buddy sour

Well my gelding has been out for the past 2 years not being handeled and let out with other horses. He is a bit buddy sour or herd sour. I just got him 3 weeks ago ago and I need to work with him. Will he get over his buddy sourness if I keep working with him?

I have had fair luck in the past dealing with my own buddy-sour horses, but that vice can be a tough nut to crack.

I ended up leaving one stalled and turning the other out, leaving the one in the barn alone in the dark to shriek his lungs out. Usually, after the "tantrum" stage was over, all would be quiet, and life would go on. The worse of the two required a little more of the "walk away from buddy, praise and rest away, work near buddy, walk away, praise and rest away..." formula. Now they're pretty good, more jealous if they're the one left in the barn! I can ride either one without a peep or a fuss, but while I'm out, the other gelding will still whinny periodically.

Another thing that helped us is not to put them out in the same paddocks. We're lucky enough to have the land and fences to accomodate that arrangement, and even in adjoining paddocks they are less herd-bound than when they shared a turnout.

It can be fixed, or improved, anyway, but, as I said, it can be tough, and depending on the horse, may require a little more know-how than the average amateur.

The barn he's at the mares call to him when I take him out. I'm hoping that the new place he wont get attatched because he'll have a stall where he can't see more then 1 horse. He'll have his own pasture so hopefully he'll get tierd of screaming his head off.

As long as the horse isn't totally insane buddy sour (aka, trying to jump/run through the fence to get to the other horses, etc.) It's best to just let them have it out, then praise them for being calm and quiet. Getting them thinking when they have a "buddy attack" can be helpful, too. Just doing simple groundwork, getting them thinking about you, not buddy.