|
Q. Within the past three weeks, we have
purchased our second miniature horse, a 10-year-old mare in foal. When
the mare arrived at our farm, we assumed that she would be a good
companion for our 2-year-old miniature mare. We also expected that there
would be some adjustments for all of us. We have them pastured together
with separate, but side-by-side run-in stalls. They are fed separately,
each is given separate exercise with the other watching, and each is
given an extreme amount of love and attention.
We thought that the two of them were
adjusting. We are aware that the dominant mare sometimes needs time to
get established, but they still seem to be at war. Mostly it is the
younger of the two who continually gets bitten and kicked. Is this
perhaps because the older is pregnant? What do you suggest at this
point? Separate them? We don't want this trauma to harm the younger
horse or put the pregnant one in such a turmoil that she is in jeopardy
of losing the foal. Many people have advised us to let them work it out.
Others recommend separation. Please respond with your recommendations.
Sharon
A. The conflicting suggestions are not
unusual and actually quite understandable. It's always difficult with
these regrouping incompatibilities to know how long to ride out the
bickering, when to try again if conditions change, or when to give up. I
can give you yet a third reasonable suggestion to consider. Sometimes it
works well to put the two battlers in side-by-side paddocks with plenty
of space in each side. This will enable one or both to stay away from
the fence line. It will also allow them to make peace and buddy up along
the line. Sometimes two animals which have been unfriendly seem to work
things out through the fence without any injury. You'll get an idea from
the time they spend near each other when it might be right to try to
open the gate. When you allow them together again, hopefully the peace
will continue. Occasionally, one will start provoking the other's wrath
again.
Often these incompatibilities change
when another animal comes along. While I'm not suggesting you go buy
another horse, if a gelding or another young female were added, things
might quiet down. If this were on a farm with other possible herd mates
easily available, we might suggest playing around with other
combinations or with a third horse in the same pasture.
You asked for my recommendation. First,
let's address your questions about the pregnant mare. I wouldn't think
its likely that the pregnancy is a significant factor contributing to
the aggression, nor that the aggressive interactions would adversely
affect the pregnancy. Especially if they have plenty of space even if
left together.
Before I could give you a recommendation
on what to do right now, we would need to look closer at the situation
and exactly what is going on. Under what specific circumstances is the
aggression evoked? Where and when does it happen? What are they fighting
over? Is it food-related? What are you feeding them? Maybe they don't
have enough grazing appetite or opportunity to keep them occupied? Grain
can exacerbate aggressive tendencies, and horses don't usually fight
over grass. Does it look like the younger one is trying to play? Mature
mares don't usually play, so maybe the younger one is pestering the
older one to play. But that would rarely lead to contact battles. Do you
have any social behavior history on the older mare? What about the
younger mare? I assume they are both well-behaved around people.
While we're on the subject, isn't it
rather amazing how most horses do get along fairly well with all the
arbitrary groupings and regroupings they experience in life? This is not
at all the way it is with horses in natural social herds, or even our
modern domestic stock which are allowed to live in natural social groups
for any major length of time. Horses tend to form very tight,
long-lasting group bonds. They naturally stay with their group and fight
off or at least avoid any intruders. In contrast, in our ordinary
domestic horses which are regrouped, there are some incompatibilities,
particularly when we give them limited resources like feed and waterers
to bicker over. But for the most part, we take our horses here, there,
and everywhere, and expect they will settle in before major damage is
done. Maybe this greater social flexibility in our domestically managed
horses is because they have opportunities as young horses to get used to
all this reorganization.
|