New horse

[appendix100]

I currently have 3 geldings. I don’t necessarily have a gelding preference, just what we ended up with at this time. Have had mares & mixed herds before, it’s been fine.

We are looking to add a 4th horse, & my concern this time is my daughter’s horse is something of a bully. Is currently top dog & will sometimes take chunks out of the others if they don’t move fast enough to suit him. Not vicious, just very top dog.

During my current search, I’ve mostly been looking at geldings because of this, but there are some really nice mares in my price range that I would really like to go look at. How likely is there to be a conflict? In the past when I had both, the mare was top dog. I don’t know if this gelding will tolerate that, or if he will be protective of the mare & become more aggressive to the other 2. Don’t have the ability for separate turnouts.

[2DogsFarm]

No way to know until you have the new horse on your property.
I know you realize they are individuals & don’t react By the Book.

Is there any way you can intro the new horse (mare) with at least fencing between the current herd & Newb?
Even that is no guarantee.

My TB & DH’s Walker - both geldings - were fine together & in a larger gelding herd.
We got a new, younger gelding & turned them out with fence between.
After initial squealing, striking from TB they grazed peacefully side by side for a couple weeks.
We put the new guy in with them & TB immediately went Stallion, neck snaked, teeth bared, rushing at new guy.
TG he respected me enough to change his charge to a drive-by.
Protecting his Herd of 1 was all we could figure & did not force them together.

OTOH, my Walker was Boss of my Hackney Pony when I added a mini.
Fenced them apart for less than a day, mini was accepted immediately.
He lives under protection of the Boss - even sharing hay in the same stall.
Pony can get mildly aggressive to mini, but no real Bite to his Bark, and I find all 3 sharing a 12X12 stall on occasion.
Maybe 3 is the Magic Number.
Maybe All Geldings is the answer.
{shrugs}

[candyappy]

My mare has been top dog for a long, long time. We had her and my daughters mare for many years alone after I sold my mule ( gelding). I was a bit apprehensive about adding Salem almost 2 years ago as my mare is extremely secure in her " boss" role.

I am happy to say that they do just fine as a herd of 3. Salem and my daughters mare " bicker" a bit about the #2 slot on occasion but nobody messes with the boss and nobody is injured.

One thing to ask is where the prospective horse is in the pecking order? A more compliant attitude who is solid in the middle of the group may be a better fit than an alpha .

Of course it is always a chance you take. I have always been extremely fortunate to have good herd dynamics and the one time I didn’t I kept that old mare separated.

[appendix100]

just starting my search, don’t have new horsie yet. Just don’t want do discount a mare if there is potential for them to get along

[SuzieQNutter]

Sorry but Mister takes chunks out of other horses does not get to be with the other horses. I would be separating them.

[appendix100]

Not an option. He is well within normal, reasonable behavior for a boss horse. His mental health is much better in with everyone else, & frankly theirs is too. They no longer pace the fence trying to get together.

[sportyspicepony]

I might be too optimistic but I kinda feel like horses can usually work it out given enough time and space, as long as they’re able to access all the necessary resources. I also feel like no way to predict how a herd is going to get along because they’re all different with different horses. However you can set them up for success with strategic feeding, hay placement, multiple water and shelter options, etc. in my opinion the key ingredient is enough space and resources!

[appendix100]

Thanks. They have oodles of space (20 acres) & free choice hay in a bale barn. They do get confined to a out 1/2 acre when we irrigate (with the bale barn) or if it is really wet in the pasture after a heavy rain.

[Fiesta01]

@candyappy

One thing to ask is where the prospective horse is in the pecking order? A more compliant attitude who is solid in the middle of the group may be a better fit than an alpha .

The problem with asking about the current behavior is that any given horse can totally change their attitude in a new herd.

My gelding, normally the alpha but in a benevolent sort of way, became the target of a supposedly low-on-the-totem-pole type from another barn. That horse’s owner could not believe how aggressively her horse was acting.

So take everything the current owner says with a grain of salt.

[clanter]

unless OP can see this prospect horse in a herd setting there is not much of chance to understand just where it would fall into a herd ranking

[appendix100]

Thank you all. The fact that it is not a resounding NO, makes me feel like I can at least consider some of these mares.

Even knowing their place in the current herd, things could change. We sent an older gelding that was way on the bottom of our herd for the whole 25 years of his life to a different home & he was top dog there.

They are horses, I know anything can happen.

[scislandsprite]

I’ve ended up with only mares and they’ve all been wonderful in turnout. One even is a little more prone to getting beat up so I have to be careful about that, not aggressive at all and did perfectly fine with geldings. A tendency to pee at them when in heat though. Another was sort of “middle of the totem pole”, she wouldn’t go after other horses and preferred to just hang out but would stand up for herself if another horse was aggressive. I’ve seen some mares who are pretty intense towards others outside so I guess it depends!

I wonder if you could ask to see the potential horse in a group turnout setting, if they were alright with you getting there early just to get an idea of how they’d be.

Also I don’t know if this has been suggested but would some sort of grazing muzzle work for the horse taking chunks out of the others?

[beowulf]

Every horse is an individual, every management situation is individual, every preference for turnout buddies is individual.

That being said you’d maximize your chances of a seamless introduction if you did the following after quarantine:

1. Turn out the new horse with the lowest totem pole member P/T
2. After a week or so, add the next lowest totem pole member P/T
3. After a week of that, add next, so on so forth until you get to the herd leader

Just make sure there is enough room to escape and run around. Most horses – even those of “oil and water” personalities, will find a way to jive just fine if the pasture is genuinely big enough and resources are not limited/having to be competed for. I have five right now in a big pasture and the dynamics are complicated. I would actually say that three of them probably wouldn’t gel well in a small lot, but since this pasture is big, they all have their own room to interact as they please.

[2DogsFarm]

I was aways taught this is the way to intro new horses.
That said, a barn I boarded at that had large - 10+ - groups always did the opposite.
1st out with the Boss, then added members in reverse pecking order: highest to lowest.
{shrugs} Seemed to work for them.
My Very Bossy TB (used to herding his smaller group of geldings at former barn) never showed any sign of wanting to pick a fight.

[candyappy]

@Fiesta01

The problem with asking about the current behavior is that any given horse can totally change their attitude in a new herd.

This is true but it can still be helpful to know.