Mare or Gelding?

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b53

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Aug 12, 2004
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Will shortly be looking for a new horse. He/she will have to live out 24/7 with a dominant mare and a gelding. Previously I have had 2 geldings, on both occasions they were bullied by the other gelding (he is big shire x). Would I be better off with a mare? Or would she just get bullied by the mare?:confused:
 
This is a really tricky question.
Obviously the gelding has his mare and another gelding would wind him up.
On the other hand, the mare is top dog so she'll bully another mare - at least to start with and protect her gelding.
On balance a nice little mare that was very respectful might be your best option and cause less of a fracas in the future.
Whatever you get, it has to be right for you. Good luck.
 
the mare is top dog so she'll bully another mare - at least to start with
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That ain't necessarily so. Horses do have a 'pecking order' of course, and will often work out their relationships physically & forcefully. Horses who are frequently separated - even stabled over night - will frequently feel the need to reassert their positions whenever they meet. They also often play quite physically, especially boys:rolleyes: If they have been well socialised & allowed to live with other horses, they will usually be diplomatic about things & not 'bullying'. Rarely do any real damage to each other.

Of course there are 'bully' horses tho, who do take it too far & who might get too rough or never let up. If you really think your gelding is indeed a bully boy, rather than just being naturally assertive & posessive of his mare, then I'd probably be more inclined to give them another mare. If you already have 2 rather dominant type horses, I'd be inclined to choose one who was more submissive to join the fray, but not a real wimp, as this type often seems to bring out the bullies, no matter what the species!:eek:
 
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