Managing Pastured Horses

["guest@endurance.net" <guest@endurance.net>]

Terry Emmitt tle01@health.state.ny.us
Hi, another pasture management question.  (I hope I'm not posting
twice, I didn't see my message come up).
This question concerns the same bossy gelding who wouldn't let me
take my mare in and out of the field... that problem is resolved,
mostly with my voice now, but an occasional well placed stone
reinforces the effort.
Last week a friend brought her gelding over.  My gelding got very
upset and didn't want him anywhere near my mare.  We had to keep
them out of kicking/bitting range the whole day.  This is a 20
year old schoolmaster, by the way.
I'm going to open up my farm to a few boarders.  My dilemna is
how to mix these horses with my own.  Initially, any new horses
will go into paddocks near the pastures.  But once the acclimation
point is reached, how shall I introduce them in the field?  I
don't think another mare will be a problem, because I can put the
mares together, or the gelding with the new mare, then add my mare
when things are okay.  But what about other geldings?  Should I
put my mare with a new gelding (and freak out Buddy), then add my
gelding, or put the geldings together, then add the mare?  Or just
keep the mare out of the gelding pasture?  (Will that "guarantee"
that my old gelding won't get the crap beat out of him?).  I'd
like to be able to put them all together and use rotational
grazing, but in the beginning,how can I avoid broken fences, legs,
or bones?  (Mine and theirs?)

Thanks in advance for suggestions and strategies ...
Terry


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