Justin is Making Friends!

So over the weekend Chris spent hours outside in the rain tightening the electric tape fencing and clearing away weeds. This made it possible for us to turn out Justin in the big pasture while Faelynn, our new Thoroughbred mare, is turned out in the small pasture. We wanted to do this in order to allow both horses time to adjust to each other’s presence before putting them in the same space together. Since there is a considerable size difference between the two horses (Justin is under 10 hands and Fae is over 16 hands) things could get a little risky if we put them together and it doesn’t go so well, especially for Justin. On a few different occasions I have led Justin on a lead rope in the same pasture as Fae and observed their interactions.

While it has been going pretty well…Justin wasn’t giving Fae the space she wanted, so allowing them to interact across the fence seemed like the best next step in transitioning them to being together. I haven’t had a chance to observe Fae with electric tape fencing, so I decided to keep Fae in the small pasture with wooden fencing and let Justin loose in the large pasture (about 7-8 acres).

When we first let him out in the big pasture he was so excited he went galloping through all of the fields and investigating every corner.

Recently, our neighbors opened up a back pasture to let their Arabians graze. Nearby is Justin’s new favorite spot: in the very back corner of the pasture, right next to his new buddies.

He’s pretty cute when he hangs back there, you can barely see him from the house. Here’s an idea of where he likes to hang out:

As you can probably tell from the picture, it’s a bit of a hike to get to, and in the morning when I am trying to feed him his grain and put him in his stall before heading off to work, it can REALLY slow me down. This morning as I was trying to get him, he put up a bit of a fight, refusing to walk forward and nudging my arm the whole time, just to remind me that he did NOT want me taking him away from his friends.

Sorry buddy, the grass is too long and lush to be letting you graze all day long! For those of you wondering, overgrazing in miniature horses can cause a painful condition called founder, which leads to inflammation of the hooves. Poor little guy thinks we are just taking him away from his friends, but really we are trying to keep him healthy and happy!

I hope you guys enjoyed reading about Justin’s new friends and transitioning the two horses to living together.

Please comment with any questions, or any experiences you may have had in this area.

All my best,

Jenn