Introducing New Horses to Your Herd
People change horses as often as they buy new cars these days.
"New" horses are always coming and going. There are people who
have had 5-7 horses in as many years. 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.Since you can't ask the horse, it can be difficult to
determine how your new horse is going to act with an 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, like our kids, we can't always protect them
from everything. 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 have 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. 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 then 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. It's not a good idea 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 you can 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. Pick one horse to introduce to the new guy
to and concentrate on building a relationship between the two of
them. Start by walking the new horse by the other horse just so
that they can see each other. Stop and allow them to smell each
other, but don't 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: When you feed, scatter the food around so that the
horses don't have to eat on top of each other. You'll avoid a
lot of accidents by spending just a little more time. Make sure
that you have shelter for all of your animals. If you don't have
enough protection then you'll have some of them attempting to
push others out into the weather. Establish a good quarantine
program so that you don't introduce any disesase/sickness to
your other horse(s). Stallions should not be introduced into a
herd under any circumstances unless you know what you are doing.
Young horses shouldn't be introduced into a new herd until they
are strong enough to fend for themselves. Sick, injured and/or
old horses may be better off doing their own thing rather than
making them have to deal with the fine points of herd behavior.
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.
Article by Tracker Outdoors www.tracker-outdoors.com