How long did it take for your new horse to settle in?

Dawng

Dawng

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I bought a new horse just a week a half ago - he had been with the same family for 6 years and was very calm and handlable when I tried him out even though he hadn't been ridden all winter. Now I've got him he is not calm - seems scared of everything and when I tried to walk him down the road with friend leading me he reared up. I've tried some basic handling lessons in the paddock but is far from settled. I've started feeding him a calmer - what was your experiences?
 
Minimum of hmm 6 months i say to fully settle espcially if he has been in same home for 6 years ! remember it's a big change for him he doesn't understand why everything is different
 
It depends a lot on the individual horse. I've had two who settled instantly, rode them the following day they arrived and it felt like they'd been there years, and another that took a good 3 months to settle down.

Did you get the horse vetted?
 
I have one which came in on Sunday morning & is already feeling at home in yard & paddock :) However, she's 11 & tho has never really left home since birth, she has been widely competed so has camped away at times & is a pretty settled nature anyway (I think she thinks she has come to stud tho as is bang in season & flirting like mad with HF over the fences :D )

Had one 3 yrs ago who came with attachment issues (I knew about before she came, hence low price) took her almost a year to be a lovely horse to handle. Was fine from the 'off' to ride, tho a right old shovvy loon on the ground & could not be left on her own at all as got in a right old state. Was fine to take out hacking on her own tho & to leave others :)

Usually I say around a month & you will see their true selves start to appear & by 6 months you & horse should have gelled/ironed out issues arising from moving home.

Remember, some horses & ponies are like plants - they thrive when being moved, or they can stress. Give it a lot more time & unless horse is clearly dangerous, keep working to build up trust.
Good luck :)
 
Ok thanks - think I was expecting too much too soon - my other horses settled almost immediately.
 
Ive a boy on loan for a year with my wee herd just now, he settled in very quickly, having come from a large livery to a private home with only 3 horses, it was a very different set up for him.
He was ridden the day he arrived in the arena and then i hacked him out on his own the next day, a few days later i hacked out in company and just tried to keep a good routine for him that fitted in with me and mine, i was told he could become quite naughty if he wasnt ridden regularly so for me riding needed to be kept up initially, we're 8 weeks in and while he chanced his mitt a couple of weeks ago, he was firmly told his behaviour wasnt acceptable and ridden through, and has been fine since then, he seems to have fitted into the herd well. I must say his behaviour was more cheeky, a bit nappy and backward thinking in the school rather than dangerous, which is what your horse sounds tbh
 
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I usually expect about 6 months to fully settle in ie chilled, used to routine, things & places.

Our new one took about an hour ;) we've had her about 6 weeks now & I'm still waiting for her to misbehave. Even though she's so chilled, Im still expecting something to crop up pretty soon, its not normal!! xx
 
I would Lways give a horse 6 months to fully settle , horses are like children a change in routine and they are going to push the boundaries just be firm and consistent and he will come good !
 
tinap said:
I usually expect about 6 months to fully settle in ie chilled, used to routine, things & places.

Our new one took about an hour ;) we've had her about 6 weeks now & I'm still waiting for her to misbehave. Even though she's so chilled, Im still expecting something to crop up pretty soon, its not normal!! xx
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I've been waiting 7 months for my 'new' horse to start testing the boundaries, it's just never happened!

Either that or he is plotting something huge.... :p
 
my vanner cob took approximately 3 minutes to settle, never known anything like it, but then he had been through so much before me; bred by Irish Romany's and with them till he was 6 so moving all the time, then shipped from Ireland to UK and finally to me.

However, I think you've got to give your chap a good 3-6 months, possibly even 12 months if you want to take things calmly and quietly. He'll come good, give him time, his stress levels are probably through the roof!
 
We got sasha off lorry at a sat lunch... At 3 they were walking her up and down lane. Taking turns to ride her. I must have been lucky she settled right away, though I can tell she has not had much one to one having come from a polo yard, it's only this week, 6 weeks in that she has shown signs of recognising us and nickers when we turn up.
 
Definitely as others have said, it took about three months for my horse to stop being a complete fruitcake, and he is still improving every week that passes now. I will have had him 6 months on 17th
 
Dawng said:
I bought a new horse just a week a half ago - he had been with the same family for 6 years and was very calm and handlable when I tried him out even though he hadn't been ridden all winter. Now I've got him he is not calm - seems scared of everything and when I tried to walk him down the road with friend leading me he reared up. I've tried some basic handling lessons in the paddock but is far from settled. I've started feeding him a calmer - what was your experiences?
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About 8 months unfortunately. Complete change in personality and got very stressy, lost weight, pushy etc. However I started supplementing with magnesium oxide and that took the edge off within a week and that helped. He is still not as chilled out as he had originally been though
 
I usually buy babies but my older mare came to me at 10 years old...took her about a month to settle into routine and about a year to settle in properly, altho she did learn the rules very quickly and her manners were better as now shes comfortable she tests my boundaries on a weekly basis :)
 
6mths.
Went from me thinking I'd bitten off more than I could chew and that he must've been sedated when I tried him(!) to him then settling after 6mth(ish) and being a different horse.:D The right amount of discipline and work (to suit him) was key,too.
Good luck-am sure your new horse will come good:)
 
As with everything, it depends on horse.

Anywhere between a couple of weeks and 6 mnths with the ones we have had.
 
I've always thought about six months but each one is different. I've had a couple settle within a couple of hours but it takes most a few months to see the true personality coming out.
 
My first horse settled in right away, he came from a dealers and was not in the best of condition so I think he was happy to of left there!!

My second pony I have had a year now and it took around 9 months for her to settle in. If not longer!!!! She was in her last home for 8 years and she was the calmest pony there, good to handle and ride. Once she got to mine she was ok for the first week to be ridden but on the ground she was bargy, and I was black and blue from being barged up against walls etc!!!! The she got worse being ridden, so it was a real struggle. But now 1 year on I am glad I didn;t give up as I can and do ride her anywhere, on my own in a group it doesn't matter. It just took a long time for her to settle.

Now I have just got a shetland for my girls and she was fine pretty much straight away, and only now about 6 weeks on is trying to shwo her dominance with my girls. May be she is coming into season though. So I think it varies from horse to horse. Good luck.
 
I was always told a year, anything less is a bonus.

My mare was fab the first day, until she realised what had really happened then went loon for a good 6-8 weeks dragging my daughter into hedges, cantering sideways back to the field. Calling all over the place (mostly in my ear - by God she's loud). A total monster. Eventually she calmed down again, and on our recent yard move took around 3 days as we have two and her friend was with her - so she had her security blanket. It must be terrifying, horses bond and to loose all your friends and family in one go must be devastating for them initially.

Thats my take anyway, I could be anthropomorphising a bit much here but hey...
 
I was lucky with mine, she looked as if she had been living at the yard years as soon as she walked off the lorry.

Just dont be too hard on yourself and enjoy your time together doing small things such as grooming etc.
 
I've had my boy six months today and he had had two homes in the previous year. He's been at two yards with me in the six months. First was a kind friend who took him because yard near home was full. He took a couple of months to start to settle and then I moved the poor lad again. However, he recognised me as his 'constant' and has settled very well now, despite some fairly drastic changes in routine. Moving a lot previously has probably helped him deal with it but he has definitely become 'my' boy, understands the boundaries and has virtually stopped trying to bite me every time I handle him :)
 
I couldn't get on properly with one of mine for a whole year! After that we finally "clicked" and I would have said he was finally settled.
 
Dawng said:
Ok thanks - think I was expecting too much too soon - my other horses settled almost immediately.
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Dawng, I moved to my own new yard 2 years ago; my existing horses from my own old yard took months to settle. I acquired a new horse at the same time and he settled within weeks. One would have expected it to be the other way around!

It really does vary from horse to horse. The key is not to put pressure on yourself and go with the flow.... :)
 
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