03/07/2025
Group Turnout Part 3: Keeping the Peace
Over the last two posts we talked about the risks and benefits of group turnout, the dangers of reduced turnout, the hidden costs of isolation, and how thoughtful introductions can make or break herd safety.
But managing a herd doesn’t stop once introductions are done. Keeping the peace long term is just as important.
We, as people who claim to love horses, have a responsibility to learn. To understand how resource guarding shapes herd interactions, how pain can turn into aggression, and how their social dynamics actually work. There isn’t some strict ladder or fixed pecking order. Research shows what we often call a “hierarchy” is far more fluid and shifts depending on the resource — food, water, shelter, their human, or their favourite horse.
Because of that, we need to set up their environment to support calm relationships and minimize conflict. Here’s how we keep our herd living peacefully together after introductions:
• Making sure there are more than enough resources for every horse on the track — multiple water stations, hay stations, and places for shelter or shade.
• Providing safe, quiet spots where each horse can have their supplements or grain without fear of it being taken.
• Being realistic about how much space we have so we don’t overcrowd and create tension.
• Watching closely for changes in behaviour. Pain often shows up as aggression, so if a horse starts acting differently, we may pull them temporarily until it’s managed.
And it’s also about patience. A herd doesn’t just stabilize overnight. Studies show most chasing and sorting happens in the first three days to two weeks, but real settling can take months. True peace is when you see less chasing, more mutual grooming, relaxed grazing together, and horses confidently sharing resources without pinned ears or rushed bites.
Even then, it’s fragile. Adding another horse too soon, changing where food or water is placed, or health issues like pain can disrupt that balance all over again.
Keeping a herd stable isn’t about micromanaging every move. It’s about setting up the right environment, paying attention, and giving them time so they can just be horses.
It’s not about being perfect. It’s about staying curious, learning, and doing what we can to support their needs every day.
In Part 1, we looked at the real risks and benefits of group turnout, and how reduced turnout and isolation come with their own serious costs.
In Part 2, we explored how most injuries actually happen during introductions, and why thoughtful, gradual steps make all the difference.
Now in Part 3, we’ve dug into what it takes to keep the peace long term. From setting up the right environment to understanding how long it truly takes for a herd to settle, this is what real, day-to-day welfare looks like.
Because when we know better, we can do better.
Group turnout isn’t just about putting horses together. It’s about creating the conditions where they can truly thrive.