How do you see changes, how does your horse?

newforest

newforest

Well-Known Member
Mar 15, 2008
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Open for discussion.

Now some of you may know mine was split up from her buddy-I did a heart verses head do I buy them purely as I "assumed" mine wouldn't cope-in fact it more likely to be me that didn't want to see him go!
Within 48 hours she was off with another one. Or should I say (because I spent two hours watching) that the new friend selected her. Nickered came over, sniffed me, nibbled her and grazed.
She hadn't been hanging by the gate, which the buddy usually did for her.

Yesterdsy one was sold and part of the group were unsettled apart from mine. She then acquired four friends stuck to her butt!

So how do you manage with any comings or goings? Calm, worried etc.
Your horse?

Happy chatting :biggrin:
 
Ha! ha! I suspect Tilly is one of lifes survivors:smile:

Mine are all different. Cherie is like Tilly but not fussy about the boys. The only thing she is attached too is me.

Evie has a long memory and sulks and gets depressed when a horse leaves.

Summer is happy to cling to whoever will take her lol.
 
My boy is quite high in the pecking order of the herd (he likes to think he is the leader but I know a couple of others put him in his place sometimes) and I think he is the bravest! So any new arrivals or anything strange going on in the field he is first one there to say hello or investigate. Unfortunately he does seem to take an instant dislike to some horses, but luckily he isn't a massive bully, he just won't hang around with them. And then others he loves very much! He has a best friend in the field who he chills with and grooms sometimes, then he has his little group he will play with, and then the few who he isn't very fond of for whatever reason.

And there is a little mare he really likes for some reason! He has never been kept near her or anything but when I lead him past her he is always really interested in her! And if we ever ride together he always acts so sassy lol, showing off to her I'm sure! He called to her once and she completely ignored him haha
 
Mouse has changed herds and fields quite a lot but he always seems to take it in his stride. He's usually at the bottom of the pecking order ((though he's thoroughly enjoying himself at the moment cos he's actually got one horse he can bully!)) but as long as he has at least one buddy ((and for Mouse a "buddy" is basically anyone who doesn't beat him up :giggle:)) he's fine. His first best buddy was Bonsai foal, I would have described them as inseparable because they were always tied at the hip, and when Bonsai went away to be weaned I was worried that Mouse would be upset. Needless to say, after one day of calling for Bonsai and searching the field for him, he got over it and moved on. He deals with field changes the same as herd changes, if there's food and he still gets his twice-daily visits from Mum, he'll survive :happy:
 
Mine are on their own individual turn out but together if you know what I mean. Ginger and I are away at camp for to days OH went to check on Chanter and gave him some more grass and he was fine. He calls a bit but settles down.

I think he knows he is coming back so not worried. they don't seam to care who is in the fields next to them at all.

I separate them a lot.
 
Joy gets very unsettled and pushes her luck with humans when field mates changed as she tried to work out her place in the herd. It was always harder for her though. Before I bought her she was on working livery, kept in a large herd in a large field but corralled with a smaller varying selection (depending on who was being used for lessons) during the day. It was in the corral that she was bullied, kept from hay and water from the others, but when in the field this was never a problem as she kept out of the way and just binge ate!

When I bought her, she had lots of weight to lose and so needed restricted grazing on a small paddock and in a small herd of 4 continuous companions, sometimes with her and her buddy further restricted as she is an exceptionally good doer and her buddy had a rotated pedal bone through laminate and at exceedingly high risk. In those 8 months she learnt to talk horse and interact as part of a herd and to trust again.

Then I moved yards for the first time. Joy went to being one of only 3. She initially took the mick with me and as a first time owner if only 8 months I felt sorry for her and let her get away with things. This confused her even more and in hindsight I should have continued with the same boundaries and expectations so I could remain her one constant in life, the one thing she could be sure of.

After only 6 weeks, Joy became very attached to her 2 herd members and was thrown into a fizz when they moved to another yard across the lane for more facilities. I had learnt my lesson and continued to have consistent expectations of her and be firm to enforce them. She was unsettled trying to get used to the 2 new herd members that came in, and then again what a 3rd temporary pony came too.

I was lucky enough to get offered to rent the field myself to call the shots. Trouble was, the people owning the 2 herd members then wanted to get a third and bought something totally unsuitable, Shetland stallion which they believed was a gelding! I called the lady with the original 2 I moved on with in that field initially and put Joy back on with them for a week until the liveries left taking all 3 ponies. So I had the choice of putting Joy back on my field and hoping I could find suitable liveries quickly as she'd be kept alone, or I'd met a lady on the yard with more facilities who had a horse very similar to Joy and was on her own and she suggested we share. So that's what I did. It was just Joy and Ami and they were good together. 6 months later, they moved and my friend with the 2 Joy was originally bonded to wanted to share. I'd realised by this time she was a serial yard hopper (in the year id known her she had moved 4 times!) and asked her seriously if she'd be staying as I didn't want Joy mucked about. After only 1 week, she gave a months notice as she wanted to move again! It was then that I was offered Little Un on loan as a companion so Joy wasn't always going through upheaval. Here we are still, 5 years in from that.

I often wish we could be on a yard with a huge fatty paddock with bugger all grass in it and a large herd of all the same needs. It doesn't exist in my area though, believe me, I've been looking!

Joy needs stability and constancy in her life. She doesn't do well on change so I've strived to provide her with a good constant companion and that's helped her, although she and Littles have had to be separated as he now needs more grass than she does, neither minded (although Joy would get grass envy and jump in with him!) but I did so she is now muzzled and there is no need to separate except when shes exercised. I'd have never wanted another pony if it hadn't been for her needs. She'd had survived without a constant companion but I firmly believe with a lesser quality of life.
 
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Yard wise both seem fine and none battered an eyelid when we moved to our own little patch of paradise
I do worry that in a year I have to give the land back and move to a livery yard and although this will be great for wombles education I worry about them being split up, as they are definitely pair bonded.
 
Angel doesn't care, but then it takes her quite a long time to make friends and fully integrate into a herd. She spent about a year on the sidelines with 1-2 mates, not really interacting much with the rest.

Appley is VERY interested in any newcomers and will force herself on them, 'herding them' (irrespective of their size!), trying to play, following them round, sniffing .... she gets bored after a few weeks and we return to normal :)
 
Another one had been moved to another paddock, all within sight. No one appears to be bothered by that.
She was though back in the barn with with boyfriend as he is back-i believe he follows her though.

JC we all know yard hoppers and I wonder why they feel unsettled and what it does to the horses mentally to keep moving on. One person has moved so many times she has re visited yards moved from. I have moved three times in roughly twelve years.
Mine accepts any newcomers, others do all the running about and usually she can't be bothered to break from the eating, hence the new one pairs up as she doesn't chase it. It has to keep its distance though she isn't going to hold any hooves!
 
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Mine doesn't seem to care, as long as he sees me or my husband on a regular basis he's relatively happy. He's confident in his own company,can dish out a decent enough warning / telling off if someone is annoying him but at the same time knows when to bow out and leave it. He's always lived in a herd but in general prefers people and is really adaptable. He's not a stress head and will just get in with things.
 
Silver has only been bothered once about a horse going and that was the one and only mare she has ever been attached to.

Otherwise I can up sticks her and not a murmur.

Rascal is the same, as long as silver is with her. He wouldn't cope losing her very well as he doesn't like being stabled alone too much but he is quick and ready to find new friends even when she is around - she's like mum - he goes off and parties but he always finds her when in trouble
 
I have to say I did worry how Dolly would be with only donkeys for companions when Iskra left. Although Solly was always happy even if he only had his Bertie donkey with him, I just wasnt sure about Dolly.

If anything she seems a lot more settled now without another horse in with her....she used to constantly move JJ around the field, shout for Iskra when I took her out for a hack.

But now she just seems to take life in her stride and happily plays matriarch to the two remaining donkeys without getting too clingy with them. I did worry how she might be when we see other horses as we ride by. They can gallop right up to the fence line and she barely glances at them, very odd horse she is in some ways.:unsure:

Maybe she likes it that there aren't any changes, and is more settled because of that?:smile:
 
I have recently moved Harvey into a paddock on his own I thought he would hate it as he is bonded to dolly but actually he took to ignoring the others and has been much calmer and more relaxed! Dolly however misses him and constantly tries to get his attention. When I first put my mare and foal in with dolly I thought thyme would hate it and be protective but actually she pretty much herded the foal up to dolly and informed her she was 'babysitter' dolly didn't seem too impressed! Harvey is better behaved when there are changes at least for a few weeks which is odd but makes him easier to take out and on holiday etc!
 
We never presume anything. suck it and see. If it's not working we change back or change again.

Certainly never waste time worrying about any changes we make. We do spend time working out whether what we are about to do is likely to end up in a rattle of dirt. We make changes where they are necessary, but try to make them easy for the horses involved, and us.
 
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