Herd Integration

After working with Boone and Khyber in the round pen again yesterday, I put them in the quarantine pasture (QP) with Cochise and Duke.  The QP is where I introduce new horses to the herd.  If you put new horses out with the entire herd all at once, the herd will gang up on them.  It is better to introduce new guys to a couple horses at a time to cut down on injuries.  

Khyber and Boone eat under the watchful gaze of the herd.

I put some alfalfa out for Cochise and Duke, to distract them, before putting the new horses in. This gave the horses a chance to stand together and eat without fighting.  Just as I put Boone and Khyber out, the entire herd in the main pasture showed up to get some water, saw the new horses, and lined up along the fence to watch the show.  

Once the alfalfa was gone, Boone and Khyber went for a walk around the QP together to check things out.  Then then went back to where Duke and Cochise were finishing up eating and began the process of establishing where each horse stood in the pecking order.  Duke is dead-last in the herd and was delighted to find out that he could push Khyber around.  Khyber had no interest in challenging either Duke or Cochise.  Boone, on the other hand, held his ground and got into the dance with Cochise.  Apparently these horses are very close in the rank structure and spent a lot of time working things out.  

The boys checking out the QP.

When horses are introduced, they stand next to each other with heads bowed.  Eventually, one will start to squeal and paw the ground in an attempt to get the other horse to move.  I have come to believe that the horse that is making the most noise is losing this battle.  After a while they will test each other by placing their mouths near various parts of the other horse's body to provoke a reaction.  I call this the "bitey" game, as each horse will feint at biting the other one.  Horses do this when playing with one another, but it is always a part of the initial establishment of who is higher ranking in the herd.  Between Cochise and Boone, it was Cochise making most of the noise.  Boone stood his ground and made no noise, which causes me to believe that he was winning.  We will see.  

Duke (r) trying to see what Boone (l) is made of.

Khyber wanted no part of any of this activity.  He wanted comfort, but since his cousin Boone was engaged with Cochise, he kept coming to me for affection--placing his head in my chest so I could pet him.  I did notice that at one point, Khyber and Duke had paired up and were standing peacefully together, so maybe they will buddy up as Boone establishes his place in the herd in coming weeks.  

I will match them up with different horses each weekend until they have worked things out with each horse before I put them together with the entire herd.  It is a fascinating process to watch, but has to be done carefully or you end up with injured horses.  

Khyber coming over for some affection while the others work thing out.