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Re: [RC] Introducing horse to a new herd - Truman PrevattI agree basically with Jonnie. I put a new horse in a small pasture next to where the others are. This is where I do things a little differently. After a few days I put in the alpha mare- the head mare - the master of the herd. I let them come to terms and the new horse gain her acceptance. While she is the head mare she is very benevolent and is happy to have a new horse if they will accept her dominance. After a few days of this I put another horse in with them. In a few days they are ready to go into the herd. Once accepted by the lead mare a new horse has an easier time. If he tries to stir things up, the lead mare will take care of that - and the new horse knows it.This has worked well for me. If I didn't have a lead mare that ran the show, I would use the alpha gelding in her place. IMO opinion throwing a new horse in the pasture to "let them sort it out" makes as much sense as throwing a person afraid of water into 10 foot water in a lake to teach them to swim. Truman Jonni wrote: I have found that is it not in a horses best interest to just be tossed out into an established herd to figure things out. The new horse is entering their territory, and those horses know each other, and the order of "command". The new horse is usually viewed on as an intruder, and unless very aggressive itself, others will try to establish dominance really quick. I have a method that works well for me, but it can be time consuming, and I am not in a boarding situation. But, I'll share, for you to consider. -- "Problems worthy of attack prove their worth by fighting back." - Paul Erdos (1913-1996) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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