Just wondering really, have never heard of anything bad happening when they are mixed but quite a few yards seem to do seperate them?
Why keep mares and geldings seperate?
- Thread starter stressy
- Start date
I think it depends on the horses involved. My ID gelding becomes very difficult around in season mares - hard to handle, distracted in his work & aggressive towards other geldings. I wouldn't keep him in a mixed herd. My welsh cob on the other hand has no problem, apart from trying to avoid the ID!
Both my horses are Geldings, one does not even notice a Mare, but my other lad acts insane, you would think he was a stallion
No, he is not a Rig either, so I can understand why some yards seperate them to be honest.
No, he is not a Rig either, so I can understand why some yards seperate them to be honest.
Some of our mares piddle all over poor jack when they are in season. He use to be a Stallion so has a vague idea but when he is interested!!! they kick him, we thought he was sweaty but it was pee. He is still with mares but the not so tarty ones old Chrunchie is now the referee. We have one mare that is quite agressive with geldings.
Some places don't mind mares adn geldign mixed but most yards don't allow this.
The reason being is mares come into season, start winking at geldings and get rather difficult to handle. geldings can still get the instinct to mount a mare and this can cause injuries. To the mare especially if the gelding wears shoes and to the gelding should the mare kick out.
A gelding may be a rig that has stayed quiet for a time then put with a mare and a little bambino arrives.
However a gelding does not need to be a rig to mount a mare.
At one yard the YO dunno why.. decided to put a mare in with the geldings and she was a right hussy. I literally watched her back up so fast and hard into my lad that he must have thought heck, either mount her or fall over.. So yep he mounted her and did the business for about 2 seconds.
Now my lad is 22 years old and had for 8 years been turned out with 35 other horses that were mixed mares and geldings and no little ones emerged so I know he is not a rig.
Also geldings may fight over a mare, again not because they are rigs but because of natural instinct.
To save injuries and disarray its easier to keep mares and geldings seperated
The reason being is mares come into season, start winking at geldings and get rather difficult to handle. geldings can still get the instinct to mount a mare and this can cause injuries. To the mare especially if the gelding wears shoes and to the gelding should the mare kick out.
A gelding may be a rig that has stayed quiet for a time then put with a mare and
a little bambino arrives.However a gelding does not need to be a rig to mount a mare.
At one yard the YO dunno why.. decided to put a mare in with the geldings and she was a right hussy. I literally watched her back up so fast and hard into my lad that he must have thought heck, either mount her or fall over.. So yep he mounted her and did the business for about 2 seconds.
Now my lad is 22 years old and had for 8 years been turned out with 35 other horses that were mixed mares and geldings and no little ones emerged so I know he is not a rig.
Also geldings may fight over a mare, again not because they are rigs but because of natural instinct.
To save injuries and disarray its easier to keep mares and geldings seperated
Y
Yann
Guest
We might be lucky but we have a mixed herd of 25 and there are hardly ever any gender related problems. The mares come in to season and either tend to pal up with another mare or pick out a gelding to victimise for a week or so. I'm not aware of any instances of geldings fighting over mares, but there have been odd instances of mares being mounted. It's usually newer gedlings that act hormonal, the novelty seems to wear off after a while which suggests the problem may be lack of exposure to the other sex rather than too much.
Jasper and Jenlive with a riggy gelding at the moment. Jens boss enough to put him in his place and they all rub along quite nicely. The rest of the horses on the farm are split, mainly because one woman was complaining she couldn't catch her mare when it was in the a gelding ( she can't catch it now its with mares either )
I think sometimes it's us humans that cause the problems by worrying about natural behaviour rather than the horses themselvs
)I think sometimes it's us humans that cause the problems by worrying about natural behaviour rather than the horses themselvs
Our 3 mix quite happily, our Mare rubs along with most, only one we have found she hates and thats a gelding at the yard but he is a mardy thing at best of times, gelding or mare! Not much better with humans either.
Our biggest problem is with Andy and the stallion. You can stick the stallion out with just about anyone, he's only taken a dislike to one colt and we had to move him.
Andy, a gelding will walk over hot coals to go and tell the stallion how much he hates him.
Esther.D was witness to the mess he made of himself just getting to the stallion to beat him up.....the day before a big show!
Andy, a gelding will walk over hot coals to go and tell the stallion how much he hates him.
Esther.D was witness to the mess he made of himself just getting to the stallion to beat him up.....the day before a big show!
I think it's more a case of keeping certain personalities separate, especially in today's world where field are smaller and the pressure on land so great.
I guess if you are running a business it makes sense to limit risks from the start and not complicate matters.
Shame really as I prefer them to be mixed, mind you I prefer them to be in a bigger heard rather than just my 2 so we can't always get what we want.
I guess if you are running a business it makes sense to limit risks from the start and not complicate matters.
Shame really as I prefer them to be mixed, mind you I prefer them to be in a bigger heard rather than just my 2 so we can't always get what we want.
at they yard we have come off they mixed everything but just in pairs. Never saw a horse come in injured.
Honestly, I think it depends on the horses in question . . . our two mares were in a mixed herd (three mares and three geldings) and it all worked out fine . . . possibly b/c the herd was large enough for sub-herds to form (and they did!).
When Kal was at his first yard (after we bought him), the geldings were grazed separately from the mares . . . Kal seemed to find the mares rather fascinating though and several of the mares really liked him.
At our new yard, mares and geldings are kept separate, except for one pair who are owned by the same owner and are inseperable.
That said, if I had a mare, and my livery YO suggested mixing mares and geldings, I'd want to be sure a) the herd was big enough; and b) the geldings were good with the mares (no mounting or bullying . . . although it's often the mares who are the madams - Nell certainly was!).
N
When Kal was at his first yard (after we bought him), the geldings were grazed separately from the mares . . . Kal seemed to find the mares rather fascinating though and several of the mares really liked him.
At our new yard, mares and geldings are kept separate, except for one pair who are owned by the same owner and are inseperable.
That said, if I had a mare, and my livery YO suggested mixing mares and geldings, I'd want to be sure a) the herd was big enough; and b) the geldings were good with the mares (no mounting or bullying . . . although it's often the mares who are the madams - Nell certainly was!).
N
As mentioned, it depends on the horses involved. On my place I have two colts, three mares and ten geldings. I run the two colts together away from the others, one mare with one gelding, six geldings together, one gelding alone and then a mare and filly with two young geldings. Works fine
Our yard mixes mares and geldings. Also its down to personalities, some mix better than others. Seamus has been very aggressive to the other gelding as "his" two mares were in season. He would round them up into a corner and stand guard over them. If the other gelding (actually the herd leader ) came anywhere near them he would chase at the gallop, neck down, ears back and teeth bared He was totally in love with one of the mares and was constantly mounting her. He was moved to another field and started a relationship with the mare in that field and again constantly mounting her. I think she is second best though, he always looks across to his first love in the other field with longing in his eyes. Poor soul. I had him tested for a rig but results were negative.
) came anywhere near them he would chase at the gallop, neck down, ears back and teeth bared He was totally in love with one of the mares and was constantly mounting her. He was moved to another field and started a relationship with the mare in that field and again constantly mounting her. I think she is second best though, he always looks across to his first love in the other field with longing in his eyes. Poor soul. I had him tested for a rig but results were negative.
My gelding would have a hard job mounting any mare and attempting to do the biz because his winky points the wrong way
LOL!!!!!
Sorry I shouldn't laugh at your ponio's misfortune *looks ashamed*
....which way does it point?
It points between his back legs when out...i feel his embarrassment when with the other boys showing off :redface:
I can see why they do it on a yard - and as others have said, depends on the personality of the horses! Our pair are mare and gelding and rub along just great tho have to admit, Stormy can be a pain winking at Joe, who does not know why...........
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