Horses are herd animals, but sometimes, despite our best efforts, we have to keep a single horse alone. If you are housing a solo horse in your barn, you can do a variety of things to make his life alone more comfortable.

Get a Companion Animal

Just because you can’t house two horses doesn’t mean that your horse has to live entirely alone. Many horses forge great relationships with animals of other species. Goats, cats, and even pigs can make good companion animals. You might also consider housing a miniature horse, if a full-sized horse is out of the question.

Install a Mirror

Mirrors can help a horse to feel as if he isn’t alone. Some horse owners install mirrors in their trailers to help ease trailering anxiety by making the horse feel like he has a buddy. The same technique can work in your barn. Consider installing a large mirror so that it’s visible from your horse’s stall. Just make sure that the horse can’t actually reach or kick the mirror. Concealing the mirror behind the bars of the stall partition can be a good technique.

Provide Human Interaction

Good human interaction, while not a substitute for equine companionship, can help to combat boredom and keep your horse mentally stimulated. Riding and lunging your horse provide a break in routine, while even just doing groundwork and grooming your horse can give your him something new to focus on.

Use Toys to Alleviate Boredom

There are countless horse toys on the market that you can use to alleviate boredom for your horse. Some toys may be installed in your horse’s stall, while others are intended for pasture use. It may take a few tries to find the type of toy that your horse enjoys the most.

If your budget is tight, consider making your own toy out of an empty milk jug – cut some small holes in it and fill it with a few horse treats just small enough to be able to fit through the holes. Hang the milk jug in your horse’s stall and refill with treats every few days.

Maximize Turnout

Horses naturally become bored when they’re stalled, so provide your horse with as much turnout time as possible. If the barn layout allows for it, consider installing a back door in your horse’s stall so that the stall becomes a runout directly into his pasture.

Provide Forage

Horses can quickly get bored when they eat a few meals a day and have hours in between. Maximize the amount of time that your horse has forage in front of him by using a small hole hay net or other gradual feeder.

While housing a horse alone isn’t an ideal situation, you can make adjustments to make it work.

Original Source: http://blog.classic-equine.com/2015/08/tips-for-keeping-a-horse-alone/