Judy. You are absolutely correct. We don't know Dagur, of course, but we have seen horses exhibit all sorts of reactions to a move. The worst I have ever seen was in a National Showhorse mare called Claudette. Her owner in Las Vegas was dying and the mare needed a new home. Her breeder thought she'd make a nice horse for our grandson Gabe. She had been a dessage horse and we were thinking he could combine the dressage and jumping he'd been doing with the endurance he wanted to try. I talked with the barn manager where she was stabled and got an excellent report and I paid $1000 to have her brought to Oregon.
She came off the truck wild-eyed and the driver was angry with her. She had chewed through her lead rope before they'd gone 10 miles. It's not that unusual for a horse to arrive pretty upset, but she seemed never to have been on pasture. She wouldn't nibble grass. She couldn't drink from a trough - and there are no automatic waterers at Creekside. It's a miracle she didn't get sick. We gave her a couple of weeks and then Gabe started riding her. Her arena work was pretty good and she was well-trained, but still very upset. I went out on trail with him and she was very nervous and reactive. Finally, they went out with his 4-H club and Claudette had an absolutely amazing reaction to a rock and a very dangerous wreck where she rolled head first into a ravine. Gabe thought she was dead. Eventually we passed her onto a girl who wanted a high school equestrian team horse. Lucky Claudette. She didn't have to move. There were a couple of other terrible wrecks, but after two years, the mare has gained weight and is doing very well in the showring. She does not ever go out on trail. I think losing a long-time owner really affected this ultra sensitive mare and then changing climates and barns and living styles (24/7 stabled to pasture) was just all to much for her. Nancy
