09/13/2026
So how am I working with our newest additions Maverick and Dutton?
Maverick and Dutton came to us in June, and the first thing I do when I get new horses is I let them be. I let them watch the farm, see the routine, hear the sounds, see the daily habits and get used to seeing me daily. I slowly interact with them, making it positive experiences from along the fence line first, making each interaction with treats, getting them used to coming when I call but not intruding on their space.
Next I start interacting with them in their space, from putting on fly masks, to spraying, to lifting hooves. I give full body rubs, and let them feel my touch from the tips of the nose to the bottom of the hooves.
Then, I start pulling them out of the paddock. This is after I’ve built a level of trust, I allow them to be imperfect when coming out, they’re allowed to look, to observe, to say hi to other horses, to take their time and to be timid, but we always accomplish a goal- starting small from outside tie up and hoof picking, to working our way into the barn for crosstie grooming.
I also slowly start working in 10-15min with them in the riding ring. Working on our basics of ground work. We start with our commands for walk on, and halt. We work on listening to my body language and have huge rewards of pats and praise.
This is currently where we’re at, were lengthening our time of work in the arena, and working on our natural skills- Maverick has shown a strong liking for liberty, and once “in work” and focused, he’s been phenomenal with his strong desire to be with me and follow my body language.
Another big movement forward for these two guys was separating them. I don’t take this lightly, as Maverick and Dutton have been together since Dutton was 5 weeks old, without a mother, Maverick took Dutton in as his baby. No part of me wants to stress them out, but Maverick was spending 99% of his brain energy on focusing on Dutton, where is he, is he safe, is he ok, is he sad without me? Maverick needed to let go of his dad role, he needed to have a break from raising his baby, and be able to find himself again, without the identity as Duttons keeper. BUT I needed him to trust me enough first to allow me to move Dutton without him being too stressed out.
Dutton needed to grow as a young horse. He needed the guidance of a matriarch, and the correction of mares on how to speak horse. Mav allowed Dutton to get away with a lot! I needed my mares to teach Dutton that we can play, and we can share hay, but you need to listen to the others and not just do whatever you want. In comes my Stevie who is phenomenal at her young age and so patient and kind in her teaching.
I put Cameo my other matriarch with Maverick, as separating a bonded relationship can leave them anxious and nervous, I needed a strong mare who would let Mav know it’s ok, and be there for him as he adjusted to his new paddock.
Horses are deeply emotional beings, with deep feelings and unique personalities. Part of what I strive to do is help them find their personalities, be allowed to express themselves openly, support who they are and help them grow and develop into who they were always meant to be!
My final note on this: when I do paddock switches, I always ensure to have free hay readily available! I don’t want any needless resource protecting behaviour coming into play. So this week the youngin’s will go back to netted hay after being together for over a week, and the oldies will continue to have free resources as they can handle the calories 🙂
So paddock moves always come with excessive hay waste, but this is a conscious decision especially when Dutton is learning to speak horse, so that we don’t add any resource protection behaviours and the herd is more willing to share eating and allow a new horse to graze together. An expensive yet important thing I do.
