Alexart
Well-Known Member
I have always treated my stallions as I would any other horse - obviously I keep in mind the fact they can get a mare in foal from 6 months old onwards but other than that they are the same as all the others and behave no differently although I am aware of who is in season so as not to tempt them by parading an in season mare right under their noses!!!!
It definitely depends on the individual stallion as to how they react to others, my friesian Wessel was never turned out at all and only used for covering until I bought him as a 5 year old. I turned him out with a bunch of old shite bag mares that soon put him in his place!! It also taught him how to avoid kicks and when to cover and when not to bother and how to chat up mares. I have seen so many stallions that will cover any mare when presented even when not in season simply because they have never been allowed to learn natural behavior.
I also run a bachelor herd with stallions and geldings, they have a pecking order and they are all very well mannered, all the ones I have now have been brought up like that so don't know anything else.
I have had a TB stallion that was kept totally isolated and stabled 24/7 until we bought him as a 6yr old, but he was so institutionalized he never adapted once turned out - the other horses and even our boar! absolutely hated him, so he was kept on his own until he got cancer a year later and had to be pts. So some do adapt but not all - just make sure if you are going to introduce a stallion make sure it is on neutral ground and over a few weeks!
It definitely depends on the individual stallion as to how they react to others, my friesian Wessel was never turned out at all and only used for covering until I bought him as a 5 year old. I turned him out with a bunch of old shite bag mares that soon put him in his place!! It also taught him how to avoid kicks and when to cover and when not to bother and how to chat up mares. I have seen so many stallions that will cover any mare when presented even when not in season simply because they have never been allowed to learn natural behavior.
I also run a bachelor herd with stallions and geldings, they have a pecking order and they are all very well mannered, all the ones I have now have been brought up like that so don't know anything else.
I have had a TB stallion that was kept totally isolated and stabled 24/7 until we bought him as a 6yr old, but he was so institutionalized he never adapted once turned out - the other horses and even our boar! absolutely hated him, so he was kept on his own until he got cancer a year later and had to be pts. So some do adapt but not all - just make sure if you are going to introduce a stallion make sure it is on neutral ground and over a few weeks!
). Anyway, there was a playful 15hh arab gelding, about 10 years old, who was gelded late so acted like a stallion at the yard at the same time. They both got lonely when turned out on their own, they were never turned out with mares obviously and they were both playful. They were introduced to eachother by being turned out in fields with only a wooden fence between them, so they could shout at eachother and touch noses without being able to chase eachother and without getting a shock from an electric fence. We are lucky as we have a small round field that has a gate oppening up to a bigger field, so if they were getting on ok we could open the gate, and if one of them ran away from the other, they could run in here and we could shut the gate to keep them appart if it wasnt working out. At first there was alot of rearing and a bit of PLAYFUL biting (make sure this doesnt turn nasty) but after that they settled and wouldnt leave eachother alone, you just have to let them work it out while watching closely if it all goes wrong!