# Stallion Turnout



## CatResearchStudent

Hi Everyone
Some of you may already know that I am a Research Student studying stallion management.
After conducting a survey into management I am looking for further information on some points.
How are your stallions turned out? alone, with mares, geldings, youngstock etc? and why do you choose this management method? would you do it differently given the option?

Thanks
Cat


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## dbarabians

My stallion is kept in a separate pen from the mares and no geldings are allowed near him.
If I could I would allow him to run with the mares that he is to breed and their foals if they have any. 
I do not allow this because we use barbed wire for most of the fencing and with over 28 horses I know he would test the fence if he saw any in another pasture.
when we rotate pastures the different herds sometimes are in adjacent pastures.
Now that I am at another property with my stallion and a few mares there are other horses in the pastures next to my property. Mares that are not bred and geldings . IMO that is a recipe for disaster. As my friend Faceman pointed out I learned that a stallion will go to any length to breed most mares, While in a round pen Star mounted a mare on the other side of the panel and his hind legs were dangling inside the round pen while front legs were planted firmly on the ground on the outside of the pen. He looked like he had taken a Jump at a steeple chase and got stuck on the fence. The panels for the roundpen were metal and 6 ft tall. Shalom


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## greentree

My stallion has a pen by himself. He has been kept with a bred mare, then pasture bred to a mare with a baby, and kept an old mare who needed company in her last months. I tried turning a gelding out with him, but he ate the geldings mane. No violence, though, but my stallion is so gentle I would put a two-year-old child on him.

Nancy


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## drafts4ever

My stallion has two pastures to himself and his pony friend James a 12 hand welsh gelding. He also goes out in the back larger pasture with my big Belgian gelding Sammy for some bigger run around space if I take my mares to a show. This is mainly for Sammy since he doesn't like being in the huge pasture by himself and he won't fit with Lestat and James so I just throw all the boys out together when the girls aren't home. His fencing is 6 foot vinyl with hot wire on the inside and the outside. The mares are two pastures away with double hot wire. Lucky for me they think he's disgusting and he has no idea he's a stud yet but I'm taking precautions now.


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## liv885

I have never owned a stallion but my friend use to have a Clydesdale stallion and the stables I ride at have a Morgan Stallion.
The clydesdale was kept out in a large paddock probably around 4 acres with electric fences. As he was born and raised on her farm she kept him with a collection of different animals such as sheep, goats, cattle and ducks. Sometimes he was turned out with her old gelding or paddock next to him and other horses.
The morgan is in a busy stables, he is in the upper yard which is quite small with a shelter. No horses or animals are right next door to him but within sight distance and is close to where all the horses are groomed and tacked up. I feel that his housing has added to some behavioural issues that he has.


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## Rumonek

My latest stallion was housed alone but could be stalled/pastured/trailered etc... with any other sex horse. 

My older stallion can be kept with mares/foals/geldings without issue. It has a lot to do with how they were brought up. I would never purchase a stallion that has grown up un-socialized.


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## PunksTank

The stallion at my rescue is kept in his own paddock, roughly fenced (mix of wood and electric). There are mares and geldings in bordering paddocks that he bickers with and/or grooms. Never had an issue. IMO he's been all the better for it.


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## Lokenzo

My boy has always had his 'gelding buddy.' He is paddocked in his own paddock but has his gelding buddy to talk to over the fence which is electric. I wouldn't change it at this stage, none of mine are paddocked together as they are all competition horses and have taken enough skin off each other in the past but none of them are ever isolated.


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## WSArabians

I kept the one stallion with the mares he was breeding, and my young colt with the bred mares to learn some manners and to learn how to be social. 
The older stallion is by himself now, but he has access to mares.


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## Adenfire

My stallion is kept with my gelding, I kept his son and him together (both stallions) before we had to put the son down due to an injury. I have handled stallions that are kept alone and ones that are in a "herd" situation (2+ horses) and much prefer the latter...they tend to be mentally healthier. NOT saying that some stallions are better/safer/happier alone, just that from personal experience ones in a buddy situation are happier. 

My mare is either in the pen next to them (she LOVES my gelding) or when she is in heat on the other side of the yard because she is a hussy. My stallion could care less, he doesn't put up the effort to breed unless they are on the same side of the fence...but he's quirky.


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## xxdanioo

At my aunts- The TB and their old App stud live together in the winter, with their new buddy Gary, a two year old welsh x shetland gelding. They stay inside. The other two studs are in a pasture alone.


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## palogal

My stallion has his own stall and run, in my geldings pasture. I frequently let him out of his run into the big pasture to hang with my gelding if I'm home. My mares are adjacent to him, separated by pipe fence. He's very respectful and generally ignores my girls. 

My mares are also well mannered and we've had no issues.

I do only let him out of his run if I'm home. He's still a stallion and I don't want any issues. He's been wonderful so far and I hope to keep him that way.


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## Palomine

Most stallions could not be turned out safely with geldings.

Only takes one good vet bill to break someone of that notion.

Some are fine next to mares? Some aren't. Again, it depends on the horse.


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## palogal

Palomine said:


> *Most stallions could not be turned out safely with geldings.*
> 
> Only takes one good vet bill to break someone of that notion.
> 
> Some are fine next to mares? Some aren't. Again, it depends on the horse.


 
Sorry, that's not true. It depends on how they are socialized and how early they are introduced to sharing their space with other horses/geldings. It's not at all natural for a stallion to live in solitude.


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## dbarabians

Not all stallions are dominate animals.
I have thought about turning my stallion out with the bred mares or a gelding and keeping the mares out of sight . However after attacking a gelding I dont trust mine with another male. Shalom


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## doubleopi

palogal said:


> It's not at all natural for a stallion to live in solitude.


Look at wild mustangs, they have bachelor bands all the time. Obviously no geldings but a bunch of boys living together until they are strong enough to have their own band of mares.


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## cmarie

My stallion has his own pen in the herd pen. But he gets turned out with his mares, babies and a gelding, if he wasn't so hard on fencing he'd be turned out 24/7 with his herd, when he gets out he doesn't go anywhere or do anything, I think some times he just wants to get way from the wives and kids.


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## Poco1220

When Poco was a stallion he was either with a mare or with foals/yearlings. He was aggressive toward old geldings but loved the babies!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## WSArabians

doubleopi said:


> Look at wild mustangs, they have bachelor bands all the time. Obviously no geldings but a bunch of boys living together until they are strong enough to have their own band of mares.



I used to run my two stallions and two geldings together all the time. Never had an issue.


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## MacabreMikolaj

Most properly socialized and trained stallions I've known did FAR better with a gelding or even stud penned with them. The only time that's likely to not work is if the stud is running with a band of mares - and even then, as some have stated, they've had no problems including geldings in that dynamic. 

I think it's highly ignorant to just assume othersise. Two alpha mares are just as likely to half murder each other as any pair of stallions. Temperament comes into play FAR more than gender as far as I'm concerned and have witnessed working with numerous stallions over the last couple decades.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## QtrBel

My Belgian stallion is kept with a sterile mare. She keeps him in line. As he has never been extensively socialized because of his size I would not turn him loose with geldings or mares/babies due to the size difference. My Quarter stallions are rotated. At foaling they are kept together with geldings in a pasture out of sight of the mares and babies. If we are pasture breeding they along with the geldings are turned back in with the mares they will be breeding and run with bred mares and babies until foaling the next year. If for any other reason they are separated they are kept in a large pen (small arena size or portable round pen- 60ft) in the same field as their band. Depending on the reason I may put a companion with.


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## kassierae

We currently have one breeding stallion and three colts on the property. Flash is a 13.3 ish pony colt, he alternates going out with two geldings and being by himself. Before we got him he was with two minis, a colt and a mare. How on earth the mare didn't get bred I have no idea, but we have all three. The other colt she was with is with her still, though they are getting separated. She will go out with the mares/foals and he'll get gelded and sold. Tried him(Bullet) out with the two mini geldings, for some reason the boss gelding does NOT like him.

Greyfeather is the breeding stallion, and until recently he was kept with two geldings, two bred mares and my filly, who is finally starting to come into heat. So now he's only with his two bred mares. He's generally very easy going, but with spring coming he's been harassing the geldings. 

My cousins colt is kept alone. He and the geldings fight immediately.


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## TheLastUnicorn

I'm Another here who keeps the stallions with geldings or other stallions when they aren't breeding. 

Occasionally I have had issues with personality clashes, generally in the first few weeks of spring, but rarely with any degree of intensity, if an intense issue arises we separate them and they live on their own for awhile, and we will try another arrangement of horses. I would say the occurances of skirmishes between the boys and those in the mare herd are about equal... And pretty minimal unless a new individual is introduced. 

Most of the stallions I have had in the past have had no issue at all hanging as "bachelors" ... I have one young guy now who is a bit tricky, he tends to be dominant in personality and just doesn't seem to know when to give it a rest when the other horse doesn't want to play. He has a small pony gelding pal that seems to always be able to handle him (they play and when the pony has enough he just ignores the young stallion), but other than that, I keep a close eye on him when he's with other boys - if it looks like he's pushing too many buttons I intervene and separate him for awhile.

We always keep the boys with enough space that they can give each other room if they want (and they do, from time to time) and away from mares to keep things simple.

It is my preference because I find stallions which are allowed to be social tend to be easier to manage... Less frustrated, more focused on me when we work.


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## Janna

My geldings and studs all live together but are taken out and put in a pasture with the mare when breeding. Put back with the boys when the job is done. 

I've never had any serious issues


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## horsietori

My stud colt (11 months old) is pastured alone but goes out with my friend's gelding almost every day for a few hours to play. I was putting him out with my mare but she decided he's gross and isn't the sweet little baby he was a few months ago. She has no tolerance of stallions. 
His pasture is currently made of wire and wood posts. Was actually used for as a mare and foal turn out area. The wood posts are very thick. Soon the pasture will have electric wire instead of regular wire because there are mares on the property.
If I had the option, he would be fenced in a larger area with a safer gelding friend and would have a wood fence with electric wire. I'd also prefer mares to be pastured on the opposite side of the property. But I board, so that is not an option for me to decide upon.


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## MangoRoX87

If I had a stud, I wouldn't have to worry about him getting to the mares. It's more of ROSIE getting to him! XD


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## texasgal

I don't own a stallion, but have a good friend who raises QHs . He has huge acreage, each stallion out with the mares during the spring and into summer to cover mares after they foal.

Late summer he brings them up, puts them in adjoining pens for several weeks, then turns them all out together for the winter in a huge pasture with no connecting fences to mares.

He has no problem with them as they have no mares to fight over. They are sane, happy, and get to be HORSES .. even in the "off" season. They play like colts .. 

It works for him.


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## palogal

Personality clashes will happen, not because they are stallions because they are animals with brains. With enough space most horses regardless of sex can get along. No need to keep a stallion in seclusion.


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## GhostwindAppaloosa

we keep our boys with their mare herd during breeding season... during winter the studs are stalled and all the girls are kept in one area together. 

during winter I can turn out two of the stallions together daily.. and the other has to go out alone. 

we have electrobraid and high tensile (electrified) for fencing.. the boys don't test it.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians

Skippy has a 2 acre pasture to himself. He shares it with the mare he's to breed or if hand bred, the mare he's bred, once she's checked in foal. If she has a foal at side, the foal goes out too. Skippy would be fine with my gelding but the gelding, until a year ago was a stallion, will not tolerate Skippy and will run HIM through the fence. So, when I have all bred mares and Skippy together, if there are no open mares to keep him company, then the gelding gets the 2 acre pasture and Skippy and the girls can have the big pasture.


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## stevenson

I dont own a stallion. The law here is 4 rails 6 ft high pipe or heavy constructed pen. To easy to get sued in CA. And you have trespass laws, attrractive nuisance issues, no liablity laws to protect horse owners, but lots to get us sued !


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