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2 Horse Questions that I need help with?
So, I has two questions.
1. Is this a disrespect thing? Often when I am grooming my horse she turns and gently touches her nose to my arm. the odd thing as in a 30minutes of grooming she probably does this about 50 times, like, turn, touch, turn back.
I dont think she does it because she doesn't liek grooming because all teh grooming I do she doesn't waer a halter, we just do it standing in the paddock or in a yard and she just stands there and chills out.
Also, often when I am standing infornt on her she will raise her head and rest it on top of my head. Its not like she pins her ears or trys to push on me or something, its quite a relaxed sort of movement, but I dunnp if its a disrespect thing or a naughtines thing or just her thing.
I've seen horses in fiels put there head on other heads withers, is it kinda like that?
2. in a few days my pony is gonna get indroduced to another horse as a new paddock mate. The new horse is movig into her paddock, and i dunno how to introduce them to each other.
My pony is a 14h 7yr old, and teh new pony is a 13hh 20yr old.
We have two paddocks, a 2 acre paddock and a 10acre paddock, they are aproxx 100m apart and the fences of them both DO NOT TOUCH. SO they can't meet over the fence.
However we have heaps of hot tape so we an seperate them like that.
How do you think we should introduce them together? Is taking them for a ride together first a good idea? Should we let them meet each other inhand?
Any ideas for eitehr question?
(PS: Yes, I am very sorry i did not spell check and cause I only have a very small amount of time on teh computer so I am just typing very fast and not spell checking)
4 Answers
- ♥Jennifer♥Lv 59 years agoFavorite Answer
Your first question sounds like mutual grooming. Your horse is telling you that the spot you are grooming feels good. If the ears are up and teeth are not showing then I believe that this is what you are experiencing. Have you ever seen a horse groom another horse? They groom each other telling the other where they'd ;like to be scratched. If the ears are back and or teeth are showing then your horse is not liking the grooming.
To introduce another horse to the heard. Make sure they know where the fences are- hand walk the horse in the paddock with no other horse in there so he can see the fence line. Leave the horse in the paddock alone and throw a few piles of hay out. When the new horse is calmly eating then turn out the other horse. Let them figure out the pecking order. Do not walk away for a bit. Observe them to make sure they are getting along and there are no serious issues. Be safe do not introduce them in hand as you could get kicked or your horse could rear and you could get struck. If the horses are not getting along safely remove them.
Good luck~
- 9 years ago
1. That isn't disrespect, that's affection. Sort of pushy and something you may want to work on, but affection all the same.
2. For me, it's pretty important to let horses meet over the fence first. You can take them for a ride together, but in my book, when you are on your horse's back, they should not be paying attention to other horses. So I wouldn't think that's a good way to introduce them. In-hand is the same deal.
My best suggestion is to use the hot tape to make a small paddock up against the real fence of one of the paddocks. Then the ponies can meet over the real fence and you can see if they get along. If they are already fighting over the fence, forget it. If they are happy then let them have a while in their side-by-side paddocks, then move the one in the hot tape paddock into the real one. Make sure you stay to watch them for a while, and have a plastic bag or other spooky item to get them moving out fast if one pony traps the other in the corner. You should expect some squealing at first, maybe some butt-turning, but if they continue to fight excessively, you should separate them. If you watch for a while and they look content, let them be.
Good luck :)
Source(s): Introduced lots of horses - BubblesLv 79 years ago
1. That is not disrespect. Turning and biting you for no reason or turning and shoving you are signs of disrespect (the first is more a sign of pain, but if you remove the pain and it still happens, it's disrespect and should be stopped)
2. Get some electric fencing and split her field up (I'm talking just make stable sized pens so it's easier to put up and take down) - put the new horse in one bit and her in another. If they are fine, put the new horse in with her.
Don't leave them - keep an eye on them. They may not settle and graze straight away - if there is fighting, remove the new horse immediately. Squealing and ears back is fine. Once they settle, let them graze for 5 minutes and then bring them in - you should be able to turn them out without many problems the following day, but you want to keep turnout time short in case there are any issues.
I suggest having back shoes removed so if they do kick out at each other, they wont do much damage.
Letting them meet in hand is a bit dangerous if things get hairy - taking them out for a ride or tying them up near each other is a good idea (when tying them up, make sure they're far apart enough and tied short enough that they can't get at each other or spin and kick each other.)
- 9 years ago
1. isnt desrespect, if anything it is respect. your horse is treating you how horses treat each other (as you said with horses resting their heads on each others withers). It shows your horse trusts you. She likes you grooming her. you see them groom each other in the paddock and she is trying to do this with you.
2.putting them both in the horse trailer and taking them for a drive is a great way to introduce them. Otherwise just introduce them inhand and once you are sure they are fine let them go (probably best to leave halters on incase something goes wrong). Wouldnt put electric tapes between them incase someone squeels and lifts a leg and knocks the tape down, it will just make it worse.
If it is just your pony plus 1 other they should be fine anyway. Its when you introduce one into a herd (or small group) that there can be problems.
