With the forecast of thunderstorms across the country over the coming weeks, we look at how to keep your horse calmer if they can get stressed and anxious during weather changes. Official advice from the British Horse Society is to keep horses stabled during thunderstorms. This also helps to reduce the risk of injury from horses being spooked and galloping around their fields.
When thunderstorms are predicted, plan ahead as bringing horses in before the weather turns are much safer for you and for them. If the storm has already started it may be safer to leave a horse out if it is not possible to get to them without risking injury to yourself or your horse.
Stimulation
Whilst your horse is stabled, there are things that you can do to keep them occupied and to reduce their stress levels:
Treatballs using a treatball can help to keep your horses mind working and focussed on a task. Often treatballs can keep a horse occupied for a few hours, especially if different sized treats are used as the smaller ones will fall out first encouraging your horse’s interaction with the toy and the bigger ones will take a while longer.
Forage providing more than one type of forage can keep your horse occupied for longer. Horses are browsing animals and in the wild would have eaten hundreds of different types of forage on a daily basis. Providing your horse with two or more types of forage will allow them to express their natural browsing instinct and elongate the time they spend eating forage. Providing different forage types is as simple as giving them things like hay, haylage, dried grass, forage blocks, grass nuts and even high fibre nuts. If you have a horse that is anxious in the stable, try hiding small handfuls of grass nuts or fibre nuts around the stable in piles for them to seek out.
Mirrors stable mirrors are great for horses that can be anxious when stabled or left alone. Stable mirrors help to replicate social interaction with other horses, and this has a calming effect. Stable mirrors work well for horses that cannot see their companions when they are stabled and helps to make them feel safer – they are herd animals after all.
Keeping calm and carrying on
It is not just thunderstorms that can cause our horses stress, horses can get stressed due to many factors. If you have a horse that gets stressed easier, here are our top tips for helping to keep them settled and calm:
- Exercise regularly
- Stick to a routine
- Allow regular turnout
- Allow regular social contact
- Keep their mind occupied
- Consider their temperament
The last point is very important, and no two horses are the same and what works for one won’t necessarily work for the other. Some horses get stressed being stabled, or stressed when away from their friends, whereas some horse set stressed being a in a group and prefer solitary time. Spend time observing your horse in different environments to see how they react as this will help you to learn cues about their behaviour and preferences.
If you need extra help...
Steady-Up® is our popular and effective calming supplement, ideal for horses of a nervous or excitable nature to aid concentration. Chamomile and Lemon balm are included for their calming and soothing effects on the nervous system, as well as Magnesium, an essential nutrient that helps with nervous tension. Steady-Up® is fortified with B vitamins to promote optimum nerve function and contains Yeast to help maintain a healthy hindgut, especially during times of stress.
Feedmark Calming Treats are ideal for horses and ponies that struggle to cope with stressful or excitable situations. They can be fed as and when required, either alone or alongside Steady-Up®, to provide additional calming support when needed. Calming Treats are very palatable, made from all natural ingredients and contain a blend of herbs which are known for their soothing effects.