Cross Breeds

Behavior with new horses?

So, I had adopted a retired race horse a little while ago, however, this barn was just not the right place for her. We found her a better home where the woman who bought her would train her/ spoil her. In return, we received two new horses. We named the paint Pocahontas and the other is a grey arabian named Duchess. We already have 3 other horses. My horse Bronco, my pony Nutmeg, and my grandfather's horse Butch. We had them out in the field the other day. Pocahontas has made fast friends with the others and they love her. But Duchess on the other hand shys away from all of them. But if Pocahontas and Duchess are along, they hang with each other closely and she seems alright with Nutmeg. I think her problem might be with the males...any way to introduce her to the boys so she can feel comfortable?

Public Comments

1. It just takes time, there isn't much you can do. If you force the horses you will just end up making things worse.
2. It just might be her nature just like people horses come in all different shapes sizes and personalities. Some and shy and submissive and other are aggressive and dominant If she were compared to a human I would say she is shy and likes to stick with people .. or well horses she knows because that is her comfort zone. The boys might just be a bit boisterous for her taste so she likes to be with the girls. The longer she is in the herd the better they will get along and she will most likely come out of her shell a little bit with them :) you could segregate the genders but there really is no need as long as she is not getting beaten up good luck :)
3. You don't want to force her into being friends with the male horses, it will just make everything worse. There is honestly nothing you can do about it. As long as she isn't getting hurt or harmed she should be fine. The only thing that could possibly work is putting her in a field with Pocahontas and Nutmeg. Then after that add one gelding to the mix. Watch her and see how she reacts. If she never gets better I would separate the genders. Its no fair to her if everyone else is getting along and she is by herself.
4. Duchess is probably a bottom of the pack type horse and may never fit in to the larger herd. She's fine with Pocahontas because they know each other, but the other's chase her off probably. It isn't anything bad to worry about, it's just some horses way of dealing with herd dynamics. Some horses really are sort of a loner type personality.
5. Horses have their own pecking order and you can't do anything to make it better. It's just nature. Horses don't become "friends" they find their place in an order that has someone at the bottom, the next up top of that one (that will put the bottom horse in its place if needed by biting or kicking), then the next up and so on....til you get to the lead horse. Usually, the lead horse and the bottom of the barrel horse get along the best, because the bottom horse doesn't try to "overthrow" the lead horse, so the lead horse feels no threat. Sounds like Pocha and Dutchess are those two horses. And the others are in the middle. Dutchess has taken her place at the very bottom, so leave it alone. If you try to mess with the order, you just make things worse. Leave it alone. As long as Dutchess isn't being chased through fences or is bitten or kicked badly enough to need medical care, she's fine with where she is. I suggest that you find a book about horse behavior, so that you better understand how horses think and live. It would help in dispelling a lot of the misconceptions.