My new horse is a tyrant!

by Tess
(Canada)

I just bought a new gelding who will be 4yrs old in a few months. My established herd is 2 horses: lead mare is 25yrs and gelding 34yrs.

The new gelding is excellent with humans, quiet & respectful, curious, but he is a tyrant with my other 2 horses. They are separated for few weeks now as I do not dare have him loose with my oldsters as he is very vicious, biting and kicking and he just tears after them and chases them around. He grew up in a large herd (25+ horses) & his mom was the lead mare & took no guff as I am told. He was not a leader in his old herd. My lead mare & he got into a butt to butt kicking fest and neither one would give in...I ran in to chase the youngster away to prevent injury.

If I have him on a line and I take him near the other horses, so far he has been very good, but if you ever let him off the line...he is just ferocious and nasty.

Do you have any suggestions as to how get this brutal little gelding integrated into my herd without anybody getting injured.
tks


Answer:

Hi Tess, this is a very good question with very little scientific equine information out there. The answer lies in the “prey” animal’s perspective.

This is a strong case of; we can’t choose their friends or their enemies! Because we do not live amongst the herd, we can’t police it! It’s like trying to choose our children's friends, rarely does that work. Once the kids are on the playground without us, anything can happen and they learn to sort out disputes.

From the 4 year old perspective and his previous herd situation, he understands social hierarchy because he came from a large group, what is missing in your current group that would be found in the wild herd setting is the buffer zone. I am referring to the other horses that would have ranged in the age group from 5 and up that your group doesn’t have. I am not surprised that he wasn’t top dog in the other herd of 25 +.

It’s not unreasonable for this 4yr old to think he must dominate this herd because of a few things. One is pure instinct that he has learned from the previous group. Survival is based upon the strongest and he feels and sees the opportunity to move up the ranks easily (because he is young and strong). Two, when the herd must readjust, time is of the essence that’s why we see fighting escalate quickly. Three, a new herd and environmental change is a big adjustment for any horse (on the survival scale of things).

Another important note is that it does not matter what position any horse had in previous groups, the outcome is always different because the combination of herd members have changed.

What I have consistently noted in our herd situations when introducing a new herd member is some time allotments. At the beginning and even when it seems the herd has settled in, at about 6 to 8 weeks a kafuffle happens, then again at 4 to 6 months before it’s all done and over with. From here there are just the little bites or scratches because someone has pushed the limits.

So here is what I could recommend. Let’s work with this 4 yr old's need to be “in” a herd rather than “without” perspective. I would keep him separated but having contact over the fence for a minimum of 8 weeks before introducing again. Even if you think all is well, don’t let him fool you. Establish strong routines so he feels very secure in your environment. When you do allow him in with the others make sure there is lots of space for everyone to flee. He will have personal space issues, at the water trough and anywhere else he wants to claim. Be sure food is always available and spread far apart, have more piles than horses to eliminate the source of food struggle that is instinctual in horses. If you are doing individual feedings, make sure he gets his food source first, even when separated.

As long as horses have adequate space, they can sort power struggles out easier.

Elaine Polny
Training Horses Naturally