What to do re: Introduction to new herd >>>HELP>>>

michellev123

michellev123

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After moving Oscar to his new yard he had a week in an isolation pen, then the went into a pen within the herd he will be introduced (4 horses one gelding 3 mares.)

He is only 2yo and is always at the bottom of the herd!

Then this weekend after he has ahd a week inside there feild, I introduced him to the herd leader (gelding) and they appeared to get on well, then we also introduced the top mare (allseemed to be ok she ignorged Oscar and although gelding kept Oscar away from her he was not nasty (just one little nip and faces.

This morning he went in the big feild with the gelding and the lowest ranking mare. I stayed there for 2 hours (whilst mucking out etc) and they were all fine, gelding playing with Oscar, both grazing together and mare kept out of the way with odd face!

Then i went back up at lunch time 4 hours after leaving them and his rug is ripped and he has two nasty bites on his neck. :( When I arrived he was standing at the gate and when gelding came near him he ran away.

Im so gutted i thought they had mixed well as they were so contented when i left. I know they do bite and this alone wouldnt have upset me but Oscar was scared and running away, the bites are bleeding slightly and sore for him when i touch them.

I dont know what to do. I work throughout the week so he will have to be out with the others for 12 hours or in his single pen.

I am just worried that if the other 2 mares go in he will be even more picked on. The reason i wanted him in with them so he would be happier but he couldnt wait to get back in his pen this afternoon.

Any advice would be greatly recieved. Is it always this stressful/hard?

Thanks
 
In my opinion your problem is in the wrong combination of horses. In wild herds, there would only be one stallion, with a few mares. Female foals would be allowed to stay with the herd, but young males would be driven away or leave to join bachelor herds once they become sexually active.
At 2yr old, your gelding is of an age where he would be driven off by the resident male - and this is what is happening.
Life would be easier all round if you could split the horses into either mares and geldings, or two herds with a gelding in each.
S :D
 
Would love too but unfortunatly this isnt an option as there is limited feilds. If he doesnt settle with this herd he has to go in the other one which has one gelding and 6 mares!

Think this is when we wish we had our own land!!
 
I had a yearling boarding with me for a year. When he first arrived, we went through what you are, except that my gelding who was trying to beat him up never actually caught him (there is lots of room, and my gelding was staying near 'his' herd of one other gelding and my mare). After about two or three days, it all calmed down and the one who had been trying to beat him up became his best pal.
 
soloequestrian said:
I had a yearling boarding with me for a year. When he first arrived, we went through what you are, except that my gelding who was trying to beat him up never actually caught him (there is lots of room, and my gelding was staying near 'his' herd of one other gelding and my mare). After about two or three days, it all calmed down and the one who had been trying to beat him up became his best pal.
Click to expand...

I am hoping this is what will happen! Its just so strange because when i was there they were getting on fine, not even an angry face?! I dont understand what went wrong when I went away? (I wasnt even in the feild when I was there I just watched from a distance)
 
Do NOT worry! This is perfectly normal andm unless they are relentlessly bullying him then I would just leave him be. Providing there is ample room for him to keep away from the agressor then things should be fine and he will soon find his place in the pecking order - although he may get a fair few 'pecks' in the process!!

I took 5 weeks to introduce my new youngster to our lot this year and this is our own land and all the horses we have we have had for years and know them very well BUT it means they have a very established herd (4 or them before the newbie arrived). There were some nasty moments one of these being my horse deciding he was really out to kill him and he just started a relentless gallop round and round in circles - this was after they had all been together all day with seemingly not problems. Something just clicked in my horse's head and he went into attack mode!

We did split them all up again but 2 days later we mixed them all again and things have been fine ever since. The youngster will still keep well away from mine - if he sees him coming he makes sure he moves! Plusm he still gets bites on him but he just needs to learn he is the bottom of the pack. He has his 'best bud' in the form of the oldie TB we have so they are hapy together.
 
Thanks for the comments ladyt I hope the same will happenits just hard during the week with work as I cant bring myself to leave him out for the full 12 hours when he is unseltteled like he was tonite. However i dont want to have to leave him in his own pen all week again. Darn work!!!
 
I think that herd dynamics are a bit more fluid than we first thought and it is often the mare that are the 'core' of the group but due to bonds and hierarchies (not necessarily the male as top dog) introducing new horses does increases the risk of injury/stress and can be a really stressful time, especially for the owner!
Youngsters thought, are at most risk of attack as they are naive and less responsive. I would think about: a) similar ages bond together - is it possible that you horse could share an area with a horse of a similar age? b) There needs to be enough space for pair bonds to hang out - is it a small paddock, if so, then there will definitely be trouble ahead, c) Are there areas of the feild where your youngster could be cornered - if so, be very cautious about turning him out as he will probably be injured, d) Is there anywhere he can 'escape' to - an area that's cordoned off? e) Are the watering/feeding areas all in one area - if so make sure that resources are skattered about to minimise arguments. f) have they been introduced individually to allow pair bonding - make sure they're both hungry so you can distract them both! g) It's also worth while mixing only the youngsters with old horse first (if you can!) to avoid arguments over status. h) if they have to be mixed turn your youngster out first so he can explore so he has the home ground advantage! i) walk him around the fenceline to reduce the chances of him running in to it.
I think, though, it's always better for you horse to be in a group than in isolation and you may be able to integrate him. Wouldn't your YO consider strip grazing? In my experience it can take up to 3 weeks for a new hierarchy to be established and things to settle down with careful monitoring. I hope you're YO is sympathetic?
I've got a new horsey arriving tomorrow and I definitely don't want any argybargy but thankfully she's only being introduced to one other mare - lets hope it's a love that blossoms!
 
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