Keeping a Stallion with two mares and a gelding.

[Wideyes]

Not sure if this is the right board to post this on. But just looking for advice. I am moving to a lovely new private yard. The owners are so lovely and the lady I will be sharing with is lovely too. I'm so happy we found the place.
I have two horses, a 16hh show cob gelding who is very sweet and gentle and a 3 almost 4 yo youngter, 15hh, fine boned little mare. She is a sweety too.
My sharer was going to keep her shire mare there and we where going to run the 3 of them together in the same field and rotate though the 4 fields. They have now found a 3 1/2 year old shire stallion they where going to buy and have castrated. But they have now decided to keep him entire and breed from him. He is very sweet and a gentle giant.
I was concerned about running them together with my two as our young mare can't be aloud to get pregnant by such a big boy. I am worried she will get injured, she is only a fine 15 hh and he is a big boned lad 17.2hh already at only 3 1/2 and still growing.
My sharer as told me that my mare will only come into season at the beginning of spring and the end of summer twice a year. But I have read it is every 19 to 21 days through spring until autumn.
She's not a flirty horse when she's in season and it's hard to even tell when she is in season. so it's hard to judge.
My sharer has said we will keep her separated from the stallion with electric fencing. Will this be enough? I'm thinking it wont be. I'm also wondering about my gelding. I have read that you can't keep geldings with a stallion and mares. I'm wondering if we should keep my mare and gelding in a completely separate paddock.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

No, no, and no again.
Never mix entires and fillies/mares.

your sharer is talking a load of rollux, please do not listen to her

 

[meesha]

Unfair on stallion to have it that near a mare. Stallion will more than likely go through anything (electric fence or post and rail won't stop him) to get to your mare and you may find you have a handful with your mare and a stallion that close.

 

[ritajennings]

No way turn your mare out near a shire stallion ! A mare cycles every 21 days not twice a year, what this person is suggesting is out right dangerous and stupid, I need a eight foot electric fence to keep my boy in and there are not any horses in sight or smelling distance

 

[Wideyes]

I spoke to my land lord today and he said I could keep them in another field with a field between them. Hoping my sharer will be happy with that.

 

[meesha]

You will still need stallion fencing or a good ditch hedge so stallion can't field hop, also consider if you will need to lead past stallion or use same yard. Hope it works out for you.

 

[Wideyes]

We have stoke fencing. Would adding an extra 2 feet and electiric fencing on top of that and having a field between the two paddocks be enough do you think?

 

[Leo Walker]

Probably not with a colt that weight and height!

 

[be positive]

Your sharer, who is so inexperienced that she thinks mares only come into season twice a year and that it is safe to run a shire stallion out in a herd, thinks that she is going to be able to handle this horse and use it to cover mares, he may be a sweet natured boy but once he knows what mares are for he may prove to be far more tricky generally, why on earth don't they do the sensible thing and geld him before it all goes wrong.
Stallions are not monsters but in the wrong hands they can be dangerous especially one as big as this, I would be very wary about having any horse of mine turned out nearby, short term it may be ok but longer term you may start to struggle with the field use if you have to accommodate him in a different area.

 

[Magnetic Sparrow]

Wideyes, if you are unfamiliar with how often mares come into season, can I also assume that you are relatively inexperienced? I don't mean to sound nasty, but the idea of two relatively inexperienced people attempting to deal with a young stallion who will be used for breeding has 'recipe for disaster' written all over it imho. However lovely the stallion is now, he could easily become positively dangerous if not handled and trained correctly.

 

[Leo Walker]

Its also not as easy as a lot of people think to cover mares! I did a year on a good stud and I really enjoyed it, but only because the set up was spot on and I was surrounded by people with lots of experience. I think we would all have been a bit apprehensive doing first time covers with a 17.2hh shire!

 

[crabbymare]

I don't see most stallions as a problem to have around but that situation is a recipe for 2 unwanted foals and 2 mares at risk is the foals shoulders are too big to get out If she has so little knowledge about mares and thinks that he will stay calm and gentle once he realises he is a big (and he is going to be big) stallion and she has no clue about what he can do there could be a nasty accident. people who handle shires know that they can be sharp and can be quirky even though most appear quiet. at least you had the sense to ask on here before just putting them all together. I would want plenty of space between them with a bit extra to allow for her lack of knowlege. best thing would be to tell her to keep him somewhere else where they have an experienced stallion person. and if she gets him gelded make sure he is kept away from the mares for at least 2 months to make completely sure that he is no longer fertile just in case she also thinks its ok for him to go straight out with the mares

 

[Wideyes]

Hi Magnetic Sparrow, I have 34 years experience with horses. Working with them in the jobs I chose in my teens and 20's and have loaned and owned my own for 15 years. I'm not unfamiliar with how often mares come into season. As I said in my post, every 19 to 21 days. It is my sharer who said it was twice.
I also might need to show this to my landlord and landlady so they can see the advice we've been given. That is why I'm asking other experienced horse owners for their opinion. Not because I don't already know the answers. But because it would be good for them to see it said by more people than just me.
Also, although I am an experiences horse woman. I don't know a lot about stallions. It is good to find out more about them and what preconditions to take.

 

[twiggy2]

move yards would be my advice

 

[Wideyes]

Also, My sharer's husband has owned shire for a long time. He shows them at Royal Cornwall show and can work 9 shire at a time. He also keeps two shires on his fathers farm that he works on the farm with, logging and such. I'm not sure how much experience they have had with stallions though.

 

[Wideyes]

I'm hoping they will decide to keep him on his parents farm when they see what a handful he is going to be. That or have him gelded.

 

[Wideyes]

Maybe he will turn out to be fine though as he will have his mare with him to distract him. My only other option would be to turn mine out in the day and turn him out at night. Or the other way round. That might work? Don't really want to do that though. We both want minimum stabling. But we might not have a choice.

 

[Wideyes]

Crappymare. If they get a foal from their mare they will be very happy as they want to breed her to him. So it would be only one unwanted foal. My mare absolutely can not get into foal with him. Even if he did manage to mount her, she would probably get very injured because of his size.

 

[LittleBlackMule]

As well as what everyone else has said, there is another point to consider - the fact that if the stallion got out he is likely to view the gelding as competition and attack him. Against something that size, I wouldn't fancy the gelding's chances of survival.

 

[Wideyes]

Would there be any risk in riding by the field on the road or will he be focused on his mare he will be sharing his field with?

 

[twiggy2]

Would there be any risk in riding by the field on the road or will he be focused on his mare he will be sharing his field with?

depends on the stallion and possibly where your mare is in her cycle, TBH turning out mares with stallions is daft (I am not a fan of natural field coverings unless the mares and stallions form a static herd) and if foals are not wanted then just stupid. everything thing else though depends on the individual stallion, his temperament and how he is handled.

 

[tristar]

hello wideyes, I keep the same mix of horses at home, all electric fences, it a case of being ultra careful and can be stessfull.

a mare can come into season about every three weeks, AND some mares cycle all year round, especially in the vincinity of stallions, a mare one field away was in season on Christmas day, I could clearly see her posing and posturing by the fence saying come and get me!

some mares will get out and into the stallion when in season if not well contained,

if this person who is telling all this rubbish is as knowledgeable about handling this horse as they are about breeding I would not go within three miles of them.

a stallion can move very suddenly to do the deed, no warning whatsoever, never forget he is a stallion, because he will never forget, they are ever watchfull for opportunities, ok there are some are docile entires, but until you know how he is, treat him with great respect.

 

[Wideyes]

Hi Tristar, Thank you for your good advice. I remember visiting my little mare when she was 4 weeks old at the stud I got her from. The lady who owned the stud was very knowledgeable and I learned a lot from her in the months before my mare was ready to leave her mom. She told me the same thing about a mare can be brought into season in the presents of a stallion.
I moved my two this evening. I spoke to the yard owner and she thinks it would be a good idea to keep my girl and boy in another field. My mare saw the stallion and squirted. First time in her life she has ever done that. My landlady was very concerned and agrees that they should definitely be kept no where near each other.
My sharer is still expecting me to run them with hers. She said part of the agreement of me coming on to join her was that we ran them as a heard. But that was before she decided to keep a stallion. I don't want to upset her. But the yard owner says it's not her choice as I rent from her not the sharer. She said I have to talk to her myself. I will do and hope she isn't to pissed at me for keeping mine separate. She is a lovely lady and don't want to upset her. But I have to put my horses safety first.

 

[Apercrumbie]

OP your sharer sounds barmy - do not allow her to dictate what you do with your horse. This is just asking for a disaster! Do NOT let them be run as a herd for fairly obvious reasons. BOTH fields need to have 'stallion' fencing as your mare may want to get to him as well.

 

[Wideyes]

It's all sorted! We had a good talk today. She still really would like them to run together. But I've said we need to work together and that means sometimes having to bend a little. I asked why it was so important to her to have them all together and that it wasn't a problem to keep them in separate field as the owner was happy to offer me the use of the smaller field. She said if it was her own horses, she would never put them together.
My sharer explained her worries about not having enough grass to rotate for the winter if we use two fields up. I said we have 4 fields on 10 acres. I think that will be plenty. She does want to save some to cut for haylage though. Which is a good idea. I said we wont have a problem in the summer months and in November I would be happy to compromise and try putting them together to save the grass. Is this a good Idea? Or will there still be a danger to my horses keeping them together in the winter months?

 

[Lgd]

Keep them separate, end of.

I have a stallion, 3 mares and a gelding.
The stallion is very well mannered and lives on the same yard as the others, although his stable is set on the other side of the yard (due to space more than anything else). He is also ridden with mares as he is being prepped to compete and he has to concentrate with in season mares around.
Post and rail with electric fencing on the inside of that. When he is out all the girls are in and vice versa, never ever out together and never will be. He does go out with the geldings in neigbouring fields - used to go out with one of them but he died and the 3yo was injured in a field accident so has been on rehab and not yet ready for boy play.