If the horses involved are stabled part-time, you may well see a repeat of the squealing and posturing the first few times they’re put back out together again, although this should settle down more quickly each time. If this is the case, you should exercise extreme care when going into the paddock to keep yourself and any helpers safe. If, however, you think they’re not settling down and/or one horse is being pursued aggressively and relentlessly, you may decide to separate them again. This is normal behaviour and should settle over time. There may well be natural behaviours such as squealing, kicking, striking with a front leg and general “introduction traits” which can appear extremely alarming if you’re not used to such behaviour. When the horses first meet, there’s likely to be a bit of noise and posturing to begin with. ![]() The “putting them all in together straight away” approachĭepending on the temperament of the horses involved, you may choose to put them in together straight away – for example, if you have a horse really not coping with being on their own you may reach the judgement that they are more likely to injure themselves being kept separately than through a new arrival going straight into the field. Always have a plan B in case you do need to separate them again.Leave field-safe headcollars on the first few times they go out together in case you do need to catch/remove anyone.Make sure there is plenty of space available when they first go in together.Remove any potential obstacles from the field, or fence them off securely if removal isn’t possible.Ideally you should also have more than one water source available too. If you put hay out, for example, make sure there are several spare piles and that they’re all set well apart. Make sure there is plenty of food available, to discourage resource guarding.Considering removing hind (or all) shoes, if applicable.You could run a strip of white electric tape down inside each fence line to help make them as visible as possible, especially if the newcomer is likely to go in in poor lighting conditions. Make sure fence lines are very obvious, both outer boundaries and any internal dividing fences.All handlers should be wearing appropriate hats, gloves and boots and know what the planned approach is beforehand. This includes not getting trapped in a gateway/corner of the field. When introducing a new horse, however you choose to do it, please bear in mind at all times that highly stimulated horses are unlikely to be looking out for humans/handlers, so you and any helpers need to take great care not to get caught between the horses involved.General considerations when introducing a new horse ![]() You should take into consideration the individual horses involved and monitor them closely throughout, always being prepared to go to a plan B if necessary. ![]() It’s really important to remember that all horses are individuals and as such there is no right and wrong answer to this situation. You can find out more about this here.īiosecurity considerations aside, there are a variety of schools of thought when it comes to introducing new horses, from putting them all in together straight away to keeping them separate, grazing them alongside one another and introducing them very gradually. Biosecurity and quarantine may seem like daunting words but they really needn’t be – it’s just simple everyday horse care and even small steps can make a huge difference. If you don’t know exactly the circumstances a newcomer has come from, disease control should be top of your considerations. It can seem very daunting knowing where to start with introducing a new arrival to an established herd – and remember, even two horses living together are an established herd as far as an incomer is concerned.
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