new to weanlings

Question
i am an experienced horse owner, all of which have been over 3 years old. i have just purchased a filly born in may and am waiting for her to reach 6 months in age before i bring her home. My horses (mares) are currently at a barn in a herd of about 15 mares and i have been doing research but still have many questions. Starting with how large should she be before she is introduced to a new herd. She is already almost 14 hh so she is bigger then 2 or 3 of the ponies in the herd. I know how social horses are so i know she needs to be with horses but i don't live near any horse farms with other weanlings or yearlings. I am considering putting her at a different barn with smaller herds but if i eventually want to move her to this barn wont it be worse because i have read that horses go easier on youngsters so if i wait will there be a bigger chance of injury. However i have also read of all the disasters when putting a young horse in a new herd and they have to fend for them selves and are either injured or worse. Any help and suggestions you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.
Lauren

Answer
Hi Lauren,
             The first thing is to give her some time to settle in. Put her in a paddock by herself next to the others horses for about a week. Then you will want to put a horse that is at bottom of the totem pole, in with her. Once they are friends, you can let them both out together into the her. She is young enough, that she will be submissive to the other horses, plus her friend will be there for her.

Good luck with your new horse.


Lisa