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Discussion on Introducing new horse into herd
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Member:
carylann
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Posted on Monday, Oct 3, 2011 - 6:35 am:
I will be bringing home a gelding in a few weeks. Im concerned about the attempt of putting him into my herd. I will let him in adjacent pasture for couple weeks. I thought about buddying him up with another gelding after that as Ive done with mares. Any other advice. I have one gelding that is usually always aggressive to new additions and keeps the new horse away from the herd.
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Member:
vickiann
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Posted on Monday, Oct 3, 2011 - 12:27 pm:
I've got one gelding who has been really brutal to some of the other geldings that I've brought to my farm, though with some others he has been just fine after a get-acquainted period over the fence.
It seems that he will accept those that have more dominant behavior but those ordinarily lower on the pecking order he will continue to bite and run them off from his other established gelding "friends."
When there has been one who he would not accept, I've divided things up and left him with one gelding who he knows and placed the newcomer with my gentle gelding who gets along with everyone and avoids conflict.
How well a group gets along certainly seems to do with their personalities and the pecking order of things!
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Member:
lsweeney
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Posted on Monday, Oct 3, 2011 - 11:56 pm:
I introduced a yearling to my two mares by sticking her in a pen in the middle of the pasture. They were awful. They charged the fence, bared their teeth, etc. over the fence. The filly had enough room to just sit in the middle of the pen and stare at them. Eventually I let her out with them. It completely changed the dynamics of my existing two horses. I now had a herd, a leader, etc. I couldn't believe it. I could no longer go camping with the original two mares in the same pen. The dominant mare was just brutal. She wouldn't eat or drink because she had to watch for predators while her "herd" ate/drank. It was ridiculous. Two's company, three's a herd.
They have it all worked now, but it was amazingly dramatic.
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Member:
carylann
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Posted on Tuesday, Oct 4, 2011 - 7:26 am:
Thanks, for the input. Ive got 4 geldings in one paddock and one mare in another. Never could blend her with the geldings, too much chasing and stallion behavior. Im running out of paddocks!!!
Im hoping this new gelding can buddy up. I had this gelding with my mare before he went to the trainer for 2 weeks until he kicked her for no obvious reason and scared me. She was sore for couple days and decided I didnt want to risk it. So, hopefully things will work out somehow.
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