Horse biting yearling

dressagelove

dressagelove

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So our lovely new yearling arrived today, so far I am so pleased with him, he is a complete sweetheart, he travelled very quietly and then seemed to get on well with the others.

However, my other dressage horse was biting the baby everywhere and really quite nasty. I imagine it is because he is the lead horse and he is asserting his dominance over the baby (who was obviously not putting up for boss and was very meek in return) but how long would this behaviour likely to last for, until the older horse is satisfied that the baby is in fact below him in the pecking order?

They seemed quite hard bite, bordering on full on chewing on his neck and mane, and nipping skin. I don't want him hurting him! They are not out together tonight, until baby has settled in, he is out with an old gelding.
 
Sorry to everyone who's seen these photos before.

My grey was awful to the gelding to begin with. I had put the gelding out with my old, gentle mare to begin with and the other two horses were in the paddock next to them. The grey would lunge at the fence, making faces at him.

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She did stop this after a couple of days, but I left it approx two weeks before I put all four horses in the same paddock with an electric fence between the two pairs.

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After a couple of weeks like that, I took the electric fence away.

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The grey would still be grumpy and did bite and pull faces, but she never kicked, so I left them to it (kept a close eye on them to start with though).

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After a while (a couple of months maybe) the gelding and the grey had become best mates.

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They are nearly always together now and play happily. The grey is the boss of the two, but she's much more gentle and forgiving now. Interestingly, the top horse (chestnut mare) has always been very soft on the gelding, before he came, the grey was bottom of the herd.
 
It's just time. Usually over a few days the submissive one will be allowed closer & closer without being sent away, usually fine in a few weeks. Mines a lead mare who has spent years with youngsters, or in herds in general. And while she has never done anything approaching worrying, her response to different horses is fascinating. One young colt who appeared very submissive it took about a month to let him be within 10'. As a mature gelding, he's very much an alpha male. Always thought she could perhaps sense that early on, even though he appeared submissive. Others its been a week or so. And when I got daughters, she was a yearling with lots of issues, having been weaned at 3mnths then kept alone. Then I got her & she spent nearly a week in having lice, worms, wounds treated, having never been handled. Mine spent 10mins chasing her away, then ignored her. Within 12hrs they were like mare & foal in every way. Again, as though she knew this pony could be allowed in almost straight off.
 
My mare does this to our yearling but only when she is jealously guarding me from being friends with the yearling. I have started to tell the mare off and blocking her with my body to protect the yearling. But these are welsh ponies and my mare is all talk and no action. They are best of friends when I am not in the field :rolleyes:
 
I agree wth Faracat. If you can seperate for a bit, and put with an older horse until the baby settles in, that would be great. If not, then just make sure the field is a decent size so baby can get away if he needs too

When we bought a yearling, i tried to do this, but the yearling had other ideas. For some reason, she preferred the company of the dominant mare, and would jump over the fencng to get in wth her. she was bitten and kicked for a few days, and then all settled well.

I did keep trying to put her back wth the older one, but she wouldnt stay put!

They are now best friends.
 
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