Stallion Group-Keeping in Theory and Practice
Version: 2009.06.10
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Part I: Theory and Requirements [5]
Helpful Conditions for Stallion Group-Keepings
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Although there actually are stallion group-keepings which do not meet one or the other helping condition, but when all helping conditions which are mentioned here are not fulfilled it will probably become very difficult to keep stallions in a group.
Helping Condition: No Mares nearby
In just about all cases mares nearby are poison for the harmony and friendship of adult stallions. Although there are even exceptions to this precondition: For instance there are breeding stables with stallions and mares in which the stallions are kept in a group without problem outside of the breeding season.
The stallions of Ferdi Wirth from the practice example at the moment are also on a pasture which is only about 30 meters next to a pasture with mares.
But the fact is that the continual presence of mares can long-lastingly and substantially heat up the climate in a stallion group which is not used to this yet. For this reason it is strongly recommended to take this hurdle only when other hurdles, especially that of the habituation of the stallions, have already been taken successfully. So for boarding stables with frequent change and therefore additional excitement one should pay close attention that there are no mares nearby. Single mares which ride by do not play a significant role thereby. Although in some cases they might cause a lot of excitement and a lot of ruckus, but this settles again with the disappearance of the mare or can be suppressed punctually by the higher-ranking human.
Mares stabled within visual, hearing or smelling distance of the stallions however are a different case. - Especially if additionally they even get in heat. The wishes caused by such in stallions then work not only in the moment, but continually. The stallions then start to ignore any established ranking position and to fight non-stop and from scratch for the boss position in order to - such the natural hope of any stallion - be the first to obtain the privilege of a possible mating. Only when stallions, especially such which have breed before, are confronted regularly with mares over extended periods of time and have repeatedly been excited in vain multiple times do they understand that they do not have any chance no matter what, because humans (or the strong fence) will not let them anyway. But this can take a long time and requires the attentive care and control by the human. Stallion group-keeping next to mares works best with breeding stallions when there are clearly defined times, such as in spring-time, when the stallions are kept single or with the mares and may breed, and other times, when they may not breed and are kept in the group. This then is comprehensible even for stallions and they see that there is no point in fighting for mares in all other times of the year.
Again and again one hears stories of stallions which injure themselves, a human or another horse, in some cases severely, because they want to get to a mare. But this has nothing to do with a supposed "stupidity" of stallions or with them supposedly thinking only with their sexual organ (without this drive there would be no horses). Such accidents have to do only and alone with the stupidity or lack of knowledge and naiveté of humans over the male sexual drive of horses in connection with safe fences, establishment of the ranking order between human and horse, etc.
Helping Condition: No Geldings
Some readers might be shaking their heads with non-understanding about this condition, but it can't be stressed enough that a gelding is an extremely unnatural construct made by man. That's not just the way I see it, but the horses, or rather their social behavior among each other see it that way as well.
We humans know what a gelding is, a castrated male horse, but horses, in this case male horses do not know that. Their social behavior has been bred by nature over thousands of years exclusively for the three naturally occurring types of companion beings: Stallion, mare or foal. But since geldings don't behave like stallions, nor smell that way, again and again they are regarded as mares by stallions, or rather the sexually unclear behavior of geldings can make stallions so frustrated and angry, that they want to expel them and ceaselessly chase them with utmost aggression and harass them horribly. It is difficult to say thereby if for the stallions this is just about getting rid of the gelding, or if this is an attempt to sexual rape, perhaps because the stallions want to breed the "would-like-to-be" mare.
The fact is that time and again one hears that stallions react not only sexually to a gelding, or more specifically, want to breed him and bring him into their personal possession, but sometimes also react unusually aggressive and hateful towards geldings, actually even much more aggressive and relentless than they every do towards other stallions. Some stallions simply seem to really hate geldings.
The last time I heard a very impressive example for such behavior from a mixed group of adult stallions and geldings in which some extremely ugly scenes came to be between one of the stallions and a gelding. The stallion, who behaved normally and correct towards other stallions, ceaselessly chased and attacked the gelding extremely aggressively, even long after he had repeatedly signaled his submission not only through flight, but even through showing the "suckling foal-mouth" which is very uncommon for adult horses. The stallion got so enraged about the lacking sexuality of the gelding, that he continued to chase him even after the gelding had literally "pissed his pants" and urinated and defecated during his flight because he was so scared. Really ugly scenes which are totally unnatural for horses and don't correspond to their nature as beings with a cleverly thought-out social behavior.
Such experiences give us a premonition, how deep and destructive castration cuts into the natural social behavior and the correct social functioning of horses. I myself therefore find it wrong and extremely unfair to keep castrated horses together with stallions. It's similar as if one keeps cows with horns together with de-horned cows, only with much more severe consequences, as the mentioned example illustrates.
Of course there are always exceptions, even to this condition, in which stallions get along well or even very well with geldings, especially if it's only one stallion and one gelding. But as the experiences in stallion-groups show, one can absolutely not count on it and who does not want to take any chances will abstain from geldings just as thoroughly as from mares.
Helping Condition: Sufficient Space for the first Letting-together
Especially the first time of letting stallions together which don't know each other, it is a big advantage to have sufficient space, for instance a well-fenced pasture, so that the stallions can literally "run themselves tired" during their first common meeting and the first establishing of the ranking order.
Stallions most often want to compete in every discipline and know exactly who is better in which discipline. That's why extended races and chases are also a part of establishing the ranking order and sufficient space creates the possibility to really exert oneself in this discipline. On top of that, the energy that was spent for running is not at the horse's disposal for biting and kicking anymore.
There actually are stallion group-keepings in very tight spaces, but usually they consist of a group which already has the first letting-together in a big pasture behind it (such as the example of Ferdi Wirth's stallion group-keeping during winter which is mentioned in the Practice Example of this paper).
Helping Condition: Habituation not in Spring Time
Spring is the natural breeding time of horses, that's why stallions have more testosterone in their blood than in the rest of the year and are especially interested in the boss-position, which automatically leads to more frequent quarrels and fights over the ranking order. That's why it's advantageous, even if not necessarily required, to do the habituation and first letting-together not in spring time but in a more calm time of year. But don't be fooled! To establish the ranking order, in most cases there will be fights corresponding to the full art of fighting in all other seasons of the year as well.
Helping Condition: No Horseshoes
Unlike mares, stallions very rarely kick with their rear legs, mostly only when they are obviously inferior and being attacked. The only danger comes from rearing, rowing and kicking with the front hooves. All the same the risk of injuries emitting from it can be reduced a lot by replacing iron horseshoes with ones made of plastic or even better, by the especially healthy and often more economic barefoot-keeping / using of hoof-boots.
There are contrary examples here too: While I don't know of any stallion group-keeping with iron horseshoes, but at least one very successful group-keeping of mares and geldings of a total of 25 large riding horses that are all shod normally front and rear.
Helping Condition: Similar Stallions
There are a sparse few examples of the keeping of adult stallions in a group in literature. In some of these examples it is recommended, that stallions should be similar to each other in age, body size and type. The reasoning behind it is that hot headed ruffians who want to compete and quarrel nonstop don't go together well with cold blooded stallion grandpas who only want to be left in peace and that unbalanced behavior in which the human must intervene is less frequent if all stallions are about of the same strength and size.
But particularly the stallion group-keeping of Ferdi Wirth which is described in the following sections in detail consists of most different kinds of stallions, both in regards to age as well as to type. It actually did take a while until the group could be left to itself, but today one must not be concerned with the well-being of the weakest horses anymore.
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