Stallion Group-Keeping in Theory and Practice
Version: 2009.06.10
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Part III: Know-How [4]
Safety Precautions
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When you wish to let stallions that don't know each other together on a pasture or paddock for the first time, mind especially safety. Mind a safe underground, no holes, not too wet, no pointy objects or machines within the fencing and especially also a good fencing. On top of that, also make sure that before the first letting together on the pasture or paddock, the stallions have each been there by themselves for half a day so they could all get accustomed to the borders and the fence. Otherwise it can happen to you that the stallions simply run through the fence in the first good chase, because in the heat of the battle they missed having taken notice of it!
It goes without saying that a separating fence for stallions, be that for a paddock or a pasture, must be as secure as possible, especially if fights are to be expected! Under no circumstances - this goes for keeping horses in general, but especially for keeping stallions - may a fence be used in which hooves can get stuck. As stallions rear a lot and are active with their forelegs, they otherwise get caught an in the truest sense of the word tear off their hoof. Also no fence may be used that has posts which penetrate a horse when it lets itself fall onto them during rearing. This means no iron posts. The best is a high and massive wooden fence that is protected on both sides against physical contact with a double electric band and a very strong electrical impulse. If you don't have a choice you can also make do without a wooden fence, the worst that can happen then is that they go through the fence or get tangled up in it.
In any case, when excitement is expected, someone should then be close to the electrical impulse device to be able to cut the power if need be. Naturally there should also be sufficiently many fearless people present at the scene with long whips, sticks or brooms to be able to separate fighting stallions if need be. Or you make yourself a corridor into which you can chase a stallion and then tie him to a post.
On the other side, you must not over-protect stallions and horses either, because that can be just as dangerous if at some time an unforeseen event occurs!
Horses who freak out because a tractor drives by nearby or who are otherwise not used to human conditions such as noise, ladders or construction machines, etc. are being over-protected. Ferdi's stallions were on the all-weather paddock the entire time when he excavated the drainage system with the excavator and there were no complications because of it at all. Quite the contrary, the stallions seemed to have had great fun with the gravel piles and the daily changes!
Fall 1999: The all-weather paddock receives a drainage system and the stallions are allowed to play around on the gravel piles.
Mark Schmid, spring 2003
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