Horse Talk

[ChickenLover200]

So, Phoenix has been mounting June, and I'm not sure what to do about it

That's not good.... My mini tries to mount my QH, but he's too short (thankfully because he's a stud). I think my mare might have been "fixed" though.....

 

[abigalerose]

Yeah, if he was a mini I wouldn't be worried, but since he's bigger than her I'm freaking out thinking he's going to hurt her or give her an infection. The rescue I got Phoenix from said if I can't work it out between them that I can swap him for a mare, which I'm seriously considering. I do love Phoenix, but I need to make June's safety a priority over what I want. I talked to my cousin who trains horses about it, and she said pretty much the only options I had if I'm not okay with letting him continue is to marble June, which I think is too risky, or seperate them, and I got him as a companion for her so I'm not going to seperate them, especially since they're herd animals.
One piece of good news, if I do trade him out, the rescue has a 12 year old very laid back and well broke mustang mare who's safe for beginners that I could trade him for, and then my sister would have a horse to learn on. So lots to think about.

 

[ChickenLover200]

Yeah, if he was a mini I wouldn't be worried, but since he's bigger than her I'm freaking out thinking he's going to hurt her or give her an infection. The rescue I got Phoenix from said if I can't work it out between them that I can swap him for a mare, which I'm seriously considering. I do love Phoenix, but I need to make June's safety a priority over what I want. I talked to my cousin who trains horses about it, and she said pretty much the only options I had if I'm not okay with letting him continue is to marble June, which I think is too risky, or seperate them, and I got him as a companion for her so I'm not going to seperate them, especially since they're herd animals.
One piece of good news, if I do trade him out, the rescue has a 12 year old very laid back and well broke mustang mare who's safe for beginners that I could trade him for, and then my sister would have a horse to learn on. So lots to think about.

that'd be nice though if you did decide to take Phoenix back that there would be a mare ready to take as a replacement.

 

[abigalerose]

Yeahh. I'd miss Phoenix and all his little quirks, like how his lip twitches when you scratch him, and his giant fuzzy feet, and how he'll prop a hoof up on the gate when I'm working with June. He's definitely got a good personality and he's so cute. I hate to think of parting with him. But it helps knowing that the mare would be getting a home after a hard life, and that the rescue of course would find another good, more suitable home for Phoenix, and that I wouldn't have to worry about June. So, I'm tryna weigh my pros and cons

 

[abigalerose]

This is the mare in question.

And here are some nice close ups of Phoenix trying to eat my hand yesterday while I was feeding the chickens.

 

[ChickenLover200]

This is the mare in question.

And here are some nice close ups of Phoenix trying to eat my hand yesterday while I was feeding the chickens.

that mare looks a bit like my girl...

 

[abigalerose]

Have you posted a picture of your girl in here before? I can't remember..

 

[Bunnylady]

Another mare might not mount June (though I have seen Syd mounting Betsy, so you can't be absolutely sure about that). Mares can be nasty to each other, though. I can just about guarantee you that there would be a power scuffle between that mare and June, and the mustang would probably win. For one thing, she's older. For another, she's a bay. Whether she and June become friends after that isn't a sure thing - it would depend on whether the mustang has a prejudice against light-colored horses (a lot do). Though if her choices are be friends with June or nobody, they will probably at least come to a truce.

 

[abigalerose]

Well, having a power scuffle is a given, I haven't met any horses so far that don't have one, wether it's two mares, two geldings, or a mix. So I don't expect any less. As for her being older than June, I was told that it's better than getting one the same age becuase they wil pretty much continue fighting for dominance, whereas getting an older one will mean she will pretty much become dominant and stay dominant. I don't, however, believe that the color of a horse has anything to do with its attitude. Some people think it does and some don't, I don't. This mare is suppose to be vey laid back, and she is in with horses of every color right now and is getting on fine, so I'm betting, if I were to bring her home, she would probably scuffle with June to prove her dominance, and then they'd be buds. Although if they're not friends and just have a truce, at least she (highly unlikely) won't be mounting her and putting her at risk for problems. June and Phoenix aren't necessarily friends. They've just got the truce thing going. They'll hang out in close proximity but that's it. Phoenix spends most of his time chasing and nipping June.
But wether they get along or not we won't know till we try I guess. Fortunately the rescue is willing to work with me on finding the right horse. I could always switch him for a (hopefully) less studish acting gelding, or an old old mare, or a donkey. If I decide to trade him, I've got a lot of options for finding the right companion for June. But I do think that mare would be a good option. And I like that she's safe enough for my sister to ride

 

[Bunnylady]

It's great that the rescue will work with you. I've heard lots of stories of rescues that try to dump a load of blame or a guilt trip on the would-be owner that decides that theirs can't be the forever home for an animal that didn't work out. You don't know how the mix will work until you try it;

With the horses that I have had the chance to observe, most of the more dominant animals were dark, solid colors; most of the light or loudly marked ones were low ranking. If I were to name the animals by rank in the various "herds" that I handled, the names at the top of the list would usually be dark colored animals. Some of the lower ranking animals might be darker colors, too, but most of the time, the louder, the lower. Not to say there weren't exceptions (Latte is a palomino, and she has always ranked pretty high in any group she's been in). Color doesn't create the personality, but personality creates rank - in a group of half a dozen bays, they don't take turns being the boss, the most dominant personality wins, but in a pasture with half a dozen bays and an Appaloosa, all of the bays may gang up and universally pick on the spotty one.

The relationship between my two is rather odd - we joke that Sunny (a light chestnut) is Latte's punching bag. As much as she picks on her, you'd think Latte despised her, but Latte is the one whose brain falls out when they lose sight of each other. We used to think that Latte was just being a snot to Sunny, but lately, I've been questioning that. I don't think Sunny is brazen enough to challenge Latte outright, but I wonder if she isn't "dissing" Latte just enough that Latte feels she needs to prove her position again, and again, and again. Certainly, that's how Sunny acts when ridden - she frequently needs to be reminded who calls the shots. When these two lived at the farm where I used to work, Latte had an annoying and dangerous habit of running up to challenge any other horse that was ridden in "her" pasture, and Sunny was usually two steps behind, like the "wingman" in a fighter plane strafing run. I'm not sure where Sunny would rank, without Latte to lead or get in her way.