We bought our hobby farm in May of 2013 and brought my horse, Jack, home to it in July of that year after we had fences up. Since that time he has been the only horse on the property. He gets a little company from the goats but honestly he ignores their presence and barely tolerates them most days. He can be a bit grouchy and not just because he is now 22. He has always been a bit cranky and set in his ways. I do believe stubbornness is an Appaloosa trait.

We finally decided it was time for Jack to have company. For the last year we have been keeping our ears and eyes open for a good fit for our hobby farm and last week we finally found one.

Her name is Melody and she is a 15 year old Haflinger. We picked her up from Bridget the neighbor girl who has done chores for us while we were on vacation. She is going to be going to college this week and of the kids in her family she was the only one interested in keeping the horses. So her family made the decision to rehome their three horses. Of the three Melody was the healthiest and the most rideable.

It may sound a little hard-hearted of me but even if all the horses were free I really only wanted the one that I could ride and that wouldn’t need a large vet bill to maintain. I honestly cannot afford an animal I can’t use in some way. Many people believe horses are just hay burners but I enjoy going out on long rides with Jack so he is worth every penny I spend on hay. We picked her up Wednesday evening and started introducing her to Jack.

A few things to keep in mind when introducing a new animal:

1. First, keep the new animal in a separate pen so they can see, hear, and smell each other without being able to touch. This allows the animals to become accustomed to the sight, sound, and scent of the other animal without fighting.
2. Secondly, they are going to fight. Even after letting the animals become accustomed to each other from afar they will fight when put together. There is no getting around this fact. Dominance needs to be established, personalities need to be discovered, and boundaries need to be set but if they are put together right away they will fight more than if they become accustomed to each other from a distance.
3. Lastly, remember that new animals do not know where the fences are so it is a good idea to walk them around the perimeter or remark the fence lines with fencing tape so the wires are clearly visible.

I have been present for horse introductions many times and I will say that introducing Melody to Jack was very easy. They didn’t fight very much and they seemed interested in each other in a good way and were willing to make friends. On Jack’s side of things Melody is a girl so of course he wants to be friends.

Melody is a Haflinger which is a smaller horse but not quite classified as a pony. She is small and stocky with big feet but because of her size she is not suitable for Trenton to ride. We decided when we were still thinking of getting her that she would be a family kid’s horse which means all the kids are welcome to be part of riding her, feeding her, and generally taking care of her if they wish to enjoy going out for rides. My niece, Aurora, is super excited about it and Fiona wants to ride her so bad. I have not gotten a chance to take her out yet to see how she does so the kids are not allowed on her until then. We did tie both horses to the hitching post to brush them, clean feet, and fit Melody to a saddle. She did well considering we had extra kids around that day so the session also worked to desensitizing Melody to having kids run around. Jack looked as if he could fall asleep while Melody watched everything intently but kept herself calm.

I think it will work nicely having another horse to keep Jack company and for the kids to ride out with me. The only reservation I have is that it may be difficult to ride out with only one horse. I believe the other will throw a fit, well, Jack will anyway. He is a notorious fit thrower.