Introducing a new companion

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zeuscleoharmony

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Fingers crossed, shall be picking up Archie's new field companion tomorrow, first thing. She is a sweet 11.2hh Welsh Section A, very submissive and quiet. He is a 16.2 hh ID x Cob who is very sweet and not at all domineering.

How would you do it? The paddock is about an acre, on a hill. Am inclined to let her in there and let them get on with it but not sure this is the right way to go about it.

Advice, please.

I do already have a piece fenced off to stop my gate poaching, which is about 20m x 20. Shall I put pony in here or do you think needs to be larger?
 
i let my (submissive) shetland out with my (very submissive) horse straight away (but, both were unshod).
they got on very well, had a sniff, then grazed at opposite ends of the field.

horse is now a bossy boots...
grin.gif
 
If he's not a dominant horse and is on his own at the moment then you may be able to put them in together without too much issue. Has he been in the paddock for long? Does he see it as his territory?

Some horses mix very easily and if they're both on new ground it's easier as they are not as territorial. We take weeks to introduce ours as we have an established herd (of about 14 years) of 4 and one particularly dominant pony (and his sidekick). We can't just put a new horse in as it'd probably get killed!

I would introduce them over the fence or fence off a part of the field first to be safe and gage their reactions. You know your horse after all but, if in doubt give them a couple of days to get used to each other safely before letting them in together. An acre isn't a huge space for a horse to have their 'personal space' so fencing a small bit off first may be helpful.
 
I am definitely not a believer that you should stick them out together and let them get on with it. I have seen far, far too many injuries that have been caused by just that. I always separate a newcomer with an electric fence. That way, they can get used to each other easily and without any stress. Once they are happily grazing next to each other, either side of the fence, then you can put them in together. By doing this, I have a happy mixed little herd ranging from a 17.3 to a 32in mini. They have all been introduced to each slowly and I have never had any problems. With just an acre - it will pay you to take a little time and make sure they are happy.
 
I asked the same question several weeks ago. We just turned both in together, neither are shod. We picked one up on a Saturday, the other on the Sunday so both were new, and we had LOADS of grass on just over an acre, half of which is hill. They sniffed a bit, trotted off together, one had a roll which he likes to do anyway, they had another sniff then both stuck their heads down and got on with eating, and have got on fine since.
 
My very domineering 20 yr old cob demolished a wall on Christmas morning to get at our new horse, fortunately I got to them before the wall actually fell down, hopefully your two will be better friends!
 
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