintaining safe boundaries. Increasing the distance between the horse and the group while rewarding calm, quiet behavior. (See our previous post on ground tie/standing quietly. Standing quietly is a foundational skill and often comes before teaching the horse to leave the group.)
Talk to your veterinarian about the use of medication if necessary.
