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  Discussion on Introducing a new horse to herd
Author Message
Member:
Cowgrl

Posted on Tuesday, May 4, 2004 - 1:16 pm:

Hi,
I don't know if this is addressed somewhere else but here goes. I just bought a new horse for a friend of mine at a sale. Friend already has two horses that have been together for years. We delivered her new horse and turned him out alone but next to the paddock with her other two. One of these two horses is extremely aggressive with other horses and doesn't hesitate to show it. She tried last night putting them out together to establish pecking order but the new horse got a cut leg and a couple of bites on his rear so she separated them again.

What is the best way to socialize these three with the least amount of fighting and possible injuries? I usually turn them all out together because of space restrictions and let them slug it out. The last time we introduced a new horse it was very anti-climatic and everyone now knows their place.

The problem here is this horse is more aggressive than others I have dealt with - even my mustang is more docile (although we did have one horse he just hated). Should she turn them out for short periods together and see if they get their differences ironed out? What has worked for you? She's really worried about the new boy getting hurt.

Thanks for any suggestions I can pass on to her.

Holly
Member:
Dres

Posted on Tuesday, May 4, 2004 - 2:30 pm:

Holly what has worked for me, is that i put the new horse on the other side of the fence for a week or more... i feed both sides of the fence close to it , so that they get used to standing somewhat close together at feeding time...

then i will turn them out after they seem friendly across the fence.. if there is a fuss when turned out .. i won't feed together for a while.. its a lot of work on my part, but i have had good luck with this method..

have fun..

Ann
Member:
Cowgrl

Posted on Tuesday, May 4, 2004 - 2:36 pm:

Thanks Ann, I'll mention this to her.

Holly
Member:
Liliana

Posted on Tuesday, May 4, 2004 - 5:20 pm:

One way that really works is to dress the new horse with a rug that belongs to one of the resident horses!. To start off the top horse owner of the field - sort of speak - will come and investigate the new arrival and when he recognises the smell then he will setle after a while.

Of course if they both are dominant then it will take a little longer.

We had a triangle once, a new arab x had a thing for top mare! and top horse did not like it one bit. Best thing really is to let them sort themselves out, the smaller the herd the more agresive horses tend to be.

It is my humble advice to put them together and watch how they get on without interfiering. remeber we transmit our emotions to them.

Love your horses
Liliana
Member:
Mftgirl

Posted on Saturday, May 8, 2004 - 2:13 pm:

We usually keep new horses in our barn for a week or son, until we determine that they are not carrying any illness. We then make sure that we turnout in the daytime, early in the day, that way we can monitor the "discussion" and step in if necessary (if the horse gets pinned in the corner, we've had them jump the fence to get away). It also seems to work better to do this well before feeding time, as that is when ours will show their opinions the strongest. If they've already worked things out, feeding goes smoother. I've noticed too that when we have transferred horses from one pasture to another, it takes minimal "discussion" to work out the pecking order. Good luck.
Member:
Dallas

Posted on Saturday, Jul 17, 2004 - 4:58 pm:

I just put my 16 month old filly in the pasture with her adult friends. she lives in the barn with all of these horses, including her mother. she has been in a seperate pasture, where these horses cannot see her with the other foal/yearlings since weaning.

the only horse that showed aggression towards her was her own sweet mother! i was shocked. Her mother has bonded with a 2 year old recently and is very protective of her. When 'bugs' came into the pasture, she immediately came over, 'talked' to her and then reared up slightly. about an hour later, she ran over to her and tried to bite/nip at her neck. my gelding chased her away.
has anyone else experienced this? why would she be this way with her own offspring?

thanks much for the help

peggy
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Jul 18, 2004 - 8:26 am:

Peggy she is simply acting like a horse and attempting to maintain position in the herd, it does not matter that the horse is her offspring.
DrO
Member:
Dallas

Posted on Sunday, Jul 18, 2004 - 9:58 pm:

thanks dr o for the info. She must be a threat to her because we've introduced many mares over the past 6 months and she did not react this way towards any of them.
Member:
carylann

Posted on Sunday, Sep 11, 2011 - 9:07 am:

I have introduced a mare into my herd of 4 geldings. I have kept her separate and allowed them to socialize through the fence for 2-3 weeks. I put them together yesterday and all was well. The oldest gelding has become her protector and keeps the other geldings from hurting her and getting close. Last night though the gelding started chasing her. This went on for an hour, and I finally separated them. Any advice?? This mare has been pastured with geldings before. Put them all back together this am and so far all is well.
Thanks for any advice.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Sep 17, 2011 - 10:49 am:

Hello caryl,
I believe we can help you with your question but let me get you started off right so you can get the best answer as quick as possible.

You will get more responses if you start your own discussion rather than post at the bottom on another member's discussion. Each discussion is "owned" by the original poster and all replies in that discussion should either directly or indirectly address the concerns of the original poster.

To start your own discussion back up one page using the navigation bar at the top of this page. This will be a Article Page on this topic. Below the article you will find a list of already existing discussions on this topic. Under this list you will find the "Start New Discussion" button. This is a good topic on your subject so you should first review the article as it will have important information on your subject. Next check the titles of the already existing discussions to see if your question has already been answered.

If your question remains unanswered, now is the time to Start a New Discussion. Select a short title that describes your specific concern. A title like "Help!!!" does not help others find your specific topic. Instead something like "Ace for Colic?" allows others to rapidly find and understand what your topic is about just by viewing the title. This is likely to bring more responses from those with some experience with your topic and allows members to find answers to their questions quicker.
DrO
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