Introducing new mare to established duo - tips please

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canteron

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I have 2 mares who have been together as a duo for nine years. During that time we have had a few horse visitors and outings but they are very bonded.

One is particular is very possessive of the other and doesn’t like anyone going near her friend …. and shows with her teeth, feet, general unwelcoming attitude.

So, apart from the obvious of separate fields and time, any tips, especially in the first introduction - ie when the horse gets off the lorry!
 
I had a cob gelding who was like this. We used to keep anyone new separate for a while. Feed him before the newbie at feed times, and walk him out in hand with the newbie together a lot. Eventually we could walk them home next to each other and pop them in an ungrazed paddock together and eventually back in with the rest of 'his' herd.
 
I did this a couple years ago..slightly easier as it was in summer. I made a paddock within the field and newbie was turned out in it. It took 3 weeks or so for them to meet and relax…stand together and sleep overnight next to one another on either side of the electric wire. I casually opened the paddock one day and newbie wandered out. There was some running about but it settled fairly quickly. A few years before that my long term bonded pair had a new mare just put in with them…they were on part livery…and my oldie hounded the new horse, chased her relentlessly and behaved as if she were protecting my younger mare. My horses were shod and could ve caused massive damage. As it was the introduced horse, who was arthritic went lame and the owner moved on in the same week I decided to leave the yard because the owner demonstrated she hadn’t a clue.
 
canteron said:
I have 2 mares who have been together as a duo for nine years. During that time we have had a few horse visitors and outings but they are very bonded.

One is particular is very possessive of the other and doesn’t like anyone going near her friend …. and shows with her teeth, feet, general unwelcoming attitude.

So, apart from the obvious of separate fields and time, any tips, especially in the first introduction - ie when the horse gets off the lorry!
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Shoes off. I had a gelding who was possessive and he could do as much damage with his front end as he could the back end.

Good luck with how you deal with the integration, i would use an adjacent separate paddock for a good while first.
 
Adjacent paddock until they will all graze sensibly by the fence together. This took weeks when I introduced a newbie to a bonded pair - and they knew her as she was on the same yard.

I then did daytime in altogether but she went back in her own paddock at night. That was after she'd been booted through mains electric fencing when I thought they were all ok. They weren't!
 
I've done it twice in the last 3 years with fosters from rescues, to add to my aged retired gelding (after losing his long term friend)and my young mare. Obvs, fence between them at first until they all settled. All barefoot. The first time it didn't work out, so be prepared for that possibility. The two Section As that I brought in (bonded 14 yr old mares) took against my youngster and ganged up on her, attacking her viciously and persistently. This was after a few seemingly settled months, so I don't know what changed.
Second time was a 2 yr old gelding. My mare pushes him around but isn't nasty. Old gelding plays with him, which is nice, although sometimes I do worry about his arthritic hock as they are charging around and dodging each other. Mare ignores them - BOYS!
I guess I added ,my mare as a 2 yr old to my long established pair of older geldings. My surviving boy wanted to murder her initially but they are very good friends now. So you just never know.
 
Take it very steady with adjacent paddocks for longer than you might think, I reckon on 3 weeks minimum. I find the talk grilles between my stables to be very useful for introductions even with horses living out, as I bring everything in twice daily to feed them anyway. Things gradually get less exciting.
 
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