introducing a stallion to geldings

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Sarah04

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I am possibly going to purchase a 3 year old miniature shetland stallion who is currently turned out with mares . If i purchase him he will be getting gelded in October when I get him. What is the best way to go about turning him out with my geldings before or after gelding? I have 4 other ponies all geldings my 14.1 being the most dominant , then my standard then the two 2 year old mini's are at the bottom of the pecking order. Thanks
 
I would turn him out with one only at the start after a good time at a fence. i would start with the least dominant so he doesn't automatically go into the defensive and get kicked by the bigger one. He might still be stallion like after gelding so do be aware he may never intergrate but at 3 I would suspect he would be fine. My friends late cut however pony can only go out with mares or he rips horses throats out. Literally.
 
Mine was fine at first. It was about a month later once he got his feet under the table the trouble started!
He'd go for the throat aswell Equi! Little monster!
He's now gelded! He was gelded at about 5. I can now turnout with anything.
I'd start with one as Equi said but after a fence introduction!
 
Geld first, then turn out next to the others but not actually in with them. Don't try putting them together until they are perfectly friendly over the fence. Do not then add another pony to the ex-stallions field, either put him in their field, or a neutral field. If you put them in with him, he's more likely to feel the urge to defend territory. Turn him out with lower ranked ponies first, add one at a time, and don't add another until each introduction has settled.

I have known stallion handlers also to bath entires before putting them out together, to try to remove any mare smell and make them all smell similar.
 
I've just always introduced mine gradually (over fence first etc) and then one by one and it's been no bother. Mare's aren't an issue, he's turned out next to them. But then he's never covered either. I could turn him out with any gelding and he doesn't cause chaos at all - however it's the odd reactions from other horses I can't rely on as even some normally low pecking order horses have had really aggressive/panicked reactions with him and battered him senseless in the field with no cause on his part.

If it was me, I'd just geld asap, give him his own space to recover and introduce as a gelding personally.
 
The outcome is, in my experience, unpredictable.

I put geldings in with my stallion and all was fine. Then I tried to introduce a yearling gelding. The stallion chased him around the field, got him in a corner, and was intent on killing him until I arrived on the quad with a lunging whip and managed to get a gate closed between them. My very experienced farrier predicted that they could never ever be safe put together although the stallion got on well with the other males.

Roll on a few months and this same yearling and the stallion were mutual grooming over the fence. So I opened the gate and they just grazed together as if they had been doing it all their lives. Frankly, I forget the dynamics of the situation, but it was an all male herd, stallion and castrated males of various ages.

The same stallion was taken to a show but had to board in a stable the night before the show. In the next stable was a small Welsh stallion. I was worried as they could access each other over the partition. Twenty minutes later and they were grooming each other over the partition. The next morning, my stallion refused to load -- that was unheard of! I suggested loading the Welsh first. The Welsh loaded without hesitation, then my stallion loaded! He was clearly worried his new pal was going to be left behind!

So there is no predicting how your horse will react. Try to introduce them over a fence or gate and give them time to become acquainted. But also be prepared for the sparks to fly and have the means to separate them on hand. They can easily damage themselves through a fence or gate!
 
Stallions just like to keep things interesting. I put my stallion and gelding together approx july last year. Stallion was covering mares so not just a field pet - and had mares in facing paddocks. No issues at all. Fast forward to about may this year and he suddenly went barmy at him and i had to remove the gelding. Now the stallion will charge at the fence will full intent, but he will still stand in the "sleepy area" and snuffle through the fence. Must be just hormones.
 
I hadn't the opposite, very hormones gelding that will pick fights with the Stallone, and any other geldings he thinks is muscling in on his mares, put him in with only geldings and no mares and once he stabilises he is boss he is generally fine, put another male in the field with him and his mares and the issues start.

If it were me I'd do it across the fence like others have said, then with the two smaller ones in their field then the bigger ones after that. Agree with never doing it in the dominant a field.
 
Thanks for all your replies . I have decided not to purchase the pony due to the uncertainty of how he will be after gelding and whether he will get along with my boys. I was going to buy him to show and if he still has stallion like behaviour in the ring I'm not going to enjoy showing him.
 
i think you would be VERY unlucky if at 3yo he retained enough stallion tenancies post gelding that showing him was difficult.

what is he like as a stallion? if he is a 99% well mannered stallion he is unlikely to be a PITA gelding :)

my 4yo stallion goes out next to our 2 geldings, separated only by electric fence(and its not mains, just a rather old ropey battery) and is not a problem at all..................the only reason he cant go out with the old boy is because they play too hard and ruin rugs and i worry about the old boys legs. He is a very people and horse orientated/friendly boy and even as a stallion is easy to take to shows-stables opposite or next to mares and isnt wound up by other stallions kicking off and calling etc.

if you really like the pony go and handle him a few more times? im sure the current owners understand your concerns?
 
I think its down to the temperament of the animal, hormones do effect behaviour but if their underling temperament is good they integrate well. I have a four year old colt turned out with gelding of roughly the same size, he is bullied by them all.
 
Not quite the same, cause its not ridden, but i have a little mare in to breed and she was a nightmare for the first week and a half. Thankfully she then came in season and has been a little darling ever since. Don't underestimate hormones lol
 
He is very chilled out where he is and easy to handle but he's settled and in with 2 mares. We wouldn't be able to geld him till the weather cools down so October time and he'll be nearly 3 and a half. I do really like him but I'm worried if I do get him if it doesn't work out the old owner wont want him back as they are short of stabling over winter . We also have 6 tb yearlings colts for 6 months over winter and they are not far from my stables and fields. I've never had a stallion just 2 year old colts that were gelded at 2 so maybe he wont be much different to how
they were.
 
I've actually now decided to buy him I'll never know unless I get him and if it doesn't work out I will have to find him another home . Fingers crossed it will work out
 
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