Loneliness

Separation Anxiety in Humans and Horses

Horses, like humans, are very social animals. Helen Keller said, “Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light. ”Once a week, my son Joseph rides the mustang he recently broke, Genghis Khan, around our property to maintain his training progress. Early on, he tried to ride him alone. Let’s just say it didn’t go well. As soon as the horse got separated from the herd, he went crazy, took off galloping, and tried to throw him. Since then, Joseph always has one of his siblings ride along with him on another horse and Genghis behaves perfectly. Here he is on yesterday’s ride with his little brother.

What made the horse panic? Separation and loneliness. Sound familiar for 2020? A survey conducted this year asked, “What is your biggest struggle working remotely? ”Loneliness was at the top of the list. We are going a little crazy. Just like you can feel alone in a crowded room, you can feel very alone on a Zoom call full of people. Pick up the phone and make a personal connection. You might just save someone from going wild and galloping down the street.