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RE: [RC] Birds of a feather - heidi

You guys with larger herds, do you notice this too?  It's only been the 
past few years that I have had enough horses in the same field to 
really watch herd dynamics.  (And it helps that mst of the time I can 
see them from the house, which is so very wonderful!)


I actually see more of a relationship-oriented grouping in my herd than
a color grouping, with the exception of the exclusion of greys for a
time.  (More on that in subsequent paragraph.)  It is uncanny the way
that closely related horses will quickly bond, even if they have never
met before in their lives.  I've had half and three-quarter sisters in
their teen years become almost instant friends on first meeting, time
and time again.

As for color, I think a lot of it is what they are used to.  I have not
seen any segregation by bay or chestnut in this group, but then all of
them have been raised with bays and chestnuts.  But I didn't have any
grey horses for many years, and only had temporary introductions of
grey horses from time to time--and they were quite clearly ostracized. 
Now that I have a couple of greys long-term, I no longer see this.  Over
time, the others did accept them.  But it has certainly taken time.  

On a few occasions, I've had horses of other breeds here, too--and they
have quite definitely been treated as outsiders by the herd.

My herd is somewhat stable, but does have additions of others from time
to time.  New horses are always hazed, but related new horses are hazed
far less than unrelated ones.

I think Dot also has a point about working horses moving up in the
pecking order--and I think it is because they gain new confidence when
they have a job and learn new skills.  That confidence is reflected in
their daily life and relationships.

Heidi


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