At present my 2 boys Ziggy and Mattie share a 3.5 acre field next to Bella, a 12 yo retired cob, and her 3 yo filly Izzy, who are in a similar sized field. The girls have not used all their grazing this year, and I have actually borrowed a little strip from their owner Suzy for this lean period.
Mattie is very dependent on Ziggy and gets separation anxiety when left, though he is improving a lot. Mattie is a 15.3 Arab who needs plenty to eat, Ziggy is a 14.1 ish fresh air eating Connemara with a laminitis attack somewhere in his past, according to his white line and my farrier.
Bella is laminitic and has suspensory ligament damage and is on restricted grazing.
Suzy is bringing her other horse, a 5 yo 16hh warmblood called Tommy, to the field in April. She has suggested that Tommy could share with Mattie as they have similar physiques and food needs, and Ziggy could go in with Bella and Izzy, since his grazing needs to be restricted in the grass season.
My head tells me that this is a good idea. Tommy works 6 days a week, but usually first thing in the morning when I am unlikely to be out with Ziggy, so Mattie will have either a companion in the field or his best friend next door at hearly all times. It would also help to prevent Ziggy from getting FAT like a barrage balloon as he did last year. Ziggy shared with Bella in the past and was fine, and he is very fond of Izzy, in a sort of platonic big-brothery way.
I hesitate though because Bella is a very dominant mare and she will boss Ziggy around. He is the boss at present and I just worry that she might be a bit of a shock to his system.
Am I being silly? Are there other things I should be thinking about? Please help me get this one straight in my head!
Mattie is very dependent on Ziggy and gets separation anxiety when left, though he is improving a lot. Mattie is a 15.3 Arab who needs plenty to eat, Ziggy is a 14.1 ish fresh air eating Connemara with a laminitis attack somewhere in his past, according to his white line and my farrier.
Bella is laminitic and has suspensory ligament damage and is on restricted grazing.
Suzy is bringing her other horse, a 5 yo 16hh warmblood called Tommy, to the field in April. She has suggested that Tommy could share with Mattie as they have similar physiques and food needs, and Ziggy could go in with Bella and Izzy, since his grazing needs to be restricted in the grass season.
My head tells me that this is a good idea. Tommy works 6 days a week, but usually first thing in the morning when I am unlikely to be out with Ziggy, so Mattie will have either a companion in the field or his best friend next door at hearly all times. It would also help to prevent Ziggy from getting FAT like a barrage balloon as he did last year. Ziggy shared with Bella in the past and was fine, and he is very fond of Izzy, in a sort of platonic big-brothery way.
I hesitate though because Bella is a very dominant mare and she will boss Ziggy around. He is the boss at present and I just worry that she might be a bit of a shock to his system.
Am I being silly? Are there other things I should be thinking about? Please help me get this one straight in my head!
