herd mentality

[lindavaneq@juno.com]

I have an Alpha mare who is almost always the boss..  Most horses are
either threatened or kicked into submission.  There was one mare that we
simply could not put her in with, even in a big pasture.  She would take
every opportunity to corner this mare and try to kill her.  We had to
seperate them because the other mare was not bright enough to stay out of
the way or do as told.  She was not agressive in return, just would not
obey the Alpha mare.  In a natural horse environment, this mare would
have been banished from this Alpha mare's herd.

There is one mare I know of who is dominant over this Alpha.  However,
this is the only horse she is dominant over.  Strange that you can't
always predict just what the pecking order will be ahead of time.

Since most people can't keep horses on 200+ acres to simulate their
natural range, sometimes we must intervene for their safety. 


Linda Van Ceylon,
Mountain Region 

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