Integrating new horses
Boss of the herd • Introducing a newcomer
QWe recently purchased a big Warmblood mare and turned her out with our two Thoroughbreds. The oldest Thoroughbred keeps between the new mare and the younger TB. She constantly moves away from the new horse, with the younger mare following on her outside, while the new mare keeps trying to join them. How do you recognise who is in charge in a group of mares? Debbie Howard, Perthshire
Jenni says... The short answer is that there might not be a horse in charge, but a horse who is more likely to be followed by the others. Looking at the video footage you sent, each horse has different motives and emotional experiences. The new mare is highly likely anxious and insecure; she is trying to stick close to the resident mares for safety. Horses feel safer in groups and it is instinctive for them to need to know all the escape routes just in case they should be chased by a predator. Resident horses are likely to have this information, so sticking close to them allows the new mare to take advantage of their local knowledge. Mean girls? Despite this, the TB mares are not keen to expand their group and keep moving away from the incomer, with the older mare inserting herself between the newcomer and the youngster. They are not aggressive and there is no active head lowering, ‘snaking’ and driving behaviour as might be seen in a stallion. This reflects their personalities and the fact that simply moving away is working well enough to keep aggression levels lower than they otherwise might be. As they move away, the new girl’s attempts to join them are frustrated and so her motivation to keep up increases — leading to the situation you are witnessing. Top dog So, who is ‘in charge’? Certainly, the younger TB follows the older one, who takes the initiative and inserts herself between her young friend and the new mare. Older horses are generally held in higher esteem by younger ones of the same social group. They follow their behavioural examples in new situations. Here, the older mare is a reassuring presence in dealing with an ‘intruder’. Whether the new mare will also begin to follow the lead of the older TB when circumstances are challenging remains to be seen, and will be a matter of integration, familiarisation with the new environment, and which mare is seen by the others to make the best choices.