I had a tb gelding that would befriend every horse he passed so he was not alone. I got him when he was 9 and for the 7yrs before I had him everywhere he went a pony went with him. Obviously people think its easier to just cart an extra horse everywhere rather than face the actual problem. He would buck, rear and throw damn good tantrums if I tried to take him out by himself. It annoyed the crap out of me I couldn't school him properly or just go for a ride without him carring on. I started by taking him out and showing him he still could see the other horse but slowly moving further away each time. Worked well until it came to the point that he couldn't see. Then everytime he wanted to go back and carried on he coped a slap on the shoulder with the reins and pushed forward. Once he was out and away he did settle a little but it took months of doing this every day to get him fully out of it. My mare I have now spent her first 4yrs running with a herd until the day I got her. She was in my back yard for 11mths by herself. She would call and carry on when other horses went past until she befriended my husky and just must have realised that she didn't need the other horses. She is now in a paddock beside another horse. She couldn't careless what the other horse does. The other horse came from a herd and spends all day watching her and calling to her. We loaded her in the float to bring her in for a clean up and he went beserk, she didn't care. I have found that geldings are more prone to being co-dependant whereas mares generally get over it quicker.
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