Re: Introducing new horse to the herd
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] An update on the saga of getting Boss Gelding Tuopen to accept new-kid Duncan As you may recall, Tuopen (8 yo Fjord) cornered Duncan (yearling Paint/Quarter Horse) and roughed him up pretty badly the first time we put them together about 1 October. We separated the boys and got Duncan gelded. About 1 November, I again put T and D in one small, very hilly, muddy pasture. The other horses were in a nearby pasture. All was well for about an hour as I fed the boys (tied) and fed 'em some more (untied). Then T nipped D, D started to run, and the rodeo was on again with mud spraying, hooves flying, and teeth bared. Fortunately, I was able to separate the two and tie T before he hurt D again. ... sigh ... I then decided to put Duncan in with the rest of the herd and keep Tuopen in isolation. T wasn't happy about being separated, especially from our other 2 Fjords, but I had scant sympathy for him. This past Saturday, Chuck and I decided to try it again. (I was so nervous, I was nauseated.) We shut all the other horses in the barn, and turned T and D loose in the pasture dotted with widely scattered piles of hay. All went really well, to my stomach's immense relief. We left T and D together in the pasture for the night, then let the rest of the horses loose on Sunday morning. Still no problems. Today (Monday), it's as if nothing was ever wrong. Looking back on the experience, I'd say that Tuopen feels extremely protective of his herd, especially Sissel, our Fjord mare, and Chuck and me. It was important to keep the 3 of us out of sight while T and D learned to get along. I also believe that giving Duncan a chance to become a part of the herd without T was beneficial. Since the other horses are now less inclined to harass D, T has less reason to be aggressive. And patience (okay, outright fear!) on our part was essential. Thanks to all on this list who gave me ideas and suggestions -- they were a great help. DeeAnna
re: introducing new horse to the herd
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mary, Ingrid, Brian, and Duane all offered some great ideas about what's going on with Herd Leader Tuopen and new-boy-on-the-block Duncan. I truly appreciate your suggestions and insights. After pondering what you've said, I think the best thing is to try to wait until Duncan is gelded and thoroughly healed up before trying again to merge everyone into one herd. The vets are coming on Monday to do the dirty deed. Also, I will keep mare Sissel in another enclosure until I'm pretty sure the boys are getting along. I will also keep -us- away from the boys until things (hopefully) have settled down, since I think Tuopen is fairly possessive of His humans as well as of His mare. I was surprised at how well stocky Tuopen was able to keep up with leggy Duncan in a 4-acre pasture, so I will also open the gate between the two pastures during the initial meeting. Duncan will then have about 8 acres in which to escape from Tuopen. I wish I had some neutral territory -- h -- I may be able to borrow the neighbor's hay field for a day. I'll give that some thought. As far as not gelding during fly season, I think the vets around here worry more about the possibility of the flies transferring diseases from one critter to another, rather than the problem of maggots. There's a lot of wildlife such as deer, rabbits, racoons, and coyotes as well as plenty of livestock, so it would be no surprise if a sick or injured animal is within a fly's flying distance of my horses. I'll keep you posted! Thanks again... DeeAnna
re: introducing new horse to the herd
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (BRIAN C JACOBSEN) DeAnna, Mary Thurman's suggestion to you was very insightful, and I bet she's right on track. You probably know that unless a stallion has been raised with a gelding, or at some point has gotten used to being with one, he most likely will not tolerate one. The interesting thing is, that with some geldings the reverse is also true, and the gelding will not tolerate the stallion. Tuopen probably is being protective of the mare, but it may not be just the mare. He may think he's protecting all of them. It may well be that if you have the colt gelded now it will end the problem. As far as waiting until the end of fly season, I hope I'm not contradicting something your veterinarian has told you, but we (myself as a veterinarian, and the clinic I work at) do not worry very much about that. Horses are good at keeping flies away from wounds, especially an area like we are talking about that is in reach of their tail. And you can help with fly spray near the area. When someone says they're worried about keeping the flies away from a wound, it's so the flies won't lay eggs there and you end up with a maggot infestation (anyone eating lunch? : ) ) But flies prefer to lay their eggs in rotting material, and unless something goes wrong with the castration, there won't be any rotting material there. So our experience has shown there just is not much to worry about with fly problems after castrations in horses. Even after you have the colt gelded, the best place to put them together would be, as Mary said, away from the other horses, and, just as importantly, in a totally new pen that Tuopen hasn't been in and doesn't think he owns. You said you have limited pastures, so I don't know if this possible for you, but it really does make a difference in a horse's thinking. Keep in mind that if the colt is threatened again, he may try to go through/over the fence instead of getting trompled again, so a fence that is the least likely to hurt him would be nice. Hope this helps. Brian Jacobsen, DVM Norwegian Fjordhest Ranch Salisbury, North Carolina ___ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
Re: Introducing new horse to the herd
This message is from: Mary Thurman [EMAIL PROTECTED] problem between him and Tuopen. Does anyone have any suggestions? I thank you in advance for any ideas you have! DeeAnna Deeanna, Possibly the problem here is the mare. Tuopen may feel that she is HIS MARE. He sees the newcomer (a male) as a threat and so drives him off. Try putting them together without the mare anywhere near and see what happens. Mary == Mary Thurman Raintree Farms [EMAIL PROTECTED] _ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
