my stallions gone weird

[lucky lodge]

ok how do explain what hes doing

well he cant stop paceing and he,s paddock next to a clydsdale X mare and hes charging at her

with teeth bearing.and tossing his head around...he just doesnt stop all day even with this hot weather

its 40 deg ..he will eat, he goes grabs a mouth full of food then charges at the mare again this goes on all day

he doesnt drink much he has never been a big drinker but worried with all this running around

hes losing weight but thats ok b/c he is very fat but if he keeps doing this he will be skin and bone..

this has all start when i bought his mare and foal out for a graze on the back lawn wich is right next to his paddock....

any ideas would be appreciated

 

[Raine Ranch Minis]

Not sure, but maybe he just doesn't like the mare? Or she could be in heat?

 

[Minimor]

Very typical behavior for some stallions, even if yours hasn't shown it up until now. Something about this particular mare brought it out in him--whether he simply took a dislike to her, or if she's in heat (or just coming in) she's gotten him riled up and he could keep on with this running the fence/charging at her for weeks or months. He may stop if you move her out of there, or he may not--now that he has started running the fence he could keep on with it as long as there is any horse on the other side, or even within view but some distance away. I know several different people who have stallions who act this way all summer long and yes, the stallion does go down to skin & bone if he is constantly running up & down along the fence.

 

[ruffian]

How old is he? Could be coming into his hormones.

I've had stallions do this - Thumper will run a lot of he's alone. I usually try to keep someone with him once the Big T starts running in the spring.

 

[Riverdance]

Very much stallion behavior. He realizes she is a mare and is pacing because of that. Stallions will herd their mares by chasing after them and baring their teeth. They also will have a snake look to their necks while baring their teeth. They will lower their heads, bare their teeth and snake their necks and heads back and forth while chasing after their herd of mares. This is their natural way of keeping their herd in tight herds.

I hand and pasture breed. When one of my stallions is a pasture breeder that year, each one of them will do this. Some more than others.

 

[Koriana]

Can you put a couple of mares in with him or move him away from the other mare ? It's typical stallion herd behaviour I'm afraid he sees her as a Mare who is available and who Wont listen to his instruction. He is frustrated and cranky

 

[lucky lodge]

thanks everyone i cant move him to another paddock and cant put him in with the mares as thay both have foals at foot and iam worried he may hurt the foals...he is a 4 year old and the foals are his first babys

 

[Lindi-loo]

Maybe you should try them all together Jenny..not sure if you remember but while I was out oneday someone had opened the gates and let mine in together and Dinky was only about 2 months old..to my supprise they were all grazing happily when I got back which was less than an hour..theyv been together ever since and Dinky spends more time playing and having scratches from dad than she does with mum..Im sure its not going to work for everyone but Im so glad that theyr all together it makes life so much easier and its great they enjoy eachothers company

..Good luck with what ever you decide to do

 

[Eagle]

My stallion would do this all summer to Matteo's riding ponies that are in the next field so I have had to rotate them cos he got ulcers from the stress.

 

[lucky lodge]

i tryed putting the mares and foals togther and 1 mare kicked the other mares foal so that didnt work

i really dont wont to take the risk ...i really dont know what to do i dont want him getting a ulcer

 

[SHANA]

Maybe put him in with the mare that didn't kick the other ones foal, see how that works. My stallions run with their mares and foals and I never have a problem.

 

[AnnaC]

I dont think Jenny intends to be breeding for next year, she just wants some time to enjoy the chips that she has already, so putting her boy in with her mare/s isn't really an option.

Jenny, I think you will have to try to house your brothers big horse somewhere else, away from you boy. It is the summer season with you and most stallions will run the fences or get 'edgy' during the breeding season and then calm down again during the winter months - hopefully!!

You boy looks gorgeous - a few more days of running the fences will trim him up just a little bit more, but you do need to move that mare if you dont want him to lose too much weight with his extra 'activities'.

 

[HGFarm]

The horses are going to have to work out their pecking order and that will take a few minutes..... I have never had a stallion that hurts the foals and have known many other breeders whose stallions run out all year and no foals have ever been hurt. You will actually be surprized how tolerant they are of the silly foals behavior.

I would move the big horse out if at all possible. Sounds like he doesnt like her and she just has him all upset.

Maybe turn your stallion out with one of the mares and her foal, let them get settled, then turn out another mare and foal, etc... and let them get settled down so there isn't so much commotion going on? The problem is, if he doesnt like the big mare, then he is not going to be any happier really and will fuss to keep his mares away from the big horse.

 

[Eagle]

Yes Jen, I agree with Anna and Laurie. You should try and move your brothers horse as it seems that he doesn't like her. I wonder if it is the size that bothers them as Eagle will run the fence of Matteo's ponies and they are much bigger than him too. I bet he will settle down if he can't see her, but she will have to be far enough for him to forget about her. Now that Eagle never sees the 2 ponies he is much happier.

 

[Royal Crescent]

You may want to try the mares and foals together again too now that they aren't so new. They will probably get along just fine now and the babies love to play together.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

If you do not want to breed for next year then putting the stallion in with the mares is not an option, but you need to get the big mare away from there ASAP, there is a good chance she will decide to retaliate eventually and even through a fence she could really hurt him. My stallion runs the fence most of the summer, even with mares and foals in with him- running them this way does depend on the amount of land you have, my boys filed is three acres and he can live happily in there with four or five mares and have no problems. The same amount of horses on a small patch would run into trouble, so that is a factor.

JFYI if I had a stallion that hurt foals (and I am not suggesting that yours does) he would be a gelding so quick he would not know what hit him!

In summer I have an internal hotwire fence so that there is no contact between who ever is in the next field and Carlos, but he still does a fair bit of pacing.

One answer, of course, would be to geld him, that would stop all the problems in one go.......

 

[paintponylvr]

There is another option...

Understand that I've never had truly small minis or truly large horses. BUT I do have shetlands that are 38" at the withers at maturity so were much smaller before and on up to 45" tall. Our full size horses have ranged from 13.3 hh on up to 16.1 hh.

Our stallions each runs with larger mares -

my 40" inch boy runs with a 1/2 arab pony that is 13.1 and and arab filly that is coming 4 that is 13.3 hh now. He herds them and he guards them - to include ocassionally running he fence during the spring breeding/foaling season. The 1/2 arab mare has produced two foals by him BUT not thru natural, pasture breeding. I've never seen him try to mount during heat cycles but he's a "shy" breeder during hand breeding and I may not be seeing it... I've hand bred him to other mares by pulling him out of his pasture and by introducing other mares into his paddock for up to 2 weeks at a time. He is great with the babies - and I've often left colts & fillies with him thru the summer of their yearling year with no problems (though I'd not recommend that for everyone!! and we DID watch/keep an eye on how they were all doing).

the 45" boy runs with a 13.3 hh arab, a 14.1 hh arab and a 16.1 NSH mare. He is/was my main herd sire for many years and ran w/ all the mares and foals without any problems - great with the weanlings, too, up until the spring/.summer of their yearling years - then he'd run both fillies and colts into the ground and savage them if they got to close to the "herd"... He has sired 1 foal each out of the two arab mares - live cover via stocks and a ramp to stand on for height... He can't be put with any geldings of any size - he will chase, harrass, attack and injure them - no matter their size. The one time I thought to try to pasture him with the 40" boy (during the winter & w/ the mares none in heat but in pastures away from them) - didn't work either! No different then full size stallions fighting - terrible to behold (welll....would have been beautiful in different circumstances) and costly in resulting vet bills...

There is a pasture between the two boys' pastures that houses shetland mares - some open/come into season regularly and some bred to each one (both paddock and hand bred).

When I first purchased the 40" stallion - both boys regularly ran their fence lines - showing off, marking and screaming. Both lost weight (but were in fantastic condition) & the 40" boy refused to eat that first summer (going down to skin and bones - terribly). I resorted to hand feeding (something I don't do, LOL) but it helped to get him back into shape... Putting the two mares in with him, worked. He does seem to do ok w/ geldings - tho currently don't have any with him... As he gets older, he may not work that way.

*****

So - can you put your mini guy in with the larger mare??

 

[lucky lodge]

well i took my stallion down to see the mares and wow did he go off acting very stallion like and

sriking and screaming at them..through the fence .i think if i put him in with the mare and foal he would mount her ...iam thinking thay maybe in season and he can smell them.i don,t no

do you think i should paddock him next to his girl friend b/c this is the first time he has been seperate from his

girls thay been togther since thay were foals

please help iam really worried about him hes even become a hand full when i have him in hand

thannks jenny

 

[mini horse mania]

A lot of good advice here.. one of them has to be moved...for both of thems sake.. I had a Donkey that did the same....he dropped so much weight. It wasn't funny..I tried letting him with the mare.he was fine then.....he KILLED HER overnight...the stallion is going to fret himself to death...or get fed up enough to hurt himself trying to get to her. I wish you the best...

 

[lucky lodge]

A lot of good advice here.. one of them has to be moved...for both of thems sake.. I had a Donkey that did the same....he dropped so much weight. It wasn't funny..I tried letting him with the mare.he was fine then.....he KILLED HER overnight...the stallion is going to fret himself to death...or get fed up enough to hurt himself trying to get to her. I wish you the best...

OMG your stallion killed the mare ..............................