Two geldings and a mare - advice please?

Storminateacup

Storminateacup

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I have two geldings, one 14 year old cob, the other 4 year old 16.2hh ID/Cob. They get on great and are respectful of each other, never had any injuries although the youngster can be a bit boisterous at times. Anyway we are getting another horse, a mare. She is 5 has had a foal in the past, and therefore has had a natural service in the past. My young gelding has been known to try to mount mares, not sure if its just playfulness or serious but nothing has ever really happen (if you know what I mean), whilst at livery, and on both occasions the mares were in season. The intended purchase I have been told lives out in a mixed herd and can take care of herself, she will bite if she doesn't want to be bothered.
All horses are unshod.
Not having had mares and gelding in together for many years, (when I was at mixed turnout livery yards), I am wondering how I should go about introducing the guys to the gal to avoid any fights and injuries. My old cob is very non- competitive and just wants to be left alone to scoff, with the occasional mutual grooming session.
The youngster is very interested in girls but can be terrorised by the welshie Sec A mare at the yard where he is now with just a bite on the bum when his attentions are not required.
They will be in their own fields at my MIL s Croft some 15 miles from my home.
Therefore there will not be close supervision.
Is this a recipe for disaster, or am I worrying unnecessarily?

Advice please from all of those who have been there and got the tee- shirt.
 
We have a mixture - two of each. they're fine. The two geldings do go into stallion mode now and again - playing, but it gets a bit too much, so we muzzle them to stop them nipping. The mares shoo the geldings away most of the time, and rule the roost, except when they're in season, when they spend their time showing like crazy to the geldings. The poor boys never work out why one week they're the bees knees, and the next they're being chased away! We've never had any injuries. Sounds like your old cob will let the youngster get on with playing alpha male!
 
Thanks honey08. I dont think the old boy will be remotely interested in her, but worried that the youngster may get injured, from being kicked (although he is pretty well built) or even if the mare gets hurt if he tries to mount her. If Gelding becomes alpha male will old boy get bullied, or will youngster just be a pain when we take mare out for exercise/training. Or will we just end up with an Alpha mare? So many questions.........
 
I run mares and geldings together, and the only problem we've had is with the current gelding (running with 2 mares). BUt frankly I think he's a nut case, and his problem is not with mares per se, but that he appears to forget them if they are away for any reason, and has nasty territorial outbursts when they come home.

But the others have all been fine, and most of them have been shod. If it's any help, I was taught to make as little fuss as possible with new arrivals. We do grass livery with shelter. If the horse is local we suggest it is hacked over, and we hack our horses out to meet halfway, on neutral territory. When they are unsaddled etc. and ready to graze we have one person to each horse, haltered. We walk onto the field, and allow them to graze for 10 minutes or so haltered. We then release them one at a time, the quietest first, and preferably alternating sexes, but very quietly and the leader of that horse stays beside it. When the final horse is released (it may not necessarily be the newcomer) we go into mine and have a cup of coffee. from where we can watch the field. Occasionally there are a few minutes' fooling, but more often they just graze away into the distance. Perhaps we've been lucky, but that has worked for 17 years now.

I hope your gang settle down well together.
 
Very much as honey has said. In the summer we run the whole herd together 4 mares and 5 geldings. The ladies are very much in charge apart from when they come into season and the boys get totally confused as to why they are suddenly getting a lot of attention when last week they got booted away.

In the winter they are out in smaller sand paddocks in groups of 2, 3 and 4 dependent on the best relationships at the mo my gelding is out with another gelding and a mare.

As in all things take it slowly and there should be no problems.

So did you get you OH his QH then?
 
Chavhorse said:
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So did you get you OH his QH then?
Click to expand...

We are going to see her Tuesday, she is in training with Garry Stevens in Derbyshire, he is Aussie Natural Horsemanship trainer. If all goes well, and I cant see that it wont, then she will be ours and come up to Scotland in a few months time. OH is smitten!!
I can't wait to ride a well schooled QH too, TBH!!!!!!

If only I had been able to have my youngster started with him but hopefully he will come up for a week and start the conversion. I will have my 60ft round pen up by then.
 
The only troubl I ever had was when she was previously on livery and there were two geldings that were competing for alpha male when my mare arrived. There was a bit of a kuffuffle, and my mare did leave a footprint on one of the geldings. Nothing was hurt though. I find now, at home that she is in charge overall. The big gelding acts like the herd leader, but if there is anything scarey around (plastic sack in fence etc) its the mare he hides behind, and she checks it out. Also if there are new arrivals its her that sorts out the pecking order. If she does kick at anything it seems to be a non harmful kick that warns the others (and it works) rather than one that does damage. Its interesting to watch.

I think Rose Folly has a good point - we hack out with new arrivals too, and let them sniff etc under saddle too.
 
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