stallions in isolation

[Sophia]

a friend of mine told me that alot of agressive behaviour in stallions is caused by being treated differently to other horses and that to stop unwanted behaviour patterns u should stop treating them differently. I thought about this and surely isolating stallions from any horse interaction is treating them differntly, so how do stalions learn social behaviour of a herd.

I was wondering is it possible if a young colt grows up with an other gelding can they be turn out with geldings when the mares arent in season?

[Mehitabel]

your friend is right.

whether you can keep a stallion with geldings dpeends on a few factors though. some are very territorial and agressive regardless of handling and bringing up - it's just how they are. in this case then obviously there's a high risk of injury to the gelding, who will usually come off worse in any fight.

it also depends on what you need them to do - if they are ridden and competing, you don't want them to be off through injury or blmished, if they show. stallions and colts do play rough, so it's likely they will spend a lot of time with chunks out of them. if it's just cosmetic that's not too important, but bites on the back or round the face will stop you riding them.

[pengapenga]

I have a stallion and keep him in his own paddock but within site and smell of other horses. I keep him separate for much of the reasons as Mehitabel has mentioned. I am not averse to putting him with a gelding if they get along :) as I would prefer him to have a herd however the vet has recommended he live on his own because of the possible injuries he could sustain in a fight. Frits is a big investment so I cannot risk injury to him, he also has hefty insurance which can rise if I keep him with other horses. It is unfortunate that money has to raise its ugly head where my horses are concerned but that is the world we live in :rolleyes: :) I hope that does not make me sound heartless or something, I adore Frits and always try to do the best for him :)

Just to add the stallion I previously owned was in a herd and he was quite an agressive horse.

[chev]

Stallions learn social behaviour through being out with other horses when they're still young. Best case scenario - colts run with their mothers until weaning, when they go out in a bachelor group of other colts of the same or very similar age, and one older horse (usually a nanny gelding but could be an unbreedable mare too) until they're ready to start stud duties. They would then live with their own herd of mares (even one or two is usually enough to keep them happy). I did that with my stallion and he was a total gent.

Unfortunately that kind of life is rarely possible - usually because of the stallion's ridden career, or the fact that most studs stand more than one stallion and juggling more than one herd with a stallion would be a logistical nightmare. Even if it's not possible to do that with a stallion once he's mature, he should still settle happily if he has conatct with other horses during his day and isn't kept isolated 24/7 - plenty will live happily and peacefully on a yard if well managed (stabling them next to a flirty mare is likely to cause problems, for example - so things like that are best avoided!).

The main reason for stallions being aggressive with other horses later in life is because they haven't had the chance to grow up with other horses. They are always happier and better socialised if they have that opportunity. Andy is a yearling now - he can't be turned ut with my mares because he'd likely cover them. He can't be turned out with Rhodri if I want to show him - he was until fairly recently and Rhodri has a knack of leaving Andy covered in marks. So for now he's out with a 16.2 showjumping mare - she's young enough that she'll play, far too big for him to even think of covering, and is doing a fantastic job of teaching him manners - which is vital if he's to run out with mares as I hope he will.

But as Mehitabel says, they're all individuals - plenty are more than happy to live out with geldings but there are some who just will not tolerate any kind of potential rival near them at all.

[Tootsie4U]

he's out with a 16.2 showjumping mare - she's ...far too big for him to even think of covering

Chev, you know your stuff, so Im not disagreeing. Just sharing a story because its sort of funny :D

We had a mini-horse, barely 35 inches tall who successfully covered a 13.2 pony mare. He got her when she would lie down! :o

[chev]

:D Where there's a willy there's a way.... ;)

Luckily Andy is quite narrow in the chest still - and Abbie, bless her soul, is built like a ship. Even lying down she's still a big challenge.... ;)

To be honest we'll be keeping them apart when she comes into season - more because she's never been covered, and if he did get ideas all it would take is one good kick and she'd probably kill him.

[mad mare1]

You lot are making me cry laughing, I just got the most ridiculous mental image!!! I know of something similar happening with dogs. At my old yard, there was a border collie bitch, and a miniature daschund dog!! Yep, he got her while she was asleep, and the result was a border collie body, on daschund legs!!! Funny!!!! We called him clyde!!!!

[Wally]

I have always kept stallions as part of the herd, I drove them in pairs together, our stallions always have lots of other blokes to play with, they need it, they should never be separated from other horses.

Tribble the Dribble our last stallion lived out with two old barren mares who told him where to stand and what to do. Once they knocked the manners into him he spent the rest of his time with the geldings and other colts and what a time they would have, play, play, play, gallopy gallopy, play b'doing.

Then when it came to working he'd got all his bouncing out of his system and would concentrate on work.