acreage & colts/stallions

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kassieg

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Right in a couple of years I will be buying some land
I will eventually be building a house on it but will be building stables 1st ...horses come 1st obviously !
I will initially have lucy (my mare) & I will be getting a couple of connie foals

1st question is how many acres would you want for this? (I have my own opinion but parents think different so want to ssee opinions)

2nd question is I would like a colt foal to keep entire, obviously I could keep the foals together until a certain age but then can you put said colt/stallion with a gelding or something.
Im not stupid I've worked with foals etc but never kept a stallion, I went for a job trial at a stud & it was so sad the stallions were barely allowed turnout & then were on their own & id really rather not keep a stallion on his own, so are there options?

:)
 
Welcome to the fun fun fun world of stallions! I have a ditzy young stally, 5 years old next week, and he's kept very happily with my gelding. They live out all year round unless it snows because there's mares in the barn which means he's always trying to get out of his stable! They have a smallish paddock but they get hard feed twice a day so they're not that bothered. Imo stallions are much better off living outside, providing there is a very high fence preferably with electric tape for when the neighbouring mares are in season. As for acreage, depends on how many horses you're planning to acquire. It always seems to end up being more than you bargained for. I'd say you'd need four good-sized separate fields so that you can rotate them easily and never have the stallion and a mare in the same field. Perhaps look at buying an older gelding as well to keep him company? My gelding helps to keep my boy a lot calmer than he used to be. Just my thoughts, hope I've helped :)
 
This is good to know they will live with geldings ! Fencing wise I can make it as big as needed really so not worried about that :) I would get either a rescue older gelding or an ex racer probs

Yeh I was thinking 4 paddocks not including for the stallion tbh I would ideally like 5 I think so I can rotate properly

Would you never put the stallion in the field mares have been in even if been poo picked & rested?

Thanks for the advice :)
 
kassieg said:
This is good to know they will live with geldings ! Fencing wise I can make it as big as needed really so not worried about that :) I would get either a rescue older gelding or an ex racer probs

Yeh I was thinking 4 paddocks not including for the stallion tbh I would ideally like 5 I think so I can rotate properly

Would you never put the stallion in the field mares have been in even if been poo picked & rested?

Thanks for the advice :)
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Well, SOME can live with a gelding, not all can; depends on the disposition of your horses. If you want to keep a stallion I would suggest you perhaps do some work experience working with a standing stallion. It's not rocket science, and stallions are just horses, but they are not geldings...........

The standard stocking rate for horses is 2 acres for the first horse (some would say 3 acres) and an acre per horse for subsequent animals. So if you have three horses you would need as a minimum 4 - 5 acres. You can put the stallion in any paddock, he won't mind what has been in before but will diligently go around "marking" to make it his own. And you will need to double fence and double gate so that nothing can touch over fences. I like to make sure my stallion can see all the other horses on the farm, it is after all his job to watch out for his herd.

Good luck, and please do plenty of research.
 
Will def be doing a rediculous amount of research :)

Re keeping with geldings if ive had him since he was a foal will he be more likely to be happy to live with a gelding or does it literally just depend on how they are when the grow up?
Obviously for others their upbringing is key factor but I suppose stallions are their own person & will get territorial when 4 ish so does it just depend on them or can I help him in any way to be appeased to living with a gelding...obviously the last thing I want is the gelding getting injured !
 
All my entires live together no problem, but have done since they were babies. They live out all year round and they do run around a lot so are quite 'harsh' on the fields.

If you're looking at mares, stallion & gelding and youngstock then you'll need quite flexible grazing and I'd go with more space than the standard stocking rate, say 8-10 acres for 5.

Also depends on the soil, heavy clay and you'll need more as it will turn to mud quicker in Winter whereas sandy soil will drain better.
 
kassieg said:
Will def be doing a rediculous amount of research :)

Re keeping with geldings if ive had him since he was a foal will he be more likely to be happy to live with a gelding or does it literally just depend on how they are when the grow up?
Obviously for others their upbringing is key factor but I suppose stallions are their own person & will get territorial when 4 ish so does it just depend on them or can I help him in any way to be appeased to living with a gelding...obviously the last thing I want is the gelding getting injured !
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It's easiest if the colt has grown up with his companions, but even then he may or may not be even tempered enough to live with a band of geldings. And when the mares come into the equation (and come into season) there may be more aggression going on. Most stallions get along just fine, until the girls come along.
 
In my experience, you may want to consider buying two foals, or youngsters, at the same time and if not already done, geld one. Then,most, though obviously not all, will happily live together, giving the staillion company.
However, you need to bear in mind what has been mentioned above, plus if you use the stiallion on mares, sometimes they don't take so easily to living with the gelding for company.
The other thing I have seen, is a barren mare, who refuses to breed, kept with the stallion. It has worked well for some people I know,as the stallion has company, but obviously you need to know the mare won't breed!
 
As Cortez said it really depends on the disposition of the stallion. I would think that if they've known each other for their whole or most of their lives then they would be fine together. Sometimes mine can get a little grouchy with each other when a mare is in season but generally they are fine together and it almost seems that they bring out the best in each other! You can always separate them for this time if it's necessary but I don't think it would throw up too many problems if they were raised together.

Regarding stallion/mare fields - I think they would be fine to swap around but my stallion can get a bit frisky if he's in a field that has recently housed mares. However that could just be because he's a goofball! Some stallions are a lot calmer than others. It's really down to your experience and finding what works for you.
 
kassieg said:
...obviously the last thing I want is the gelding getting injured !
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Or the stallion! One of my stallions grew up with my geldings from very young. One day the geldings all turned on him and beat the living daylights out of him. Thankfully I was around and was able to separate them all. The stallion then lived with another of my herds with just mares in it and all was fine. He pasture-bred the mares I wanted to breed and any I didn't want to breed I just moved out for a few days each heat cycle and then put them back in with him afterwards. I subsequently had my stallion castrated further down the line (for practicalities sake really; too many fields he couldn't use because of mares being in them) and after some time of running him alongside the fence of the geldings he'd grown up with, he was able to move back in with them and he still lives with them now (as a gelding) without any problems at all. My other stallion was fine in with some geldings (again raised with them since a baby) but when I wanted to breed him to the mares I just moved him in with them. The mares were a bit pushy with him though. He's also castrated now but I do have to be careful about which fields I put him in as he can be a bit of a beggar with some horses. Both had/have terrific manners on them where people are concerned and have been a pleasure to own for all these years.

I agree with Cortez comments that you should try to find some work handling stallions before you undertake to own one. It will give you the experience you need :smile3:
 
I would buy as much land as I could afford! It is a better investment than anything I can think of and you can always rent it out, cut your own hay, take in the odd livery, etc.

As has been said, whether your stallion will live with geldings/colts depends on the stallion. Mine is fine with other males, so long as there are no females in the same field. I planted up shelter belts when I first moved in so I can continue a fence with white tape to separate mares and stallion at the gates, if you follow me. The system works well. I have about a dozen of all ages on 25 acres and generally cut 9+ acres for hay each year.

Have as many small fields as you can manage. More is better. Another small paddock saves messing around creating paddocks with tape. One last thought, PLANT TREES! They provide good shelter, grow faster than you would think, and if they are in the wrong place five minutes with a chain saw can solve the problem. My house is warmed with wood from trees I planted years ago right now and next year I'll be erecting field shelters using larch poles I planted years ago.
 
Horses for courses :) one of the best horses I've owned was a (Connemara) stallion. Would easily get on with geldings/youngstock of any kind. Bring a mare into the mix and then there is trouble. A lot of experienced studs/showing yards will have stallions working alongside mares and generally their stud duties will be separate and the stallions 'know their job' so to speak. My stallion ran with his mare and had 5 foot electric fencing in between him and my 2 other geldings who he had got along with previously, he marked the fence line and they regarded him with supreme indifference. Don't underestimate though, I weaned a colt of his that he had previously baby-sat and the colt managed to smash through the electic fence (my fault entirely). The stallion would not accept him back and would have killed him if I hadn't intervened despite his own son mouthing at him like a baby. In the wild the colt would have just galloped off into the distance and learned a lesson, but this was 3 horses on 5 acres. You need excellent fencing and mains electric if you can manage it. Stallions are the best they are so resourceful and intelligent if managed properly, the ones I have known also love human interaction.
 
Another saying get some experience with stallions and working with knowledgeable people before you go it alone. Yes, many stallions are lovely, chilled customers and live well with a few geldings but that isn't always the case, even less so if the stallion is covering. (There is also a lot to learn about standing a stallion!) Anyway, you can't guarantee that the stallion you have will have read the same internet posts so you need to be set up to manage him and your other horses in the most suitable way, regardless.

On the purchasing front, make sure you budget for VERY good fencing. Land is important, but so is being able to secure it. I'm not a massive fan of keeping stallions in electric fencing only and would prefer a significant physical barrier as well. At the very least you should secure your boundary very well and you never know what sort of horsey neighbours you might have. There have been a couple of threads on here regarding colts going walkabout when the neighbours put mares in across a fence line or similar. Fencing costs so make sure you have an idea what you are going to need and budget accordingly.
 
Thanks this is all incredibly useful!

Have previously handled stallions but only for a day riding & general purposes so I will def contact stud near me to see if I can go down at breeding time

Colts my old boss had a devil colt...made worse by the way he & how he had us handle him so that im pretty experience with after handling him everyday

I was thinking 4 foot high post & rail with electric on top... or would people always use double fencing?
 
For mine I have a 6 foot with electric on top! There's also prickly bushes running down one side which discourages him from bashing the fence. I'd say if you were only going to have 4 foot then you should maybe think about double fencing - some stallions will easily clear a 4 foot to get to mares, electric or no electric. It will depend on what the stallion's temperament is like but it's better to be safe than sorry.
 
Don't underestimate how your mare may change in the presence of a stallion either. I always double fence those he is not covering off - he is fine with a single strand of electric provided it is on, but the mares can be right floosies and I don't trust them not to try going through one fence. It's also not particularly fair on him to have them teasing him all the time when he can't have it, and asking for trouble.
 
kassieg said:
Thanks this is all incredibly useful!

I was thinking 4 foot high post & rail with electric on top... or would people always use double fencing?
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You definitely need higher than that for any stallion fields, I'd go so far as saying you need either 5 ft 6"" or even 6 ft which means you need posts at least 2 ft longer to make sure they're solidly fixed so to save costs a bit, I'd just do two stallion paddocks, the rest could be normal height. Make sure you use a proper fence builder with decent materials, the best you can afford, that are used to equestrian work as they will have the idea of what is needed more than Bob down the road (unless Bob qualifies like that!) You also need to either mesh or board each gate if they are adjoining fields, it's amazing how many injuries are by legs through gates just because a mare squeals or something strikes out.
I don't know where you are but I'd thoroughly recommend you visit a decent stud, something like the National Stud or Shadwell that do stud visits and see their fencing set ups; they might be grander than you need but it will teach you a lot about how they view safety for both animals and staff and give you some ideas you can adapt for yourself.
 
Maesfen im north yorkshire, were are they based ... I dont mind travelling a few hours if I will get the information/experience I need

I will be able to do anything as i will be designing everything so I'd rather get it right hence me asking everyone how have been v.helpful :)

I am hoping il be able to paddock the land off so the stallion is not directly near the mares so have a field in between but obviously depends on the land whether this is possible
 
If you double fence and plant trees in the space between you achieve shelter and separation. I would not trust a single fence between stallion and mares even though mine is easily handled. "Love will find a way!", is an old saying.
 
Maesfen said:
Both the National Stud and Shadwell are in Newmarket so an easy run from the north. http://www.nationalstud.co.uk/
The other sites will give you an idea of their types of fencing; as I said before, aim for the best you can afford.
http://www.shadwellstud.co.uk/about/video/
http://www.coolmore.com/farm/ireland/
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Thanks this us great! !

Dry rot that's a good idea a yard worked at had bushes in between fences but never thought of trees as well that would be good natural shelter as well
 
kassieg said:
Thanks this us great! !

Dry rot that's a good idea a yard worked at had bushes in between fences but never thought of trees as well that would be good natural shelter as well
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Trees do eventually become too big when they get open at the bottom so bushes are a good idea (though maybe plant beech if your soil is suitable and clip?). Just cut some of the trees for fire wood and replant on a regular basis.
 
Dry Rot said:
If you double fence and plant trees in the space between you achieve shelter and separation. I would not trust a single fence between stallion and mares even though mine is easily handled. "Love will find a way!", is an old saying.
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My sister's colt was caught half way over the electric fence with next door's mare backing up to him, luckily they were caught before anything happened and he was gelded soon after
 
So if you are considering a stallion, you are obviously considering breeding or at least standing him to outside mares. So you would need to add space for them into your plans as well.
 
When contractors put up my new barn, one of the men told me there would be a problem. When I asked what that was, he said, "It's too small. They always are!". He was right!

Whatever acreage you get, it won't be enough!:D:D:D
 
Nzjenny yes planning on breeding a few of my own then standing in the long run is the plan

Dry rot this is very true !! I always want to do more ! But I will appease myself in thinking that I never thought this would ever happen for me so to be happy that it is ... 😊
 
Interesting reading, as I have a herd with only stallions and geldings. There are no mares anywhere near, and they behaved like well-sedated seaside donkeys. I suspect things would change if we put a mare next door. ;)
 
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