What should I do with my new horse

[Sakuragirl20]

Hi everyone, my new horse has now had a few days to settle in. Hes in his field with friends. I just wanted some sound boarding that im doing the correct thing here as ive never brought a new horse to a new place as I have always full loaned on the same yard.

My plan this week:

I did some inhand groundwork and introduced him to the arena yesterday

Lunge him tonight
Hes seeing farrier tomorrow so he can have the night off
Lunge / ride in the school on wed
Ride in school on thurs
Hack friday night/ walk him around hacking routes if he is unsure
hacking at the weekend/ see how he is if he needs another couple of days to chill


Any suggestions to bring him back into work in a new place would be great

 

[Barton Bounty]

Looks like quite a good plan already, just plenty of familiarisation for him would be good.

 

[Barton Bounty]

Ohh and pictures

 

[Pinkvboots]

Maybe hack with another horse the first few times.

 

[Polos Mum]

Sounds good, a lot would depend on what he was doing before you bought him.

A fit and in work horse ought to do a nice hack as soon as they arrive - they have no idea they are staying, to them it could be a sponsored ride or dressage comp. where they have no 'settling in ' time.

Also depends on whether he has to have time in with yard quarantine , if he's used to turnout and suddenly stuck in, I'd keep it low key until he can get sensible turn out

 

[SilverLinings]

If he was in work when you bought him then I would just crack on with the riding, but make sure I had company the first few times for safety. It will be less unsettling for the horse to stick to his usual workload if he was in work in the last home than not riding for a while and doing lots of different things instead (hand walking etc).

I hope you have fun with him

 

[Horseysheepy]

I would probably get him out hacking with a sensible Companion sooner than later, maybe the day after your lunge in school day?
Good luck, very exciting for you!

 

[ihatework]

How old/experienced is the horse and what work was he in prior?

To be honest, unless it’s a very green horse or one that’s been out of work I’d arrange a companion and hack the day after arrival, and try and keep work level and routine the same as what they were in to start with.

 

[Poppy+MrDarcy]

Just grooming him can get him used to it all, bonding is really important with your new horse x

 

[sportsmansB]

If he is an experienced horse and already fit with no known issues, doesn't pussy foot around him too much
Crack on, tire him out, make him believe you mean business.

Obviously if he is young and green you can't do that, but a lot of issues people have with new horses is because they are not clear enough with them from the beginning, especially horses which are accustomed to clear boundaries and plenty of work.

 

[gallopingby]

I agree about getting a new horse that’s already established out and about as soon as possible, different if he’s a baby, but ones already broken and in work could just as easily be going to a competition / ride out etc and won’t have time to settle in at all events. Best to get out and about and establish a routine asap which will help security.