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Training
~ Introducing
A New Horse
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People
change horses like they buy new cars these days.
“New” horses are constantly coming and going.
I know people who have had 5-7 horses in as many years, you probably
know some of these types of people too.
Many of these “new” horses already now how to behave in the herd.
They know how to yield to the dominant horse, how to read posture, how
to get out of the way, when to back down, and how to be a horse. Unfortunately, many of our pampered pets don’t know a whole
lot about being a horse and this can get them into trouble when they most need
it – with other horses. Since you can’t ask the horse, it can be difficult to determine how your new horse is going to act with the established herd. So it’s better to be safe and control this introduction a bit than to deal with veterinary bills and frustration. It’s always best to quarantine or keep a new horse separate from your established herd until you are sure that the new horse is free of disease or any other malady. When the horse is determined to be in good health, then it’s fine to begin the process of introducing him to the herd. Many
people that won’t let their horses be with another horse because they are afraid
they’ll get hurt or that they are too valuable.
Sure, getting hurt is always a risk --horses are some of the most “accident
prone” animals on the planet. But,
we can’t protect them from everything -- some of the worst accidents I’ve seen
have been with horses in stalls all by themselves. No doubt they do cost a lot
of money, but horses are herd animals and they value the companionship of another
horse more than just about anything else. There are numerous ways to introduce a new horse to the herd. Many people just throw the new guy out into the pasture and let him work it out with the established herd. This can work, horses have been doing this on their own for years before we ever got involved. This method works best if you have a lot of room for the horses to utilize their inherent herding traits just like they would in the wild. But, if you have a confined area where territory has been established, pecking order, friendships, etc. then you may want to intervene in order to control the success of the new horse in establishing himself in the herd. If
you just have one horse and you are bringing in another one, you’ll probably
have two very relieved horses and your job won’t be too big.
Horses are herd animals and it takes more than one to be a herd -- it’s
really not a fair deal to keep a solitary horse.
Many times you’ll be surprised that if you throw the new guy out with
the others that he’ll go stand by himself and wait until he is invited in by
the dominant horse. However,
if you one horse to integrate with many others (which is more likely) then you
may have some issues. It’s likely that the resident horses are going to set the tone
for behavior. Horses can quickly
determine where they fit into the dominance “food chain” on their own.
They know their station in life, but they are also always trying to improve
their status. Horses have nothing but time out in the pasture -- they do
this all day with other horses; flicking their heads, displaying dominant posture,
and even kicking and biting when they feel like it’s necessary to reinforce
their position in the herd. Leaders
get used to leading. Expect that a horse who was dominant in a herd that he
last came from is going to try to regain this status with the new herd. Spoiled
horses or horses that haven’t had much horse to horse interaction but have had
a lot of horse to human interaction may not know how to behave in the herd environment.
It’s not your job to teach them, but it is your responsibility to have
a horse that knows how to yield to another.
By having them in the herd, they are forced to play by horse rules –
they have to yield to the dominant horse or risk the consequences.
This is one of the best ways that I know of to teach a spoiled horse
who is pushy with people how to be a horse. The Common Problem Technique Before
attempting these techniques you should be able to interpret a horse’s attitude,
posture, and have the skills to work in a round pen.
My
favorite method of introducing a new horse to the herd is by giving all of the
horses a common problem to work out. I
usually put 3-4 horses into a round pen or arena and work them all at once with
the new horse. If you only have one horse this is still a good exercise to
introduce one horse to another. The
common problem that we are talking about is you.
You need to ask them to do things that focus on you as the leader.
Ask them to change directions, get them to draw in to you, hook on, move
their feet like you want, etc. Make
them all work. This gets their
mind off their horse games that they play with each other and on to you.
Look for signs that that herd is accepting the new horse.
If you see any inappropriate
behavior (i.e. kicking, biting, etc.) ask them all to work some more.
If the behavior is good, reward them by letting them stand still. It
can take 2-3 sessions or it may take many more before your horse is fully integrated
with the other horses. Don’t rush the introduction, it may appear that the horses
get along pretty well after the first time but it’s probably a mistake to do
this once and throw them all out together.
Your time is well spent to do this right and not rush the introduction.
Once you can see that the horses openly accept one another without any
stress or pressure from you, it’s probably ok to put them out together. Don’t
get too involved. Let the horses
determine what their herd standing will be. I’ve seen people try to manipulate
the herd hierarchy. You may be
able to do this for a few minutes while you have the focus of the herd, but
you’re just wasting your time. The
minute you leave, the horses are going to work this out on their own.
Obviously, if a horse is getting the tar beat out of him by another you
should get them working. Remember to stay safe. Don’t insert yourself in the middle of the action. If you have to get “big” to keep the horses from running over you – do it. This is where you are establishing your leadership role with the herd. If the horses are moving you out of the way, you probably shouldn’t be the one doing this exercise. And just in case, I always carry a rope or progress string that I can use to send energy to a horse that isn’t playing by the rules. You
may have more than one horse to integrate and that can be done with these techniques.
After a while the “new guy” will be integrated into the herd because
he’s been working with the other horses to problem solve. You
may have too many horses to do this in a round pen.
It’s important to know that the more horses you work with the harder
this is to do. I don’t like to
work more than 5-6 at a time with this technique in a confined area.
Any more than that and it’s hard to keep up with all the action. You
can use an arena, small fenced area, and even a small pasture.
A round pen is not important, what’s important is that you control the
interaction of the horses. The Buddy System -- The Slow and Easy Technique Assuming
that you have separately fenced areas to keep horses safely separated, another
technique that I will often use is to put the new horse into a stall or paddock
within site of the others. This
way he can visit from a distance and watch the interaction of the other horses.
The new horse will study the others behaviors and learn what the herd
hierarchy is from a distance before he gets into the mix and the herd gets a
chance to check him out too. I’ll
then usually pick one horse to introduce to the new guy to and concentrate on
building a relationship between the two of them.
I’ll start by walking the new horse by the other horse just so that they
can see each other. I may stop and allow them to smell each other, but I am not
going to let them interact at first. This
is easier if you do the introduction on neutral territory.
Go on a trail ride, take them to a friend’s house, work cattle, go to
another barn/arena to ride, etc. There
is nothing like working together to bring two horses together in a common bond. Eventually,
you are going to put the two of them together in a fenced area.
For the sake of safety and the ability to control the situation, you
may still want to use some form of the “common problem” technique in order to
freely introduce the two horses. The Wide Open
Spaces Technique Provided you have a lot of unhindered space, you may be able to throw the new horse in with the established horse(s) and let him work it out with the established herd on his own. Nothing
new here -- horses have been doing this on their own for years.
A good rule of thumb would be 1 horse per acre of land.
You need more space to allow for the horses to move, send horses out,
invite horses in, etc. You
risk more kicks, bites, and other injuries with this method.
But, your personal safety is less at risk. Even
if you decide that this is the way you want to go, it’s still a good idea to
work the horses in order to get their mind off of the horse games with each
other. If you can initially get
the horses to focus on you, they will be more likely to quickly accept the new
horse because of his cooperation with the others. Many
horses don’t know how to be horses. We
have a group of mares that we use to institute herd behavior with our new horses.
There’s nothing better than an established band of mares who will not
tolerate spoiled behavior to teach a young horse how to behave.
They learn about posture, yielding, respect, patience – all of the things
that you want the horse to understand with you as their leader.
It doesn’t matter where they learn it.
What’s important is that the horse does understand herd behavior and
how to be a horse. Your
job is then easy… All you have
to do is learn how to communicate with the horses to become their leader. Set
yourself up for success Use
common sense. With any of these techniques, you will have better results if
you set yourself up for success:
You can introduce horses across a fence line, between stalls, on the trail, or working. There’s a lot to be gained in these particular cases by making sure that these horses have the ability to see the other horses and can visit from a distance without causing any harm or being hurt. A horse doesn’t necessarily have to be in the same fenced area as the others to be part of that herd. |
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