Horses are comforted by familiarity. Just as a human can return to a brutal relationship because it is what they know; horses can find solace in strange situations for the same reasons.
If you buy a new equine, find out all you can about that horse’s care, training, feeding and preferences. You might be planning to greatly improve aspects of his or her life, but to change things suddenly (even for the better) can be alarming to the horse. Try to maintain some of the familiar routines, especially what has been fed, and make changes gradually for the good health physically and mentally of your horse. They say it takes at least ten days for the horse’s digestive system to adjust to a new item in his or her feed. You want to add the new food in a small amount the first day then slowly add more of it while reducing the familiar feed until the complete change is made. This is especially important when going from dry feed like hay to the richer pasture.
If you plan to dramatically change the style in which your new horse is ridden, spend a few days with the type of equipment he or she has been used to so that your communication makes sense. Then you can change one aspect at a time to allow adjustments in the horse’s perceptions, understanding and how it all feels physically. Do a little bit often. Sometimes working with the horse 3 times a day for 15 minutes does more good for the adjustment period than one 45 minute session.
Think about the type of facility this horse has been used to – if he has never touched an electric fence wire, he may become panicked when he is first shocked on your electric fence! Think about the visibility of your fences. The smaller a fenced area is for a horse, the sturdier the fences and gates must be. The larger the fenced area, the more visible they must be. Tie white rags on fences to make them more visible.
If you want your new horse to become comfortable in his new home, establish a routine that you can maintain and soon, your methods will be the familiar ones that bring confidence and calm to his life. You do not have to have strict, unyielding times for meals, times to ride, turn out times. You do need to maintain consistency in the way you warm up, ride and cool down. You need consistency in the number of meals per day and should keep them within an hour or two of a regular time. I recommend doing turn outs in the day time during winter and the night time during summer if it is safe and convenient to do so.
Keep your horse’s perspective in mind and you can build a great relationship.
Stablewomen 