Did you know that stress can also affect animals? Many domestic horses experience stress as a result of their environment and the symptoms are not always as obvious as you might think. Here are some tips for spotting signs of equine stress and how to help your horse to live stress-free.

Why Stress Occurs and How to Manage Stress in Horses

Mammals are designed to react to threatening situations so that they can flee to safety. This “fight or flight” survival instinct was invaluable for staying alive but these days,it can be an unwelcome hindrance – not least because a lot of modern stress is emotional.

In some cases, stress in horses will be caused by travelling or competing in shows. In other cases, it can be predominantly caused by environmental factors. In the wild, horses would live in herds and this would provide companionship, safety and security, despite the threat of physical attack. Most domestic horses live in small areas with no close companions. While most owners will assume that this is a better environment with improved security but from a horse’s perspective, it can actually be a big a source of distress as it is so different to their typical habitat in the wild.

Environmental factors that can lead to equine stress include having stressful social interactions or no social bonds, a lack of perceived safety (that would usually come from the herd), changes in feeding routines or a lack of variety of foods (such as grasses, herbs and shrubs), a lack of natural stimuli, and lack of exercise.

Signs of Stress in Horses

The signs of equine stress can vary depending on the cause of stress, their environment and their personality. This can manifest itself in behavioural changes, tense and sore muscles (especially in the neck and shoulders), weight loss, excessive sweating, loss of appetite, copious defecation and urination, equine ulcers, excessive yawning, intestinal complaints such as colic and diarrhoea and tooth grinding. While these type of symptoms can indicate that your horse is stressed, it’s important to speak to a vet to make sure that there are no underlying health factors at fault instead.

Horses that are more inclined to release stress through their behaviour may toss their head and engage in kicking, running, bucking, weaving, cribbing and pawing as ways to try to let off steam. This can often be mis-labelled as behavioural problems when it is actually stress that is the culprit.

Managing and Preventing Equine Stress

You can minimise stress for your horse by making sure that their environment, has minimal possible stressful stimuli, throws up as little discomfort and distress as possible. This includes regular turnout, and plenty of access to quality and varied food, water and nurture. Minimising changes to your horse’s environment as far as possible will also help, and this includes changes to their routine.

[Photo Credit:  diana_robinson]