Advice please from your experiences - mares & geldings together

T

TED2010

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 December 2010
Messages
363
Location
Devon
Visit site
Evening! Will try and keep this as brief as possible but would appreciate others thoughts! I currently have a gelding (6 year old ID x 16.3) who I keep at home on his own ( no lectures please about the cruelty of keeping horses on their own!) he has three pet sheep for company and about 100 more in the next field and is perfectly happy.

Due to work and living commitments over the last couple of years I have only been able to have one horse (we used to have a lot more both mares and geldings but is some years ago now). I do a bit of everything with him but more recently have been concentrating on the SJ as that seems to be his forte, only jumping BN/discovery but going well so far.

Have seen a mare which I quite fancy, she has done a bit more than mine but would be nice to have a slightly more experienced one to jump alongside my boy. My sensible side says if I was to get a second horse I should get another gelding to avoid them becoming inseparable, dramas when mare is in season etc, screaming to each other across show ground etc etc. it would be far easier if I could have two that could be turned out together than two that always had to be kept apart.

What do you think? Does anyone have just a mare and gelding that they take to shows together, is it a hassle or does it purely depend on temperament of the horses, how Marey the mare is or coltish the gelding is? It was so long ago when I had a mixture and we had three or four of each at the time so it was never really an issue of one being left while the other went out. As much as I would love another to jump, I'm beginning to think my boy on his own would be much easier?!!

Sorry, that wasn't brief at all, thanks if you got to the end and similar experiences would be very helpful! X
 
It all depends on the individual horses, a friend has 2 geldings together who are inseparable, I have 2 geldings out with my mare. Mare is very independent as is one of the geldings, mares son however is and always has been quite dependant on company. So personally from experience, mare, gelding, doesn't bear any probability on dependence.
 
I'm really trying to find out how people find just having just one mare and one gelding together with no other company, i know it's generally easier when you have more horses or are on a big yard as they don't tend to get so attached.
 
I think it really does depend on the ponies personality - my mare and gelding live together quite happily, but are equally happy if left alone. Mare is not 'marish' at all to the point you wouldn't really know when she is in season without looking!!
 
abercrombie&titch said:
I think it really does depend on the ponies personality - my mare and gelding live together quite happily, but are equally happy if left alone. Mare is not 'marish' at all to the point you wouldn't really know when she is in season without looking!!
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's good to know, I'm sure it is down to the individuals and how they decide to behave!! :rolleyes:
 
Depends entirely on the individual horses. My mare has been paired with a gelding before now with no problems. Including one who'd served mares before an injury put paid to his use as a stallion, & he was a randy sod, but she's yet to meet a horse she has any problems with, her close bonds have all been random choices of her own in herd environments.
Daughters pony I wouldn't dream of it, will only have her with a few very laid back geldings & my mare to keep order, she'd cause chaos kept with one gelding.
 
I would think it does depend on horse, as any mares I have had, bar one, have never mixed well with geldings.
If it was me, I think I would more likely avoid a mare, unless there were going to be three in the field, so one could be taken away without separation issues.
 
I have 4 mares & 1 gelding. The gelding and one mare are a bit stupid to be separated to start with, until the one in the field realises that the have other friends left. It's the mare really, the gelding would be fine if she wasn't a silly sod.
All other combinations are fine to take and leave, so I think it just depends on the horse.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top