Settling a new horse in

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johannapage

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Routine for him at the moment is in during the day and out at night. He arrived about an hour ago so ive left him to settle in his new stable before turning him out into the field later on.

What do people usually do to help new horses settle in to new surroundings?
 
I always lead them round the new yard to help get their bearings. I also get on the next day even for a quick sit. Good luck with your newbie!
 
A strict feeding/turnout routine worked well with mine and she was very stressed with the move/change of owner. I even left the radio playing classical music when stabled to relax her & it seemed to work! :)
 
Ive just gone through this with a horse that was in during the day and out at night. I didnt feel comfortable him being out at night at first as I wanted to know he was happy and safe within the herd first, so I did it the other way round and he stressed awfully in the stable. I perservered for 3 nights then turned him out 24/7 to hopefully chill as I felt I had no option. He was great out but still stressed in the stable when I brought him in to feed, ride etc and I was mortified. I made a big decision to move him to another yard, felt terrible as he was already stressed but day 3 now and hes a different horse! Hes out during the day and in at night which suits me better and much more chilled. Today we had our first proper hack out and he didnt put a foot wrong. For some reason I dont think he liked that yard and the move, despite me dreading it for his sake has been hopefully for the best.
 
Lead around yard to get them used to surroundings, if other horses introduce them, I usually do it over the fence, and if they seem happy after a bit (you decide how long) I just bite the bullet and put them in together. Good luck!
 
I know people who have let them settle for a couple hours then take them for a hack around the farm (if you have off road hacking) and on the roads and around the yard or lunged them. Others I know have just let them settle for an hour or so in the stable then individual turnout so they can meet friends. :)
 
johannapage said:
Routine for him at the moment is in during the day and out at night. He arrived about an hour ago so ive left him to settle in his new stable before turning him out into the field later on.

What do people usually do to help new horses settle in to new surroundings?
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depends on the time of arrival, if am then i put out so they can run around and settle quietly in the field before bringing in.

if pm arrival then i leave in stable and turn out following day.

advice though do not turn out with others for the first week, let them interact over the fence in safely
 
Let him adjust to his stable, make sure he has plenty of hay to keep him amused, and perhaps pop to do an evening check to ensure he is ok. I would maybe turn out tomorrow if it was a late arrival.

Some horses will settle quickly, others take time, and need an eye kept on them. We had one that would try and jump its stable door or fence if the pal it arrived with was turned out or brought in without it. We had to wean her off her pal very slowly as to avoid stress and injury because it was so extreme. On the other hand my first horse arrived, tucked straight into his hay, and it was if he had been there years, was quiet, had no teething issues, got on with field buddies etc- he literally stepped off the lorry settled!
 
Think it depends on the horse - Old MAre you could shove in any field, any stable and as long as there was food she settled right in. But we did a fair few away parties with her, and we think she had done several before we got her so it wasn't unusual for her to be in a strange box/field. Nugz was a bit more stressed, so he was put in a stable next to a horse that had internal grills so he could see them. He was then turned out after a couple of hours next to Old Mare and he never looked back. It did take him about a year to be truly happy about being in a stable on his own though, but that's more because what he was used to was being out, or in a barn turnout.
 
I've always kept as much of the old routine as possible, so if he's used to being fed at 6, feed him at 6 and gradually add / take off 10 minutes each day until you're at a routine that suits you.

I like to turn them out (next to their new friends) as soon as possible as I think seeing other happy, secure, horses can calm them down so I'd get him out this evening while there's a good bit of daylight left so he can get his bearings.

If you're going to change it so he's out during the day or 24/7, again I'd gradually shift times so he doesn't really notice the change.
 
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