"batchelor goups" of youngsters...

[Hettie]

Currently got my 2yo wb colt on DIY livery turned out with a pony gelding. They get on very well and the colt is well behaved although in a field next to a couple of mares. Just wondering how long it's going to last for.... my guess would be next spring...!

I owned his mum and she used to "field jump" for fun so I am currently looking into alternatives for my lad!

Do anyone have any experience of running young colts/geldings in larger groups, good or bad? I am keen for him to grow up as normally as possible ie with lots if play and fresh air! Also anyone know of anybody doing something like that in the Notts/Leics area? PM if necessary. Thank you x

 

[Tia]

Colts/stallions are all different. What works for one doesn't necessarily work for others. Obviously you know this, so I'll just give you how we did it.

I bought our young breeding colt at 9 months old and for a while he could be in with any horse on the yard. The geldings were fine with him and the mares babied him. Unfortunately he broke his neck a few months later and had to be taken out of the main herd. He then lived with a couple of my quiet mares for about a year while he mended.

After this time, I decided that he could go in with my geldings. He shared a fenceline with them and appeared to get on really well with them over the fence, however when I put him in with them, a number of them tried to beat the living daylights out of him. No idea why as these are all very placid horses and he was always a very well behaved stallion with impeccable manners - he is gelded now however his beautiful nature never changed.

So out he came and went back in with a herd with many mares again. There was one little shetland gelding in this herd too and when the mares came into season they were all taken out of the field and he was left with the little gelding. This worked very well indeed.

Then I decided to run him with two of my mares that I wanted bred by him. Once again the other mares lived with him until they came into season and were taken out when they did. The other 2 mares were left in with him and he pasture-bred them.

So he lived perfectly happy with my band of mares, but the geldings did not like him at all. Not sure if that helps you any really, as if you are at livery and you want him to remain a stallion, then you might find it difficult to have people who will be happy for your stallion to run with their geldings.

Best of luck finding somewhere suitable.

 

[MissIndependance]

I think as Tia says it very much depends on the individual horses... We have a bachelor herd of boys here which consists of:
4 year old gelding
1 x 3 year old gelding
3 x 2 1/2 year old colts that have run on together since weanlings
2 x yearling colts

They all get on brilliantly - plenty of play but it's just that, play, and I think it's lovely for the colts to be alowed to grow up like that as stallions can have such solitary lives as they get older.


The only one that causes poroblems is the 3 year od gelding who has been in the group 6 months and who unfortunately is very riggy and has been out with alll the other groups of liveries here nd either fights the geldings or covers the mares. So he's just a problem full stop - but he causes the least trouble in with the bachelors!

 

[volatis]

I think running colts on in a group is ideal. Its something we would like to do in the future but dont have the right set up currently (shame as we are in Lincs)

 

[Hettie]

Thank you for your replies! I'm just worried as he is on a livery yard he might start getting too excited by the mares next door and would like to have a plan B! Have anyone got any experiences on keeping colts next to mares? Am I likely to get trouble...? He spend most of the summer eating, playing with his friend and occationally looking wistfully over at the girls (all body parts fully functional

) but never made any attempt to cross fence etc.

He is soo playful and the poor little pony although putting up a good fight, isn't really up too it athletically... atleast it kept him slim and trim on the summer grass!! Also as it's my first stallion (so may still have rose tinted glasses

) would like to give him as natural upbringing as possible. Hoping to avoid a lot of the trouble, by getting him used to socialising, walking past mares etc now, whilst he is still young enought to learn and small enough to efficiently correct.