Feeling Guilty

[cherylee]

I have recently brought a horse from my riding school and am lucky enough to keep him on livery there. He's used to living out and in a mixed herd of about 15 horses. They have huge amounts of fields to roam with plenty of quality grazing, however tonight when the other riding school horses were turned out I kept my horse in what we call the top fields with the other livery horses so I can ride early tomorrow morning.
So here's the feeling guilty part, he kept running down to the gate and calling for the other horses I felt really bad he's still got 5 other horses up with him but they are the livery horses which he's not so familiar with! Everyone has said he will get used to it but it dosnt stop me feeling guilty

 

[Shay]

Its not the best idea to switch grazing herds if you can avoid it - it increases the risk of field injury. It can be better to keep them in rather than turn out with a strange herd. But if you're going to switch to the livery herd anyway he will - as you say - get used to it. You might just have a few knocks and scrapes whilst they settle out who is boss and where he fits.

 

[eggs]

If you are going to keep him with the livery herd then you don't need to feel guilty although I personally don't like to just turn a horse out into a field of others horses without some acclimatisation first as there are likely to be some injuries. Eventually he will settle. If you are planning on keeping him with this old herd of riding school horses then I wouldn't have put him into a different field but would just get up earlier in the morning to catch in.