I haltered Brandy and brought her out to the long run that is 16' x 100'. I left her halter on and turned her loose. I went to halter Chance. I don't like leaving halter's on my horses, but I felt that it would be safer to have the halter's on just in case I needed to catch someone quickly. Then my OH went up to the upper gate and opened up Chance's gate, that lets her into the long run. I wasn't too sure what to expect. Would Chance run straight to Brandy at the the first sight of her? Would Chance even notice?
I don't think my little Mustang was too excited about being set free with another horse. She slowly crawled out of the gate and grazed quietly.
After about 5 minutes, she moved maybe 10 feet. I don't think I was quite expecting this. I thought for sure that once Chance realized she was in with another horse, she would walk or run up to said horse, and say hi. Nope. Not a chance.
She actually started to graze back in the direction of her pasture.
But wait! Chance slowly grazes her way down the long run and gets very close to Brandy. At this point I knew that Chance had to know she was loose with another horse, right? Of course she knew! She just didn't get all excited. She grazed in front of Brandy for a few minutes.......
Then Brandy pins her ears. There's the warning Chance, you just might have gotten a little too close for comfort!
This is exactly what I knew Brandy would do.....the warning kick! Chance never even sniffed Brandy, she was just grazing quietly and Brandy felt she was too close, and gave her a warning! I think Chance was a little surprised!
After the warning, they went back to grazing like nothing ever happened.
Chance decided to head back the other direction.
But that didn't last long. Chance turned around and grazed back towards Brandy. They got so close, I was just waiting for something to happen. A squeal, a sniff, Chance getting excited......something..........
Once Chance grazed past Brandy, Brandy decided that it was time to give another warning. Nothing serious. Chance gave her a look of "What the heck is wrong with you? All I am doing is eating!"
Chance decided to follow Brandy for a couple seconds.......
Then they went their separate ways.
Chance was really interested in the goats. The goats were also very interested in Chance. Fritzy was not happy that she didn't get to go out grazing.
This looks like it could turn into trouble, but nothing happened.
The goats followed Chance up and down the fence line! I think they really like her!
Chance was having a great time hanging out and grazing. I still couldn't believe that she didn't get excited about being in with another horse.
Brandy gave her another warning with pinned ears, for the final time.
When Brandy pinned her ears or kicked out at Chance, Chance did not overreact and take off running, nor did she ever pin her ears at Brandy, or try to kick at her. She just turned around or continued grazing.
Have I mentioned before how beautiful my Mustang is? Or how much I love her?
Chance did make it down to the fence where there is no electric wire and sniff noses with Fritzy. Fritzy tried to bite Chance a couple times. I think she was just jealous that Brandy and Chance got to hang out together! Or she was just being her usual dominant self.
Speaking of jealous, the crazy Aussie's couldn't get enough of what was going on, which was nothing. Bailey layed there with his head resting on the bottom rail of the gate, and Sadie just stood there and watched. They were hoping for some action, but thankfully there was no action to be seen. (Here is a picture of Sadie with shorter hair! I haven't had time to do a "new haircut" photo shoot, so here is a teaser!)
My OH just stayed off in the distance, enjoying his beer and the scenery.
While Simba, the cat, cried obnoxiously at our feet.............
I was very happy with how everything went. I couldn't have asked for a better "meeting". I will do it again in a couple weeks!
In case anyone is wondering....I will not put Brandy and Chance together permanently. At least not now. Once Chance is full grown (she is on a different diet then my other horses), then I might consider it. Fritzy is very dominant, and Brandy has ended up with a lot of small "injuries" from it. So in the future, I might put Chance and Brandy in the large pasture, and Fritzy in the small pasture............
32 comments:
Sounds like it went well! Brandy warned and Chance is a level-headed little girl and didn't push the boundaries! Do you think Mustangs are smarter than domestic horses? I do!
I can't say enough about how BEAUTIFUL Chance is! Her coat is the most gorgeous color ever and her tail is wavy and lovely. Very, very pretty!
That's a pretty calm interaction! In my experience, mares get things sorted out pretty quickly, while geldings continue to tussle and wrangle, although it's the mares who can get more serious about things.
Wow Chance has become quite the beautiful young lady...she is soooo good Jen, all your hard work with her is really gonna pay off. The turn out didn't even phase her...she was calm, not aggresive and very causual about the whole thing, that is a very good sign about her nature!
What a great introduction for the two of them. She seems very sensible when it comes to meeting new horses, a very good thing!
That went well, and wow Chance is a gorgeous girl!My dog Winston does does the same thing resting his chin on the fence rail
Gosh, that couldn't have gone better, what a relief I bet that was. Chance is turning out to be a stunning little lady :)
Chance is such a hotte (word verification to comment)! I'm sure you could have gotten a different outcome if mama would have been with them. I know how you feel....I don't like Romeo turned out with certain horses here when he's so little. Give her a "Chance" to grow. They still have to eventually learn their place in the pecking order. I'll bet Brandy will try to protect/mother her in time? Especially if they're turned out some of the time together? The only downside is that when they have to be by themselves for two years to grow, they get a real shocker when it's finally time to join the herd but they learn FAST. Hopefully they don't get injured in the process (which they usually don't) but at least they're bigger and can sustain an impact. I guess in the wild they just survive and learn at a young age which horse to stay a distance. Good first meeting....good idea to leave halters on too! I've learned to not leave them alone initially. I'm always watching the beginning intros. Too many people just turn them out/walk away and let them fend....but that's how many of the injuries occur! Well done! Glad you are getting some time with your horses!! They look great!
Wow--that was one of the calmest meetings I've ever seen! Good job. I can't believe how nicely Chance's brand shows up, too. Beautiful's is hardly noticeable--it blends in too much. She looks great, Paint Girl.
Chance is growing into a beautiful girl! Love her color! I've wanted to put my two horses out together (mother and daughter, but lived on separate properties after weaning so they don't recognize each other now). I'm sure they'd be fine, but I'm still too chicken.
Sounds like it all went well. Chance seems like a 'get-along-with-everyone' type of horse, but she does seem to be testing her boundaries with other horses, and doesn't seem to understand the thing about 'personal space'.
Good for you wanting to give Chance the opportunity to be with other horses and learn how to act with them.
I'm thinking that she'd love to have some goat pasture buddies to habg with for sure.
By the way, Chance is looking gorgeous. Her red tones are really showing up as she lightens. And I don't know if it's just the angle in the photos, but she looks taller and stockier than Brandy now, too.
Your little Mustang is growing up before your eyes!
~Lisa
Chance is a beauty. The first time I put Gabbrielle in with the other horses, they all lined up at the water trough and Gabbrielle taught them how to blow bubbles. It was the cutest thing on earth.
That Chance is a really nice little horse. I still can not believe he is a mustang...I have never saw one that pretty. You are proud of him I know and I am glad the turn out went so well. I have always wondered is that a brand on the neck?
Chance is gorgeous! What is your special diet for her? It's doing wonders! I'm glad the meeting went well.
I separate my herd for their mash/grain and then put them back together for their hay because Annie and Nadia get extra large portions, Scout gets antihistamine, and Yalla! gets a supplement.
My Simba (cat) is so very different from yours! He's part Siamese with crossed blue eyes and a pale, fuzzy sealpoint color.
Wow, that was fun to watch...Chance is such a good girl! What a great first meeting! You've really worked hard with her and it's paying off big time. She is becoming such a stunner!
Juliette~ Mustangs are definitely smart! I can't say for sure if they are smarter than domestic's, but I really believe it just depends on the horse. They all learn differently and some much quicker then others!
Lisa~ Chance is getting big. She is going through a growth spurt right now! She isn't as tall as Brandy yet. Although in some of those picture's she sure looks like she is bigger then her! Right now Chance measure's around 14HH at the butt. I am hoping she gets to be around 15HH, so my OH can ride her someday too!
K.T. Sparks~ Yes, that is a brand on Chance's neck. All BLM captured Mustangs have a brand on the left side of their neck. Although Chance was born in the BLM corrals, she still belonged to the BLM so she got the brand!
Fantastyk Voyager~ Chance's diet consists of 75% grass hay and 25% alfalfa. She gets 1 lb of LMF Super Supplement a day, which is formulated for where I live and for being fed mostly grass hay. It basically is a vitamin/mineral supplement and has everything in it that she would not be getting from the grass hay. This is the diet plan my vet and I agreed upon. It is working great and when she starts to go through a growth spurt, I toss a little extra grass hay to her. Plus we turn them out for grazing in the grass paddock.
Great pictures!! Chance looks so good, nice and round. Her color is always so interesting to me.
I laughed because every time I saw a pic with Brandy looking threatening, Chance was just grazing next to her, doing nothing!
Curious to see what happens if you turn them loose together in Chance's pasture, instead of "neutral territory." I think Fritzy might like living on her own. Nobody to boss around, LOL!
-Pony Girl
Sounds like Brandy is quite the diva. Cass is pastured with a mare like that, thinks the world revolves around her and is quite offended when others don't realize it.
Love your aussies:)
That's great news!!! I fully believe if the horses can see each other and *talk* to one another from their paddocks then they do get to know each other a bit! I think that Chance is one super smart filly!! I just love watching her grow and learn!! So excited for her future!!
Having watched our dominant mare Sahara's interaction with the youngsters, I don't worry so much about the youths being warned, as long as there is space for every individual to be respectful. Keeping the young together with older individuals helps stimulate them and to develop a good language. If there's one thing the horses don't get enough of here in Niger, it's social interaction with other horses. And that includes being so close that they might kick. But space is the key word, and when I don't feel that I have enough space in my own garden, I take the horses somewhere else where the less dominant one has enough room to back off, and make friends with the dominant one. As it is, we now have five horses together in a not so big yard, but they're all fine, and happy to be together. Our Ebony, who in dominance reminds of your Miss Fritsy, cannot be with the youngsters if Sahara or Arwen are around, so she gets to stay on the other side of the railing, except for when Arwen and Sahara are "out".
That said, Chance is BEAUTIFUL!!! I can see the barb blood in the mustang. She is awesome!
Thank you for sharing your pictures! I always wonder about herd dynamics and never have thought about a Mustang's perspective before...
This looked like it went really well ~ good planning on your part!
Chance is soooo gorgeous! I absolutely love her chocolate coloring. Did you and your other readers ever decide what color she is? I haven't had time to read comments. I'm barely making it through the blogs lol. I'm also really jealous of her thick mane. Chrome inherited the thin Arab mane instead of the thick wavy Friesian mane. :( At least his tail is curly and gorgeous lol. I enjoyed reading about their first meeting and you should be so proud of Chance's reaction. :)
I loved reading this post about the "introduction." At least they have been watching each other for a while so there were no WILD hiccups! Because I know how mares can be! I actually really like watching Lilly re-join the herd in the Big pasture. It can get crazy..but always amazing. I forget what that brand is on Chance's neck. What does it say? That is a little brand isn't it? I have secretly thought having my own personal brand would be very cool. Lilly could have a big ornate "O" on her somewhere. Since I have been back from vacation i read all your last posts and I do not see one post about your job! You must be enjoying having time with your own equines. You are still working there? I especially loved the plane ride footage. I am very envious! it must have been so thrilling up there in the sky.
Chance is stunning! What a beautiful girl. And wow, she is getting big (I haven't been by to visit in a bit). I'd say the meeting was a great success. You know, when I brought my little Piper home 2 years ago we put her in with our paint mare after a few weeks and they sorted it out pretty quickly, no one got hurt and they were happy to be together (and still are). Piper is a very mellow horse and sounds like Chance is, too, so that is good.
She really is looking pretty!
Your horses are gorgeous, and I've always loved mustangs! I wish all horse introductions would go smoothly like that!
It looks to me like everything went as well as it could be expected to go. Chance is absolutely BEAUTIFUL by the way.....it is so cool that I have watched her grow up via the blog.... anyway, it shouldn't be too long before she can pasture with one of the other horses.
boy it's nice when they work out their order without kicks and bites. and lordy that's a gorgeous mustang!!
- The Equestrian Vagabond
Chance is growing up so fast! Mares are so different in the way they interact. My two tend to put youngsters in their place without getting mean about it. I'm impressed with how they treat baby Daltrey. Jaz gets a little carried away but Daltrey already stands up to him.
I agree with what Esther said. That interaction is really important.
Boy, that did go amazingly well. I have a new paranoia about introducing horses after what happened with Luke. I think you made a good judgement call about who to let Chance out with.
Yep, sounds like it went pretty much as you expected. :) It's always interesting to see how "new" horses are going to interact once you finally intermingle them. Loved all your pics... and we've sheared one of our Aussies too, Tori just gets so durned THICK, so I think she appreciated the shorter hair.
Great first meeting :)
I can't believe how much your "little Mustang" has grown, she's almost as big as Brandy!! And she looks like she's in pretty darn good shape... especially for a horse that isn't even being ridden yet.
I love how well her brand stands out on her neck. The Mustang brands remind me of ancient writing.
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