Mares and geldings - sigh . . .

PolarSkye

PolarSkye

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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
 
Actually, I've never had a problem with mares and geldings being in together - maybe I'm just freakishly lucky? (and I've had up to 50 horses in my care in the past).
 
My mare had to be turned out individually because she was very dominant and kept all the other horses in order. But she wasn't just a problem with geldings, it was also mares. I don't think it was hormonal with her, she was just like that. She was fine to ride etc when in season.

ETA the only horse she specifically flirted with (tail over the fence etc) was a very well bred warmblood who was a rig - she had taste. :)
 
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I agree mares and geldings kept separate, as I have 2 geldings and a young colt and 1 mare as I had my old mare pts last Oct. She is highly sexed when she comes into season and no Regumate doesn't always work. The 3 boys are a happy little group and to stick a mare in with them would be asking for carnage, so Friday we are picking up a Welsh sec A mare to keep her company.:):)
 
nikicb said:
My mare had to be turned out individually because she was very dominant and kept all the other horses in order. But she wasn't just a problem with geldings, it was also mares. I don't think it was hormonal with her, she was just like that. She was fine to ride etc when in season.
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Interesting . . . this mare is also quite dominant with the only other mare - the fence between their two fields was kicked down by one or the other of them and the other mare was quite badly battered by dominant mare.

She isn't dominant with the two geldings she shares a field with - one of them is in a separately fenced off portion of the field and the other is a bossy boy himself. She is, though, very mare-ish with the boys in our field.

P
 
My mare is turnout out with a gelding and all fine. The only problem I had previously with another, younger gelding was they were constantly shagging!:eek:
 
And that wasn't a problem for them!! Only you, LOL.
I have turned mares and gelding out together in the past but now I only have geldings and from now on will only add geldings to the 'herd'. Single sex is easier.
The yard I work at has individual turnout and certain horses can go in adjacent paddocks, but some problems are mares and some are geldings. IMO permanent individual turnout causes more problems as they forget how to socialise.
 
PolarSkye said:
Interesting . . . this mare is also quite dominant with the only other mare - the fence between their two fields was kicked down by one or the other of them and the other mare was quite badly battered by dominant mare.

She isn't dominant with the two geldings she shares a field with - one of them is in a separately fenced off portion of the field and the other is a bossy boy himself. She is, though, very mare-ish with the boys in our field.

P
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My mare just ended up in a small paddock by herself and next to her boyfriend who was very fond of her as well. She was happy (it stressed her having to be top dog) and the others were safe. :)
 
My gelding kept mounting the mare he was out with and really hurt himself. He could hardly walk for a few days then was unsound for about a month after
 
nikicb said:
My mare just ended up in a small paddock by herself and next to her boyfriend who was very fond of her as well. She was happy (it stressed her having to be top dog) and the others were safe. :)
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This might be an option tbh . . . certainly worth considering. It is possible that the mare in question is stressed by being in charge. The field Kal recently came out of is big enough to have a small paddock just for her . . . and it doesn't adjoin so many other fields.

Thanks :).

P
 
I've known Ned for 6yrs, he's always been in mixed herds with zero problems. For the first time ever, he jumped a fence and mounted one of the pony mares :O :O!!

I have no idea what has brought this on, he's never taken an interest before :(
Thankfully mares owner has good sense of humour, but I was so embarrassed!

He got fed up with her today and jumped back into his field *sigh* I have no idea what to do with him!!!

We don't have a "policy" as such, but we learn who gets along with who and work around that. For instance, I could not put Ned in with YO's horse and Sandy, as YO's horse has become extremely protective over her and he knows Ned wants Sandy for himself. BB could not have been put in with Jack as they just play fought ALL the time and it got far too rough.
 
PolarSkye said:
This might be an option tbh . . . certainly worth considering. It is possible that the mare in question is stressed by being in charge. The field Kal recently came out of is big enough to have a small paddock just for her . . . and it doesn't adjoin so many other fields.

Thanks :).

P
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It's definitely something to think about. I had my girl 30 years and moved around a little in that time so got to see her in different situations. She really wasn't happy being one of a herd, much much happier by herself. Good luck. x
 
We have always had mares and geldings intogether. Kia mounts in season mares if they stick it in his face, I dont personally see the harm in it, they are just being natural. When you separate them then this is where the problems come from.

I wouldnt stick my mare on a horrendously expensive supplement at the request of another livery, would be told to take a hike in no uncertain terms. The leccy fence I would agree to thats a given for me anyway with my cobby being a witch with fencing, post and rail is for breaking in her views anyway :rolleyes: but trying to dictate to me on how I should manage my horse wouldnt go down well on any terms.

I honestly dont see why you have separated them anyway.
 
At our yard geldings are in together and mares in together in adjoining fields. Cue many broken fences. One of my mares prefers geldings to mares.
 
I have four mares and one gelding and he acts more mareish than all the mares put together.:D He squeals like a girl:eek: and has terrible mood swings. Never had a gelding in the 30 years I have had horses until him who I have had for 5 years and to be honest wouldn't buy another one.
 
Black Beastie said:
We have always had mares and geldings intogether. Kia mounts in season mares if they stick it in his face, I dont personally see the harm in it, they are just being natural. When you separate them then this is where the problems come from.

I wouldnt stick my mare on a horrendously expensive supplement at the request of another livery, would be told to take a hike in no uncertain terms. The leccy fence I would agree to thats a given for me anyway with my cobby being a witch with fencing, post and rail is for breaking in her views anyway :rolleyes: but trying to dictate to me on how I should manage my horse wouldnt go down well on any terms.

I honestly dont see why you have separated them anyway.
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First - this mare doesn't share a field with my horse, but she is causing a problem by destroying fence rails (I've removed several foot-long, sharp shards of wood from the field over the past few days).

Second - I didn't separate them and nor did anyone else - they were never in the same field to start with.

Third - I haven't asked her to put her mare on Regumate, but other liveries have . . . and, frankly, if her mare is putting our geldings at risk and we have put up appropriate electric fencing then she needs to do what's necessary to calm her down - this mare is ALWAYS in season. If Kal was being an idiot in the field and a danger to other horses, I'd be looking at any and all means to keep him and the other horses in his field safe - including calmers, supplements, etc.

P
 
See I'm a mare person and have also experienced the bad side of a gelding parading as a full horse. Had all the tests and no not a rig just a PITA. She won't have the expense of regumate either. Yes it will quiet that behavoir too. So the whole barn revolves around him. I can't use my fields as needed because her horse goes mental. I don't have tear down fence pee and tease mares. As a matter of fact if they have green a stallion would not get their attention. So for me I find the rogue gelding a pain. And even more annoyingsaid owner who can always be saying derogatory comments about my mares for doing nothing. So it works both ways. My mares work for me in season and learn we don't take it out on our humans. Yes an odd mare can be a pain the same as an odd gelding yet I find mares always get the blame. I do keep geldings and mares separate and maybe that's why they are fine. I don't know. Mine are separated by electric fence and all is happy.

So I agree maybe electric fencing on her part needs sorted and YO probably needs to sort that. But being annoyed because an owner won't spend a huge sum of money to keep her mare on regumate, I do get that. If I owned one like that I'd move. 28 geldings and 2 mares is not the place for her. I'd also get a repro exam done too.

Terri
 
PolarSkye said:
First - this mare doesn't share a field with my horse, but she is causing a problem by destroying fence rails (I've removed several foot-long, sharp shards of wood from the field over the past few days).

Second - I didn't separate them and nor did anyone else - they were never in the same field to start with.

Third - I haven't asked her to put her mare on Regumate, but other liveries have . . . and, frankly, if her mare is putting our geldings at risk and we have put up appropriate electric fencing then she needs to do what's necessary to calm her down - this mare is ALWAYS in season. If Kal was being an idiot in the field and a danger to other horses, I'd be looking at any and all means to keep him and the other horses in his field safe - including calmers, supplements, etc.

P
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Firstly Why are they separated?? Secondly why should she keep her on the regumate if she cannot afford it?? Thirdly arent we all perfect horseowners and liveries??

I mean your on here moaning about someone who isnt on here to defend themselves or their horse, not that their horse needs a defence, its a mare in season, I know we all want our horses to be the perfect little robots but sorry nature is what it is. The mare is obviously seeking out male attention which is what her horomones are telling her to do. So she is breaking fencing WHY CANT she go in with the geldings?? Why are the geldings and mare separated as really if you have stuck two mares in a field INBETWEEN two fields of geldings then personally thats two sets of fencing that can be destroyed. Move them about.

If I were on a livery yard and paying money I would expect the YO to be on top of the fence breaking issue by putting up leccy fencing. Ive honestly never understood the reasoning for separating mares and geldings on yards, never been on a yard that required the separation of mares and geldings and dont think I would venture on one if this is the type of moaning that goes on when nature is taking its course.
 
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Just to clarify I wouldn't put others at risk so would do what I could to find a more suitable place or situation

Also with geldings mounting mates, some can actually get things where the sun don't shine leading to risk of infection in said mare. And they can get hurt. That's my expense so I don't risk it.

Terri
 
Because if you put a mare in with geldings and she comes into season, you will find that the geldings can get horney and that is where the fighting and kicking starts and anyone that says that geldings don't get horney are kidding themselves.
 
Equilibrium Ireland said:
Just to clarify I wouldn't put others at risk so would do what I could to find a more suitable place or situation

Also with geldings mounting mates, some can actually get things where the sun don't shine leading to risk of infection in said mare. And they can get hurt. That's my expense so I don't risk it.

Terri
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I have perhaps just had my own horses on my own land for far too long ;) :). Ive never seen K have it there but if hes backed up he will mount for peace.

Ive seen too much of this moaning and fence breaking threads when sexes are separated especially at this time of year, I just dont see how on this occasion its the owners fault. Moving the horses around and YO adding leccy fencing would solve this without all the drama created.
 
Fencing needs to be tried BB. Totally agree. I'm used to having easy going mares so I think I'm lucky. I just keep my mare herd separate because the herd works. My gelding has client geldings as company and it's peaceful.

Terri
 
My mare isn't difficult at all but is much happier out with geldings. At my yard the horses are paired up in 2s or 3s according to owner's convenience and subject to the horses getting on together. My mare is out with a gelding and they are fine together :) previously she was out with a bigger herd of geldings and I never saw any scrapping even when she was her most 'needy' ;)

Only ever had one problem with a friends riggy gelding who mounted her, she was thrilled but I was not!!!

I chose my current yard largely because of the turnout arrangements.
 
Horses for courses!

My mare was out in a single sex field and hated it! She used to jump out into the boys field as she was just bullied rotten by alpha mares.

Since then she has been out in mixed herds and is far more settled.

She's out with my 2 geldings now and interestingly you'll often find the boys together and her off on her todd. I'm lucky that she's never been mareish and despite now taking on a more dominant role in the field, she remains a delight and its normally the naughty geldings that break my fences as they're quite playful.
 
Black Beastie said:
Firstly Why are they separated?? Secondly why should she keep her on the regumate if she cannot afford it?? Thirdly arent we all perfect horseowners and liveries??

I mean your on here moaning about someone who isnt on here to defend themselves or their horse, not that their horse needs a defence, its a mare in season, I know we all want our horses to be the perfect little robots but sorry nature is what it is. The mare is obviously seeking out male attention which is what her horomones are telling her to do. So she is breaking fencing WHY CANT she go in with the geldings?? Why are the geldings and mare separated as really if you have stuck two mares in a field INBETWEEN two fields of geldings then personally thats two sets of fencing that can be destroyed. Move them about.

If I were on a livery yard and paying money I would expect the YO to be on top of the fence breaking issue by putting up leccy fencing. Ive honestly never understood the reasoning for separating mares and geldings on yards, never been on a yard that required the separation of mares and geldings and dont think I would venture on one if this is the type of moaning that goes on when nature is taking its course.
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She IS in with other geldings . . . the issue isn't with the geldings she is with, it's with the other horses over the adjoining fences . . . one is a mare and the others are geldings.

Yes, I'm moaning . . . I'm a little sick of replacing fencing (owner of mare hasn't been up in the field with a hammer/nails, etc.) . . . and I really don't want my gelding injured on a sharp shard of fencing the mare has produced by kicking down the fences - we've watched her do this . . . not to mention getting kicked or struck - this mare has "form" in this regard.

I fully understand nature taking its course . . . but I also fully endorse owners taking responsibility for their horses.

FWIW, I have said all of this to the mare's owner's face . . . she knows that I (and others) feel that she needs to take responsibility for her mare's behaviour . . . either the mare needs to move to a field where she doesn't cause havoc, or the owner needs to find a way to regulate her seasons . . . she really is in season ALL the time. It's really not fair on the geldings.

P
 
TiaPony said:
Horses for courses!

My mare was out in a single sex field and hated it! She used to jump out into the boys field as she was just bullied rotten by alpha mares.

Since then she has been out in mixed herds and is far more settled.

She's out with my 2 geldings now and interestingly you'll often find the boys together and her off on her todd. I'm lucky that she's never been mareish and despite now taking on a more dominant role in the field, she remains a delight and its normally the naughty geldings that break my fences as they're quite playful.
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I agree . . . Kali has always been happy to be turned out with and/or next to mares . . . never had a problem before . . . but then he's not encountered a really mareish mare until now ;).

P
 
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