Geldings with Mares/Other Geldings

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Murphy3

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My boy had a mare in with him for three years until she moved out last summer and I got a young gelding from a welfare organisation as a companion for him. They get on brilliantly together - play around, do lots of mutual grooming, lie down together. Just the last couple of weeks I've been thinking that his behaviour has changed and he seems much more relaxed and at ease in himself than he was last year. When the mare was here she seemed to be constantly in season and he was very possessive of her - I had to be very careful if we were out together as he would lash out if another horse came close to her. He could get quite dominant and bargy with me and I had to be very firm with him but lately he's stopped all of this and is much nicer all round.

I'm just wondering whether having a gelding as a companion has changed his behaviour or is he just generally maturing and settling down (he's 11)?
 
I have 2 mares at home and a gelding. I have to keep them separate else the girls are absolute tarts. Poor gelding doesnt know what to do with himself.
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well general rule of thumb is mares with mares geldings with geldings BUT have always mixed mine and been just fine but has always been 1 at top of pecking order who has to go out and in first.
 
I should think it is the change in companion
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. Our Herd of 9 boys all live happily, and clearly don't get posessive over each other. We don't have any girls as boys without girls are so much easier.
 
Well I used to have 2 geldings and they simply didn't get on at all. Always fighting, there's only so many kick injuries I can tolerate and eventually I split them up and they were both much happier that way. Both of them wanted to be mummy's special boy and frankly it got dangerous at times, especially who was going to go in/come out first.

One gelding was sold and replaced with a mare. I kept them separate at first, but after the mare and gelding were standing happily sharing a haynet whilst tied to the back of the trailer I figured they could go in together. (Could never even have had the 2 boys tied together on the back, one always had to go round the side otherwise they'd start fighting)

They're very peaceful and happy together, she's not a very mareish mare, even though she had a foal last year and there is a shetland stallion in the field next door with his little harem. They do the mutual grooming stuff and just love being together. My gelding is so much happier than he was before either on his own or sharing reluctantly with the other gelding.

I must have the exceptions to the rule!
 
My mare and gelding are both together and are settled and happy. Infact for the first time the gelding has a pair bond, and to see him relaxed and happy is all I could ever ask for
 
I've got two mares and three geldings. All live out 24/7/365 together and I can honestly say have never had a problem with them at all. Having said that though, the mares are both well into their 20's whilst the geldings I have had since foals - and as the boys were growing up, the girls nannied them and taught them their place and how to be happy horses. So it's a very stable herd which hasn't been changed in 5 years (except for location).

Also, the herd hierarchy is interesting - no. 1 is a mare, no. 2 is her son (they're like a mafia godfather and his henchman - no. 1, the Godfather, just has to lift a finger - or twitch an ear - for a command to be obeyed, while no. 2, the Henchman, does all the running about and active stuff). No's 3 and 4 are the other 2 geldings and at the bottom of the heap is the second mare.
 
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