stallion out with another stallion....

In the wild, most entire males will never get mares, never mate. They are driven out from the herd as yearlings / 2yo, and happy to find company in a bachelor herd. There is a theory that the presence of other boys subdues their hormones, so they behave as 'chemically castrated' geldings. Mine are so quiet together, as are colts which have been introduced subsequently, that this may be the case.
 
There's a 2 year old colt at work, BIG boy and he turns out with a 14 year old is gelding. The gelding is bigger than him and the boss. However, the colt jumps out a bit and managed to get in with his yearling brother, also a colt, and was dead set on getting to him. Luckily for the yearling he was out with his dam, a yearling filly and 3 year old mare who wouldn't let him get to the yearling under any circumstances!
 
There was a wonderful video on Youtube doing the rounds on FB several weeks ago. It showed a group of stallions being turned out together for the first time at a big stud in (I think) Switzerland.

At first there was a lot of posturing - as you'd expect. However no fighting at all. Within two hours the group had totally settled down (and there were about 10 of them) and were grazing happily side by side, and standing in shelters together sharing hay etc.
 
amymay said:
There was a wonderful video on Youtube doing the rounds on FB several weeks ago. It showed a group of stallions being turned out together for the first time at a big stud in (I think) Switzerland.

At first there was a lot of posturing - as you'd expect. However no fighting at all. Within two hours the group had totally settled down (and there were about 10 of them) and were grazing happily side by side, and standing in shelters together sharing hay etc.
Click to expand...

Just like any other group of lads really :)
 
amymay said:
There was a wonderful video on Youtube doing the rounds on FB several weeks ago. It showed a group of stallions being turned out together for the first time at a big stud in (I think) Switzerland.

At first there was a lot of posturing - as you'd expect. However no fighting at all. Within two hours the group had totally settled down (and there were about 10 of them) and were grazing happily side by side, and standing in shelters together sharing hay etc.
Click to expand...

This video? Great watching :)
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=569193863124077
 
I have a friend whose 4 adult stallions live out together . I've seen them playfighting quite often but there's nothing aggressive about it, they get on really well and are a very stable little group. TBH I've seen my 12hh gelding and his Shetland gelding fieldmate get much rougher whilst playfighting than I have ever seen those stallions do!
 
I used to work on a stud yard and we turned out 4 stallions together, it was outside the covering season and they were always far far away from the mares. The stud was on a large country house estate so they had plenty of choice as to where to put them, the field was about 10acres so there was plenty of room for them too get away. They weren't fed (grass only) and there was no public right of way. We never had any issues
 
I agree with the posters who have already said that in the wild, most stallions live in batchelor groups, especially when they are younger.

In general, animals don't chose to fight others. They will usually posture, and one will know it is weaker/smaller than the other and give up. For a flight animal, a kick that will leave it lame is just not worth the risk. It's only when neither will back down- e.g. both similar size, or one is older but established with the mares and the other is younger but inexperienced- that actual fights will occur. Even then, it's not really usual for stallions in the wild to fight to the death. "Boss" stallions will force their sons to leave the herd, for example, but they will usually try to avoid injuring them too severely.

Obviously, in a domestic situation, things are a bit different. There is not so much space in a field for weaker individuals to get away. Also, if there are mares nearby but not available, this will wind the stallions up. There may also be a bit more competition for resources such as water, shelter and shade.

Introductions should be done carefully (but then introductions should always be done carefully), but there is no reason that stallions have to be kept isolated, and two or more stallions can live together quite happily, especially if there are no mares around for them to compete over.

I do know a yard where two uncut males are kept together- they are only 1 and 2 though, and neither has yet backed a mare, but they get on really well, and it is much better for their social skills for them to play together, than be isolated at such an early age.
 
Something that we in the UK often forget is that in many countries gelding is the exception, rather than the rule, and stallions live and work together in stable yards all the time. Yards are usually single sex, but often stallions are preferred to mares for work such as pulling taxis or tourists hacking as they're less 'hormonal'.
 
My friend has a shetland stud...she has 2 stallions and 4 colts in together. They keep each other very fit :)
 
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