Mares and geldings - sigh . . .

Just to add . . . I'm not a "mare hater" . . . Kal has been turned out next to mares at at least two previous yards with no adverse effects. Mares and geldings can and should live harmoniously live together - I do NOT advocate separating them in everyday circumstances . . . but when mares (or geldings for that matter) become a problem because of a horse of the opposite gender, something needs to be done to keep everyone safe.

P
 
It perplexes why people forget that mares are entire like stallions and really lack understanding towards them (especially when said humans are often female themselves).

Better fencing (the electric fence sounds ideal) and a good book on horse behavior are required.

I have two mares with a gelding and they do squirt at him and reverse towards him when in season, but he just wonders off to graze.

ETA. If the mare does have a problem (rather than normal seasons) then she should be seen by a Vet.
 
Faracat said:
It perplexes why people forget that mares are entire like stallions and really lack understanding towards them (especially when said humans are often female themselves).

Better fencing (the electric fence sounds ideal) and a good book on horse behavior are required.

I have two mares with a gelding and they do squirt at him and reverse towards him when in season, but he just wonders off to graze.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. Will be buying the book on horse behaviour for the mare's owner.

Before we had Kal we had two mares - they lived in a mixed herd and got along fine . . . however, all mares (and all geldings) are not the same.

My objection is not with the mare - it's with her owner's unwillingness to take responsibility and work with the rest of us to manage her mare's behaviour.

P
 
This is an interesting one. :)

516WNy8owNL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg


I have often noticed that my gelding will stop whatever he is doing and rush over whenever one of the girls is rolling. As soon as they get up, he will roll on the same spot. It's quite funny as if he's the other side of the field when he sees them roll, he literally legs it over. There was a bit in the book about herd smell and it certainly explained his behavior.
 
All the yards I've ever been on have separate turnout for mares and geldings. The one time there were mares in the next field to the boys, my horse jumped the fence every time he was turned out so he could jump on a little 12hh pony! Git! It was constant!
 
As Cortez. Have always run mares and geldings together and never had problems of any significance.

Our horses - currently 5, run as a herd. They have their little likes and dislikes, like a class of schoolchildren, but nothing worse than than. I've alwys believed that segregating them is what causes the problems.
 
My mare and gelding are turned out together and stabled opposite each other, she will try when she comes into season but sadly her Gaydar is not working as I am convinced he is as camp as a field of pink tents! And just looks at her like she has lost the plot.
 
We have separate groups for mares and geldings and don't ever have them next to each other.

We might put an individual mare and gelding next to each other if they're quiet, it's groups that cause trouble.
 
Rose Folly said:
As Cortez. Have always run mares and geldings together and never had problems of any significance.

Our horses - currently 5, run as a herd. They have their little likes and dislikes, like a class of schoolchildren, but nothing worse than than. I've alwys believed that segregating them is what causes the problems.
Click to expand...

One more time . . . the two mares are NOT segregated . . . both are in herds of three (as are all horses on our yard) with two other geldings.

I agree that segregating mares causes more problems.

FWIW, I have had issues with other geldings mounting my boy as a way of expressing dominance . . . and a friend's pony was irrevocably broken by her sister's big warmblood mounting him in the field.

I am by no means pointing the finger solely at mares . . . this is an owner issue.

P
 
I wouldn't turn my gelding out with a mare again. He was out with two other geldings and a mare and was obsessed with her and became a right PITA to ride and handle although he was never seen to mount her. When he retires I might allow him to have a lady friend.
 
The 'problem' mare would do better turned out with the other mare (plus the geldings).

As for the owner, it's a tricky one because she can't control her mare's behaviour in the field - and regumate won't necessarily make a difference.

Bottom line is as long as nothing is getting hurt, there's not really a problem. All that needs to happen is an instance from the YO that electric fencing is run between the fields.
 
As for the owner, it's a tricky one because she can't control her mare's behaviour in the field
Click to expand...

What a silly thing to say - all the owners of well behaved horses use telepathy to keep them in line while they are miles away. This owner is being very stubborn in refusing to control her mare while she is at work, at home, in the bath etc... :p
 
Alf lives with a mare - they're very bonded, and it can be a real nuisance. He's not a rig, but thinks he's a stallion, and has responsibilities to protect his bird from others. I wouldn't dare turn another horse out with them, as he will have a go if they go near her. She gets hysterical if we bring her in without him, although he doesn't really mind - but he gets very worked up if she goes out with another horse. We also have to separate them when she's in season, as she's a sex pest, and gets him all hot under the collar! In an ideal world, I'd have him out with geldings (he's as good as gold with other horses when she's not there) - but we've made the situation work for us, and everyone's happy. I just bear in mind that they are horses, and in a way it's nice to see them displaying natural horse behaviour.
 
Faracat said:
What a silly thing to say - all the owners of well behaved horses use telepathy to keep them in line while they are miles away. This owner is being very stubborn in refusing to control her mare while she is at work, at home, in the bath etc... :p
Click to expand...


slap_f10.jpg
 
I just posted on another thread that mares are a pain in the ask when in season and cause boys to be idiots by flirting. Poor boys. I prefer same sex fields for this reason.
 
PolarSkye said:
We have two mares at our yard (the other 28 are geldings). Both are turned out with two geldings for company (in adjoining fields - so each mare is in a field with two other geldings). One is a joy . . . not at all mare-ish, doesn't cause a problem when she comes into season and the geldings around her cope fine and behave well (largely ignore her). The other is a flipping nightmare . . . constantly coming into season, always teasing the boys . . . in the past three days three fence rails have been broken between her field and either ours or the field on the other side. Owner won't keep her on Regumate (too expensive) and there is nowhere else to put her. We have already put two strands of electrified fencing up in front of our side of the post and rail fencing (this evening), and have asked liveries on the other side to do the same, but owner won't accept that it's her mare who is causing the problem and is blaming every other horse but hers.

Kal has been turned out next to and with mares before and coped just fine . . . although I do know of some yards who either won't have mares at all or graze mares completely separately from the geldings. Now I know why!

What is your yard policy on mares and geldings sharing grazing and/or grazing near/next to each other?

P
Click to expand...

We have mares and geldings in the same field. they come into season , and the geldings show them attention etc. We will not separate for various reasons. They just get on with life.
 
Last edited:
Our yard operates mares and geldings separate. There is a footpath between the two fields but my mini shetland goes in my field with my mare and they are next to three mares who are separated by elec tape, we don't have any problems. All yards previous are mixed herds and never had a problem.
 
We have two mares and five geldings. The two mares are in with two geldings, one of which is a yearling. The other geldings are either side of them. One mare is very flirty when in season, but all the geldings ignore her. The other mare is more like a gelding and never obviously in season. The only trouble I have had in herds is from geldings. If you get a dominant gelding, they are far worse than any mare. And if you have one or more of those then adding mares to the mix makes it far worse IME. For a couple of years I actually banned any more geldings from the yard as I had had two 'bad' geldings in quick succession. However, four of the five I have now are lovely. I do have one that has to be turned out in his own reinforced paddock though.
 
Last edited:
Sympathise with you OP. There's a mare on our yard that is an utter nightmare. I haven't posted it on here, as I didn't want to slag off an otherwise nice yard, but it came to a head on Tuesday night, when I couldn't get my two out of the field. She was so bad I didn't dare go through the gate. YM wanted the last gelding sharing a field with her to be tested for being a rig, despite me AND the owner saying that it's quite natural behaviour for a gelding. It's NOT natural on the other hand for a mare to be constantly in season and be so aggressive when you want to take her shagpiece out of the field. So, other gelding was seen by vet who said there's no way he's a rig, gelding is moved and my two get to share with psycho. Cue her being very dominant and now mine is trying to mount her and at 12hh, people find this funny. I would too if she wasn't a) rugged with a rigid fillet string across the back and b) a kicker at the best of times.

Today I found somewhere I can have my own paddocks again and hope to move at the end of the month (I know current YM has someone waiting on a space and can move whenever, so hoping it won't be taken personally!!). Incidentally, this mare has also destroyed the wall of her stable twice and two posts in the field. However her owner has NOT been told to get her checked or manage her differently in any way. It's the other gelding's owner who has been out of pocket, first for vet fees and then for RigCalm. I completely agree with the person above who said that people forget that mares are entires. Only myself on my yard thought that it was normal for a gelding to mount a provocative mare, which I found astounding.

ETA: I prefer mixed fields too, as a rule (I have a mare and gelding!), but when behaviour is extreme, as in my case and above, something needs to be done for the safety of the horses and people. I'm terrified my boy will get caught in her rug as he comes down - she's 17hh.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top