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my2babys

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Sold my big lad, and now have a little mare on loan as a companion she arrived 2 days ago, she has already double barreled him, and wont let him near her, now im not silly in anyway i know they need time to settle, but i have never had a mare before, she squeals, kicks out and she can really go for it for such a little pony lol, caught my boy and her but tied up separately one at a time, I have realized he has really fallen for her, he's only 3 so baby still and gelded 3 weeks ago, he is very reluctant to leave her, tried taking him out for a walk which i have been doing for months to get him used to the outside world, well he had a massive strop and i couldn't get him out.

So the advice im after is how long will they take to settle together, they have a 4 acre paddock to there self, and also what to expect having a mare around. I am a little worried as i have 2 young children, and don't want them getting in the way of the mare's strop against him, she is lovely a real kids pony done everything and is for my youngest son who is 7 but at this time i can't trust him near her incase my little lad comes to say hello and she kicks out at him again. They are living out in the field and there isn't really anywhere to tie them other than the gate, so have to have a friend hold her while i groom my boy then take him away to be held so that i can tie her and groom her. It does sound like a load of palaver lol but i've always had geldings and they have never been like this, they get introduced hoon around for half hour and then thats it friends? cookies if you get this far sorry for the rambling trying to get it all out before i forget anything lol :)
 
he is three and only gelded three weeks ago?

so he is still a colt really as he can still be fertile for a while after the op and hi hormones will take a while to settle. she may be objecting to his advances and i would say it is not a risk i would be taking, i would be wanting to turn a recently castrated 3yr old out with a gelding not a mare the move is likely to bring her into season and you could end up with more than you bargained for
 
If your 3 year old was only gelded 3 weeks ago you need to separate them ASAP, he can still be fertile for up to 6 weeks afterwards, she possibly feels threatened by him and is acting the only way she can to defend herself until she comes into season when it may become different behaviour.

I would keep them apart for a while anyway until they have had time to get to know each other over a fence, then once they are more settled put them together again, both have had major changes in their lives and introducing a mare at this stage is bound to cause upset until they settle.
 
twiggy2 said:
he is three and only gelded three weeks ago?

so he is still a colt really as he can still be fertile for a while after the op and hi hormones will take a while to settle. she may be objecting to his advances and i would say it is not a risk i would be taking, i would be wanting to turn a recently castrated 3yr old out with a gelding not a mare the move is likely to bring her into season and you could end up with more than you bargained for
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I spoke to the vet when he was castrated, and told her about me having a little mare lined up as a companion in 3 weeks, and she was quiet happy for me to turn them out together as he never had any of the stallion tendency, and wasnt concerned and gave the ok hence why i have gone ahead and done this.

He can't get near her let alone mount her lol x
 
my2babys said:
They are living out in the field and there isn't really anywhere to tie them other than the gate
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Not tied to the gate I trust?!!

His hormones are still telling him he's a colt, especially as at 3 he is leaning towards stallion age. Electric fencing, pronto, before one of them gets hurt. Give them time to get used to each other without him harassing her.
 
As others say really hes still a colt, would not have put him with a mare so soon. Can you section off the field to keep them seperate for a few weeks? If they can see each other they can get to know each other and hopefully be ok together in a few weeks.
 
my2babys said:
I spoke to the vet when he was castrated, and told her about me having a little mare lined up as a companion in 3 weeks, and she was quiet happy for me to turn them out together as he never had any of the stallion tendency, and wasnt concerned and gave the ok hence why i have gone ahead and done this.

He can't get near her let alone mount her lol x
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He may not have shown stallion tendencies but may never have had any reason to, she may be more willing once she comes into season, they really do need to be apart, vets are not always the best informed on behaviour and in this case I think she was pretty stupid for suggesting it would not be a potential issue.
 
Yes going down to do this now i have 2 fields so going to put her in the top and him in the bottom, he is coming up 4 weeks this fri, so they only got another 2 weeks and maybe this will also help there friendship x
 
Do any of you remember my 'is she/isn't she?' Thread? Well, it sparked quite some debate! The bottom line was that my mare was put in with my gelded youngster after a couple of weeks (like you the vet said this was fine) the bottom line was that I simply didn't mind what the outcome was because a foal would have been much loved and I'd never have parted with it, however a potential foal was never planned and certainly never happened. As a result of the thread and people's posts, it transpired that even vets don't generally know what the right advice is, so many people posted on the thread quoting a different number of weeks because that was what their vet had told them. A research paper was uncovered (can't remember which poster found it originally) and the research showed that there have been incidents when a fully gelded horse (confirmed not a rig) had successfully impregnated mares 12 weeks after being gelded. I certainly wouldn't rush putting them together and the mare may not be willing now but mares are fickle little devils ;)
 
Tbh I'd be looking at getting another gelding for a companion and sending the mare back. Not the mares fault by any means, it just makes everything easier for both you and your horse.
 
I'd separate them anyway, I prefer to let them meet over a fence rather than connecting with hooves. Let alone the thought of motherhood!
 
I would separate and kept them next door. She sounds like she can look after herself, that's mares for you! She might change her mind if she comes into season tho...
 
Turn them out on there own for now but I am sure they will be fine in the end, I have a gelding that was cut late he goes out with my mare and they are fine he is the boss and he always comes in first, you my just have to set up a field routine for them my mare always goes out first as he will hang by the gate, its just a matter of sorting out what works for them to keep the peace.
 
Aside from all the colt issues, you will probably find that the mare will chase the boy away for a couple of weeks, then they will become the best of friends. Joined at the hip, and hard to separate. If at all possible, I would look for a third little companion. I would also fence an area off by the gate, that you can put a post in to tie the horses up and groom etc without getting hassled by the other horses.
 
my2babys said:
Your all starting to make me panic now! i think i need to separate x
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You certainly do!
Get some electric fencing and cut the field into 3, keep a space between the two of them until he can no longer sire any foals. whatever was your vet thinking of?
I would also fence off a square around the gateway, which you can use as a pen for grooming and which will allow you to manoevre through the gte without letting one of the horses out unintentionally.
 
I would also separate as apart from the whole flirty situation a little pony on a 4 acre paddock is not great if there is any amount of grass
 
I did the square around the gate yesterday so that i don't have to have anymore problems, grooming etc.

Also going to get my other half to put a post in so that i can tie them.

Its the first time i have had them field kept away from the yard, hence no where to tie in the field, and i must admit i did tie to the gate (my naughty) but they have only been there since sat and the mare sun.

They are now separate one in the top field and one in the bottom, they can still touch noses tho. Hopefully now things will calm down a bit.

Thanks everyone for the advice, god did i panic, didn't want he loan mare to have any babys. Stupid vet. xx
 
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Your youngster will probably be wondering what happened to his long term field mate who just disappeared one day so he will be more anxious and clingy in any case regardless of the companion being a mare or him just being cut (which adds a layer of complication). 2 horses are also difficult to manage when having to remove one for riding or training etc.

However in all honesty I wouldn't deliberately have a mare out with a gelding. Whilst some are absolutely fine together my experience with my then 15yr old gelding was not a pleasant one. He was out with 2 other geldings and 1 mare. He became obsessed with her and a nightmare to handle and ride. Part of this would be because he had just moved yards and obviously was feeling some anxiety. Separation of fields and stables was the only cure in his case.
 
I wouldn't even allow them to touch noses at this stage. Although it is my preferred way of introducing new horses to each other, in this case I'd be worried that the gelding might try to jump over into the mare's field. That has the potential either for injury to the gelding, or for him to get in there successfully with all the problems previously discussed. I always remove the back shoes of any shod horses to be introduced to each other and I'm another who prefers to keep mares and geldings separate because of previous experience of mixed herds causing all sorts of problems, including injury.
 
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