Herd management
- Thread starter smurfette
- Start date
Pasofever
Does my butt look big?
Stallions mares and geldings all run together...
Honestly I divide into "who gets fed what" areas...
Beet pulp one field (2 X rained on hay limited)
geldings 1 lb feed free choice hay
Fat mares 3 lbs feed free choice hay
hard keeper boarders 10 plus lbs grain a day and free choice hay
Honestly I divide into "who gets fed what" areas...
Beet pulp one field (2 X rained on hay limited)
geldings 1 lb feed free choice hay
Fat mares 3 lbs feed free choice hay
hard keeper boarders 10 plus lbs grain a day and free choice hay
BlissfulJumper
Equestrian :)
I know alot of people keep mares and geldings seperated and of course stallions by themselves. And if they have more than 3 fields some people might "sub-seperate" into feed groups(like paso does) and then maybe by who comes in and who stays out. You might want to think about private turnout. some people might want that as in option so that their horses do not get torn up
Just wondering why some people do and some don't separate mares and geldings. Do you have a specific reason, or is this just how you've always done it? Not looking for a "right" or "wrong" answer.... just resoning behind different methods.
Pasofever
Does my butt look big?
I just gelded my 10 yr old stud...my older gelding was gelded at 12 yrs...My stud ran with mares and geldings...honestly...
I like dividing by feeding so I can feed in field and not have to bring in and separate. I can NOT put an easy keeper in with a hard keeper. I also do NOT put a horses in together that fight or pick on each other...then they are moved...but if they get along and eat the same they go in together..
BlissfulJumper
Equestrian :)
I'm not an expert or anything but I'm going to assume its for safety reasons cause we all know mares can be a little witchy sometimes and maybe geldings can't get away from the mare. It also depends on the horses
ooops...just noticed a typo... I meant reasoning, not resoning... I don't want to fall victim to the spelling police on here...lol!
all reasons mentioned sound logical.... thanks!
spellbound
New Member
I'm a big advocate of private turnout.
Pasofever
Does my butt look big?
Yeah my show horse is in a stall and private turn out..He has never even had more then a tiny scratch (knocking on wood) But this is the same horse thats tail has been "up" since fall of 2002
I split my horses up according to who gets along with who, and age...
My young horses go out together (2 yr olds and yearlings)...when the weanlings are ready, they also go out in this field.
I have broodmares and two geldings out in a pasture together.
So far I have only one horse that needs individual turnout, he does not play well with others!
Feeding in a group is not an issue, they all come in to eat in their stalls.
My young horses go out together (2 yr olds and yearlings)...when the weanlings are ready, they also go out in this field.
I have broodmares and two geldings out in a pasture together.
So far I have only one horse that needs individual turnout, he does not play well with others!
Feeding in a group is not an issue, they all come in to eat in their stalls.
devinej
New Member
another reason to separate mares and geldings - if a gelding is a little studdish, he might pair with a mare, and fight the other geldings off the mare if they want to get close to her.
in a boarding situation or smaller farm, i'll turn one mare and one gelding out together, or one gelding and more than one mare, but hardly ever two or more geldings out with one mare.
of course i've also lived on a farm that had huge acreage like 50-100 acre fields, and all their mares and geldings in the training stage - 3-4yos - were turned out there together and they did fine. that farm also did fine with turning the 2 year olds out with the 3 stallions (in another 75-ish acre field) during the winter. they did fine and the stallions teach the babies manners. but the field was verryyy large.
depends who has hind shoes on too...they can do some damage
in a boarding situation or smaller farm, i'll turn one mare and one gelding out together, or one gelding and more than one mare, but hardly ever two or more geldings out with one mare.
of course i've also lived on a farm that had huge acreage like 50-100 acre fields, and all their mares and geldings in the training stage - 3-4yos - were turned out there together and they did fine. that farm also did fine with turning the 2 year olds out with the 3 stallions (in another 75-ish acre field) during the winter. they did fine and the stallions teach the babies manners. but the field was verryyy large.
depends who has hind shoes on too...they can do some damage
appendixqh
Silence!!! I Kill You!!!
I divide mine up first by age, (because of what they are fed), weanlings in one field, and yearlings in another until 20 months, then the twos are usually in the barn to start prepping for breaking. at 3 and up, I divide by sex keeping mares and geldings seperate. I do this because the geldings establish a pecking order, but add 1 mare in heat and the gelding try to gain control of "their mare", and thats when they tend to beat the crap out of each other (like Divine said). Plus, there doesn't seem to be as much herd bound behavior when you pull one horse out of the field to ride. When intermingled the geldings seem to worry if someone will "take their woman" while they are gone, so it keeps the guys focused more. Just what I have experienced.
horse_hugger
Member
We have three mixed-sex fields of mares and geldings (two have one gelding plus 2-3 mares; one has a yearling gelding, 2 2-year old geldings, a yearling filly, a 2 year-old filly and a 23 year-old mare), one mare-only field and one gelding-only field. The gelding-only field is right next to the stallion, so it has to stay that way. We could theoretically put geldings in the mare field, but it's maxxed out. I'm a big proponent of separating based on who gets along with who rather than by sex. We have had one gelding in the past try to breed mares - not just act studdish, but actually mount and -ahem- insert. We actually couldn't keep him in the gelding field because he'd taunt Willy constantly, so he finally had to be put in the other mixed sex field where the other gelding wouldn't put up with his shenanigans. The one that wouldn't put up with him has actually turned into quite a nice horse - he used to be kind of a jerk but is now much happier and nicer. I think it's because he's got a little harem of his own (but he's happy to leave it to work as is the only riding mare in there).
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HeavyChevy75
Podunk FL
You are 100% right devine. If one of the mares are in season and teasing the geldings (tramps that they are), the mini will not let 17 hand Sparks anywhere near the fence line where that mare is. Sparks gets kicked a lot in the knees.
That is funny as heck...poor Sparks. Red loves mini's. His bestest friend is a mini.
SugarNSpikes
New Member
My farm only has 5 horses, and it's divided by the barns. Barn one has three stalls, so three of the horses are rotated between pastures 1 and 2. Barn two has two stalls, with the other two horses who are rotated between pastures 3 and 4. They all get along well, it's just that they have to be seperated in a certain way for the stalls.
The big barn that holds 3 horses has two geldings and a mare. The second one has two geldings. We just seperate them based on seniority/who was at the barn first. The big barn filled up first, with the first three clients and the second barn filled up second with my boy and the owners horse.