Integrating My New Gelding 2

The first phase of integrating my new gelding Asi into the herd was introducing him to three mares in his paddock (to read that story, click here). The next phase was to put him out on the hill with them. The hill pasture is three-quarters of a mile on one side and runs up to a ridge. Walking to see the ponies there is always good exercise, so putting Asi out there would give me answers to several important questions about herd management. Would he stay with the girls? Would he wander to the extent of the pasture without them? Would he come to me to be haltered when I appeared? So when I let Asi loose that first time, I did so knowing that the range of things I might be required to do before the short days of winter brought darkness early was vast!

Rose between Asi and the young girls

As it turned out, Asi didn’t venture more than a few hundred yards from the barn that first afternoon and he willingly came to me to be haltered and put back in his paddock for the night. The next day when I repeated the experiment, he did follow the mares, and they ventured a little farther, but when Asi got too close, one of the mares chased him back toward the barn. Again, he willingly came to me to be haltered and put away for the night. He left me reassured that he would stay with the herd and be haltered when asked.

Phase three of introducing Asi to the herd began several days later. This phase involved putting him out with the entire herd, adding a mare and his two daughters, aged one and two years old. More questions were in my mind with this phase. Asi hadn’t shown any sign of stallion behavior toward any of the mares. Nonetheless, I stayed aware that younger playful females might stir whatever hormones might remain active, so I planned the introduction to be when I could watch for an hour in case I needed to intervene. I also knew that changing the herd population could change the dynamics, so additionally I cleared my schedule at the end of that day to bring Asi back into his paddock so everyone could relax.

Rose keeping Asi away from the rest of the herd

I widely spread hay outside the barn paddocks and put all the females out first. When I brought Asi to the gate, the mare that had most bonded with him, Rose, approached. I waved her away to give me space to let Asi go, then I was absolutely fascinated to watch what unfolded next. Instead of returning to buddying up to Asi, Rose ignored the hay and assigned herself the role of protector of the young girls. Aimee and Lettie were very curious about the new pony, but Rose inserted herself between them and Asi whenever they tried to approach him. Asi was interested in hay, but the girls were not, so Rose was on constant vigilance, running, spinning, kicking, snaking her neck and using all her persuasive techniques to keep Asi and the little girls apart. The photograph shows Asi in the background eating hay, with Rose between him and the young girls. Over the next several days, this pattern of behavior continued no matter where the herd was: in the paddocks, on the hill, or on the flat. Rose definitely got her exercise! And then the dynamics evolved in unexpected ways. More next time!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2023

Integrating My New Gelding into the Herd

Fascinated as I am with herd dynamics, I knew I would want to watch when I put my new Fell Pony gelding in with my herd of mares. My new gelding is known to them already because he is my former stallion Kinniside Asi. I castrated him because he wasn’t happy in his life as a stallion; he’s a completely different and happier pony now. I have heard people complain that castrated stallions are not good companions for mares in their new life as a gelding, so I wanted to see if Asi would be that type or different.

Kinniside Asi, my new gelding, looking at the camera, and three mares learning to get along at feeding time.

Because Asi is heavier built than my mares, I knew I had to use great care when putting him with them, especially since he knew them previously as mating objects not companions. While I considered integrating the mares with him one at a time, I decided on a different strategy. I put three mature mares who are tightly bonded to each other with him all together for part of a day to see what would happen. It ended up being a better strategy than I had imagined!

I was taught early in my pony life that it is always best to introduce new herd mates over food, and it is an approach that I have always found useful. Accordingly, I began the experiment when the ponies were all eager for hay. I tied Asi to the fence in his large paddock and spread hay there. I then brought the three mares into the paddock, tying each of them to the fence until we were all present. Then I untied the mares in reverse dominance order (I don’t want a dominant mare pushing around a lesser one while it’s tied up). Finally, I untied Asi. As expected, they all went to eating.

It didn’t take long, though, before curiosity overtook hunger pangs, and the dynamics that followed were as fascinating as I anticipated. The best part was they were also full of surprises. I was pleased that Asi was respectful. I was also pleased that the mares worked together to put him in his place as I had hoped. I was surprised, though, which mare was the most effective in moving Asi around: the youngest and smallest who was also well-pregnant. It was truly impressive to watch her pin her ears, walk with authority in his direction with her neck outstretched and have him back up as fast as he was able. I had watched my first Fell Pony mare, Sleddale Rose Beauty, do similar things around stallions, and I had used her capabilities to my advantage whenever I had a new young stallion that needed putting in his place. I smiled and said to myself, “I’ve found my new Beauty!”

Another mare’s strategy was not as authoritative and seemed less effective to me. She would touch noses with him then turn around and kick out at him, usually missing. I’ve learned over the years that they know when they will miss and they know when they will make contact and they choose accordingly. I didn’t feel Asi took this sort of encounter nearly as seriously as the other where he was backing up in complete deference to the mare. Instead he was just keeping out of range.

I had to cut that first introduction of gelding and mares short after forty-five minutes. A biting fly had come out that makes some of my mares lose their minds, so I returned them to their own paddock where they could find peace and refuge. After frost, though, I repeated the integration several more times for several hours at a time until it was clear that that herd of four had reached a peaceful state. One mare chose to hang with the stallion, and the other two mares hung together. At feeding time Asi was low pony in the herd. Time for the next step: putting them together on the hill!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2022

You can find more stories like this one in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

Unexpected Glue

The younger herd!

My seven Fell Pony mares all were running together, spending nights on the hill and days in the paddocks where I can check them over and manage their caloric intake. They have delighted me by coming into the paddocks each morning, awaiting my arrival and morning greeting. Then the herd split in two, with half coming in and the other half staying out so that I had to go out searching for them. I was surprised by the glue that had kept them together and that I had removed.

The herd that has continued to come into the paddocks is the older three mares. The herd that has been expressing their independence is the three youngest: four-year-old Calista, her foal Mayflower, and yearling Aimee.

Herd dynamics always fascinate me. So when the mare herd split in two, I was curious what had changed. I knew I had made a change in the herd, separating Madie for part days in preparation for foaling. When she foaled, I removed her from the mare herd entirely to give she and her foal a chance to bond and then get used to life on the hill without pressure from more dominant ponies.

Madie ended up being the unexpected glue in the herd. Madie likes to be in the company of the older mares who are close in age to her. Aimee likes to be in the company of her mother. With Madie in the herd, these preferences kept the herd together because Calista didn’t want to be alone. With Madie removed, Aimee no longer had incentive to stay with the older mares, and Calista didn’t either with Aimee joining her band. So interesting! Recombining the herd is going to be fascinating when the time comes!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2021

If you enjoyed this story, you can find more like it in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.