My horse has no socialization skills

by Jacky Kennedy
(Canary Islands)

I live on the Island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. I bought a horse 15 months ago from a horse dealer, the horse was extremely thin and in very poor condition. But somehow he touched my heart and I could not leave him there. I bought him and moved him to a livery yard where several of my friends have horses. I began to do Parelli natural horsemanship with him but I very soon realised that this horse had some major socialization issues. The stables at the yard have an indoor and an outdoor area and he ran up and down non stop day and night for weeks, nothing could console him. He panicked when his neighbour walked into his stable and my horse could no longer see him. He bonded with the two mares opposite him to such an extent that when their owner came to take them out he would again run up and down crashing into the walls and screaming until they returned. Everyone said that it would get better with time, I kept him there for 13 months and it never got better. I would try to make sure that I was with him when the horses left or that he was not in his box but I wouldn't always know when the lady would come to ride her horses.

Together with a few friends we built a paddock area for the horses to go outside thinking that being part of a herd would help him. But it was not possible for him to go out as he was constantly mounting the two mares (20 times a day or more). He shows a lot of stallion type behaviours, noises and drops whenever he is close to a mare. I found out that he was not castrated until he was 11yrs old (he is now 13)I don't know if he was ever used as a stallion or not. I have also recently found out that he was taken from his mother and then put into a small stable and there he lived with no contact from other horses or animals and he was never taken out of the box for 10 years.

I have now moved him to a small ranch with only one other horse which is a male. I thought that this would be perfect for him. But when we put the two of them together my horse would drive the other around and around never letting him stop then eventually he would get him into a corner and try to mount him inflicting some pretty bad bites (deep flesh wounds). The lady who has the other horse now will not let them be together for fear that my horse will hurt hers. At the weekend another gelding moved in and all hell broke loose. My horse was running at rock walls and trying to get over them, he ran up and down all night and in the morning he was shaking with cold from sweating. He is now extremely aggressive towards the first horse he was with and seems as though he would kill the second gelding if he could get to him. He is now separated by a double fence line and he just constantly paces up and down and goes crazy when the horses move out of his sight and when they come back he makes stallion noises (hard to spell it but I think you will know what I mean.)

He has done well in natural horsemanship and we can do some pretty nice things together on the groundwork but he cannot concentrate on anything but the other horses.

I am now desperate and must find somewhere else to put him, I am now considering that maybe the best thing is for me to have him put to sleep as I am afraid that he is going to really hurt himself. Also I feel selfish when I say this but I want a stable, safe and reliable horse to enjoy my horsemanship journey with.


Do you think that there is a chance of this horse ever being happy or could there have been so much damage done by 10 years in solitary confinement. Unfortunately I don't have the luxury of a paddock with several horses of my own to put him with or to make a safe pen in the middle of the paddock so that he can be surrounded by a herd without being part of it.

When I bought him he didn't even have a name so I called him 'Miamigo' which in Spanish means My Friend.


Sorry this message is so long.


Best wishes Jacky Kennedy


Hi Jacky,

This is unfortunately a common condition with many horses subjected to a domesticated/unnatural upbringing. Once a horse has experienced trauma of this kind it can be very difficult to reverse. But only time can (and lots of it!) possibly help. Just like a human who has undergone some form of trauma say a victim of violence, they don't ever forget it and certain events can trigger the same emotional response as the original experience. In Miamigo’s case it's the isolation and the feeling of being unsafe when not with other horses.

Your horse is similar to our horse Atlas who was also gelded much later at 7yrs and thus was isolated as a stallion during that time. So when he came here (at 9yrs old), he was over aggressive and trying to mount the mares. I nearly had to say to the owner he can't stay after he took a huge junk out of the lowest herd members butt. Yet I persevered and he slowly changed. It took him a year before he learned that the aggression was not needed and his stallion behaviors stopped.

Unfortunately you don't have your own place to deal with this so I will do my best to suggest how we can help Miamigo. It would be nice to know what breed he is too.

First thing I would do is have a vet check him and explain his behaviors to be sure he is gelded correctly and in good health. Next have him live in a pen next to a horse (at this point it seems he will bond better with a mare than a gelding) that will not be taken away. And if the other horse was removed, Miamigo must go too. Your quote: "make a safe pen in the middle of the paddock so that he can be surrounded by a herd without being part of it", that would also be a great solution!

I wouldn't be putting him in any stall situation instead he should live outside 24/7 if possible. He needs to just be a horse again with a consistent companion and a consistent lifestyle. He should have access to hay 24/7, a high fiber low sugar diet. No sweet feeds. Talk to the vet about his diet. This will probably take 6 months (or more) of consistency for him to relax and change. Changing things like living and mates it very detrimental to his emotional well being. Play with him in this paddock where he can always see his mate and set up your sessions with routine be very predictable for him if you can. He needs to know what going to happen before it even happens! Only consistency/routines can supply this.

If this is going to be too difficult for you to find a place that understands his needs (which is understandable when you are at the mercy of others facilities) then possibly you can give him to someone who is has the means and time he will require.

You have witnessed firsthand what an unnatural lifestyle can do to a horse. Learn from it, tell everyone and you can be a voice for change.

Wishing you and Miamigo all the best,

Elaine Polny