2 new horses

[couchhound274]

Ok, so i currently have 4 horses. I had 2 living at home and 2 at a friends. I brought the two that were at a friends house home Saturday. And ever since, my normally sweet calm and easy going draft cross gelding has been a jerk. Refusing to.be caugjt, which he has NEVER done. And i just dont know what has gotten into him, hes been with new horses before and he is usually the one i count on to be steadfast and sane. Ive never had to chase him to catch him. What do you think his issue is? Could he be jealous of the new horses? On is a gypsy sport horse yearling and the other is. 19 yearold Cleveland bay tb cross. They are turned out with my first 2 horses, and 8yo draft cross and 6 yo arab something cross.

 

[Bunnylady]

The draft cross is a gelding - what are the genders of these other horses?

The reason I asked, is we had a horse where I work that suddenly changed behavior when a couple of new horses were brought in. I've known this guy for probably 4 years; he's always been really well-mannered and the lowest in the pecking order. He was in a pasture with another gelding and two mares. The two new horses were both mares, and one was in season. Suddenly this guy decided he was a band stallion, and those two mares were "his!" They were in an adjacent pasture, so he was working the fence line, keeping the other horses away. Fortunately, the new horses were sold and moved on fairly quickly, because the other horses were getting pretty banged up.

 

[couchhound274]

There are three geldings, and one yearling colt.

 

[secuono]

You moved in two new horses, that's the cause. Just because you know the horses, means nothing to the horses themselves. They have to figure out a new pecking order and things will be nuts until they figure it out.

 

[Bunnylady]

A trainer whose name escapes me likes to say, "when you have a problem with a horse, the first place to look is a mirror. " You say you've had this guy with "new" horses before, and he wasn't difficult then, so what's different this time? Are you having to be tougher with the yearling, and the draft is seeing that? Is there some other way in which your approach may be different?

 

[couchhound274]

I dont think im doing anything differently, loki (the horse in question) is still the first one to be fed, the first one that i attempt to.catch. this is the first time that new horses have been brought to him, hes always gone to other barns. I have kind of distanced myself in order to let them sort out their own order. And aside from a few squeals from the horse that i figured would get all bent out of shape, they are getting along grwat and all sharing tje run in. Loki is perfect with the horses, they are all pretty mellow go with the flow guys, its jist whe i go to try and catch him he walks away and i actually have to go and get him and walk him down. I dont want to get all anthropomorphic and attach human feelings to him... too much. But could he maybe be a little jealous of the new guys? Loki has been my special buddy for 4 years hes pretty much been my baby. I dunno.

 

[eekranch]

Hello Couchhound274
In my history of welcoming new horses into my herd as helping others with new deliveries into their herds are different for everyone. Your Draft Cross Gelding (Loki) is the leader of the pack now and is mad at you for turning the others in where he rules the roost. Did you put them in separate places when they first arrived or did you put them all together all at once? That is absolutely crucial to new horses coming in. It is the same for most other animals too. What I always recommend is to put up a temporary pen up or put them in a round pen and let them get to know each other that way. Then Mr. Draft can claim whats he thinks is his and claim you on top of it all. Look at is a over grown boy throwing a huge temper tantrum. LOL They are so persnickety. When you go to introduce them together in the pasture I would do it one at a time. Sounds to me like Mr. Draft (Loki) has possessive issues, in that case I would pull him out and let the others be together and then work him. Once he is tired then let him be back in with the group. If he continues to act up I would continue to work him until he plays well with others including you. The time you are spending with him will do two things. Let him know he is still your number one and two he must play well with others. I would not recommend to ever chasing a horse around to attempt to catch them because they are only going to think it is a game. You will never win that battle. They move faster than you do. I would move towards him with your back turned and reward him with treats when he doesnt run from you. Small treats in your pocket or a pouch goes far. Then once he is no longer mad at you then discontinues the treats. Good Luck. I look forward to hearing if any of this helps.
Don't pull your hair out just yet. Sometimes things just happen to fast for our big four legged babies.

 

[couchhound274]

See that would make perfect sense, if loki where actually the boss in my herd. Hes always been low man on the totem pole, if any horse were to behave this way id have thought it would have been my fathers arab/morgan gelding. Who really is a pushy bossy grump of a horse. And now all the sudden ots like they have switched "personalitys" my dads horse has always been hard to catch, and loki was the easy one, now its my dads horse that is the first one willing to be caught (which never happens) and loki just kinda gives me the F off look and trots away. Tonight he did have a little refresher course in manners and a reminder that i do control his feet no matter where we are. We will see how it goes tomorrow. Thanks guys