# Keeping geldings & mares together?



## Roperchick (Feb 1, 2010)

It should be fine. it all depends on the dispositions of the horses.
We keep our 2 geldings and 2 mares together and they get along fine....they just all keep out of Sugars way 
But theres really no problem that i can see with it.


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## Puddintat (Jul 24, 2010)

WesternBella said:


> Is it ok to keep geldings & mares together?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_



My gelding lives with a mare.


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## Saskia (Aug 26, 2009)

I have a mare in with other horses and by far the mares cause more problems than the geldings. Everyone just bosses around the gelding, the mares get a bit vicious. 

Now my mare is just in with the gelding (she was kicked in the shoulder by a mare and is healing) and she is getting along great, but there is always conflict among the mares.


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## Arksly (Mar 13, 2010)

More often than not I find that a mare and a gelding will get along better than two mares. However, I have known some geldings that can't Ben with mares without always mounting them. The particular horse I'm talking about was a stallion until he was eight though.


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## Prinella (Jul 12, 2011)

We have senile old boy who has decided he is a stallion again. As long as he's with his wives he's happy, he was chasing the other gelding away so we moved him. If left with no wives he screams and runs the fence. 

It works well though because the 3 mares are never all out at once. We have had to resort to tying him on the same side of the float as prin when we're out but he's happy there.
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## kayleeloveslaneandlana (Apr 10, 2011)

Almost always geldings are fine with mares. Our "herd" has 9 geldings and 5 mares. We have never had a problem.


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## SMCLeenie (Mar 3, 2011)

My gelding is on pasture board with several mares and other geldings, and we have never had a problem.


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

It should be fine, as everyone said. Just watch out that the geldings don't get possessive.. that's when problems start up.


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## VanillaBean (Oct 19, 2008)

More than ok. My mares prefer the gelding to each other. He really balances the hormones!


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## rookie (May 14, 2012)

In my book its all about personality. I have a gelding that does not want other horses near him, mare or gelding. He tolerates one older mare. I joke its because this mare was a success at the track and so was the gelding, so really he just wants to hang out with another winner. At the same time, years ago we had a old gelding who was not fond of people but followed our old morgan around like the sun rose and set on her. If you wanted to catch him you just had to catch the mare. Lots of geldings get along with mares, you just have to match personalities.


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## DoubleJ2 (Feb 12, 2011)

I keep my mares and geldings together. My mare thinks she is the boss, but the geldings don't care. haha


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## WesternBella (Jan 7, 2012)

Thanks for your feedback everyone!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Regula (Jan 23, 2012)

We've had trouble with that. My gelding at first was in a herd with one other gelding and two mares. The three of them bullied the other gelding till his owner moved him. Then the younger mare and my guy started to bully the older mare. The young mare was the instigator, but my gelding happily picked her side. Then he became rank and hard to catch and just generally really testing me or anyone who wanted to handle him or one of the mares.
I moved him to an all-gelding herd and had no problems anymore since.
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## Corazon Lock (Dec 26, 2011)

Depends on the horse. My gelding needs to be away from the mares because I think he is more aggressive towards them. He is also very "interested" when they are in heat.


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

I worked for a guy who always said that there was no better way to ruin a good gelding by turning him out with a mare.

We have three geldings and one mare. They are turned out together and I find it a pain in the ***. They get mothered up with that mare pretty good and if you ride off they hollar at her. Usually after a good spanking they get over it and away we go. Not that big of a deal, but annoying. 

Any where I have worked had always kept mares and gelding seperated. I think if you have the facilities to do so I would recommend it. I would if I had the fencing.
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## FlyGap (Sep 25, 2011)

Mine are different, two geldings and one mare.
At first she was boss hog, ran the geldings off feed, into things etc...
Now the two boys have ganged up on her and they rule. They don't like riding out with her when I take her and one gelding. Take the two boys out and all's good. 

I've had a gelding that would KILL any other gelding. It was down right dangerous. I could only keep him with mares. Finally I found a 17+ Clyde that was bigger and badder than he and they worked out a partnership. All just depends on the horse like said before.


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## nvr2many (Jan 18, 2011)

I hated when I had a mare and a gelding. Mare took over and I could not get the gelding to concentrate on anything but her. What a piece of work she was. Anyway, every situation is different. Mares have just been meaner as I have seen it.


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## caseymyhorserocks (Apr 5, 2010)

Yes, absolutely. There was some study done showing that gelding kept with only other gelding and no mares tend to be more nervous or sleep deprived or something like that. Also, if your gelding can't handle being around mares, (and vice versa) they need some more training. There is the rare horse that really truly can't handle them, but 90% of the time with good training and handling they will get over it. Also, it's not like you can just avoid mares (or geldings if you have a prissy mare). What if you come upon a horse if the opposite sex at a show or on the trail and your horse just flips out?


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

caseymyhorserocks said:


> Yes, absolutely. There was some study done showing that gelding kept with only other gelding and no mares tend to be more nervous or sleep deprived or something like that. Also, if your gelding can't handle being around mares, (and vice versa) they need some more training. There is the rare horse that really truly can't handle them, but 90% of the time with good training and handling they will get over it. Also, it's not like you can just avoid mares (or geldings if you have a prissy mare). What if you come upon a horse if the opposite sex at a show or on the trail and your horse just flips out?


Where did you read about this study? I have never heard such a thing, unless the gelding was previously in with a mare then seperated for the study, then yes I would imagine there would be some anxiety.

Just because someone doesn't pasture their geldings and mares together doesn't mean that they will not be able to deal with the opposite sex in a situation whether it be a show or an encounter on a trail.

There is a reason why big ranches that run a lot of horses keep them seperated. I realize that all situations are different. But in larger herds it does make for a more harmonious herd. One example is I rode of the only saddle mares on the last ranch we worked on, everything else was geldings. When we went up to the summer camp we turned all of them out together for lack of seperate pastures for geldings amd mares. I have never had so many skinned up geldings for fighting with each other. Also she was a sneaky b!tch when it was time to gather all the horses in to catch up horses for the next day she would peel out and take all the boys with her. So either I had to be riding her to bring everyone in or get a rope on her and pony her to get all the boys in. They just get so attached to mare, in my experience. While they might have their other gelding buddies but I have noticed more of an attachment to a mare than another gelding. Again this all from my experience and I realize that not everyone that has mares and geldings will have that problem.
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## minstrel (Mar 20, 2012)

Depends on the horse. With overly excitable, bossy or instigating geldings I've found it best to take them away from the girls and stick them in together - then they can muck around as much as they like without it becoming serious, like it becomes with mares. However, I've had geldings like my current one who get bullied something wicked by other geldings, but with mares, they ignore him as he;s obviously bottom of the pecking order, and therefore he doesn't get hurt. Mares or geldings on their own generally tend to sort themselves out better, but occasionally you do have to mix them up and that's when you have to really see who gets on with who.


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## LostDragonflyWings (Feb 1, 2012)

We have a mare and a gelding. They are stalled next to eachother and get turned out together. They act like brother and sister, haha! Groom eachother, the mare nips at the gelding (in a friendly way) when she follows him around, etc. I have also seen 3 geldings turned out together. It just depends on the individual horses.


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## PaintGirl7 (May 27, 2012)

It should be okay. I have a gelding and a mare and they are both pastured together. They are actually best friends!


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

We have 2 gelding and 2 mares and keep them in two paddocks as mare /gelding pairs. This works very well. When there is lots of pasture, I can turn all 4 horses out at once without any problem. The geldings are buddies. In the fall when the grass gets short and we begin feeding hay, however, the geldings do start to fight with one another, so we separate them.

Like others have said, it depends upon the horses. I would add that it also depends upon access to food and resources. Horses that think they have to compete for resources will fight. When there is plenty for everyone, they get along much more easily.


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## Makoda (Jan 17, 2011)

I wouldn't recommend it.


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## kac7700 (Apr 20, 2012)

Depends on the horse. My gelding turned into a monster with mares, now that he's in with only geldings he's a dream horse. Most of the time it should be just fine, most of the paddocks at my barn are mixed herds. I think my boy is an exception to the rule and he cannot live with mares at all.


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## Arksly (Mar 13, 2010)

Just curious. But why not, Makoda?


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## usandpets (Jan 1, 2011)

If you only have two horses, I think it would be better to keep them together since horses are herd animals. However, it can make them buddy sour.

We have 6 horses, 3 mares and 3 geldings. We also have two others, mare and gelding, for other people. They are all together and get along great. 

We did have another gelding for someone else. We were going to separate the genders because many were getting marked/bit up. She took him to school with her and things settled down. 

If they get along, leave them together. If they don't, then separate them.
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