My poor 5 year old baby....He's already bred 4 of his own mares and 2 outside mares this year. He has a large pasture to himself and his mares live in another pasture 20 feet away. When the mares move to the other side of the pasture where he cannot see them, he goes crazy and paces the fence line, screaming, galloping, back and forth. I had to put his first set of shoes on him last month because within 5 days time, he had literally almost wore his hooves down to nothing and was really sore. Yesterday(less than 4 weeks later), I had to already put a new set of shoes on because he wore them down to almost paper thin and the nail heads were worn and about to fall off. He gets fed all the hay he wants, 3 pounds of grain daily, UTD on all shots, worming, etc. and he looks like skin and bones, although nice muscle tone, it makes me sick. What can I do? I'm worried about him. I thought about putting his dam back in with him when I can confirm she's in foal from another stallion or I could pen him up in a stall and would hate to do it, but if that what it takes, I'll do it. He's never, ever, been this stressed during breeding season. Any adivce for my poor baby?
It's natural for him to be upset when his 'herd' leaves.
You could get him a companion (not necesarrily a mare, maybe a goat or llama)
You could make it so the mares couldn't leave his site (not sure how big the pasture is).
You could stall him, but he should still have a companion even if he's stalled.
Once he's happy (with company that won't leave him) he should stop pacing and start putting on weight.
It probably would NOT be a good idea to put his dam back in with him, if she slips her foal, unnoticed, and get's rebred by her son, the resulting foal could be really...um..err...icky..
Try a mini donkey. I stand an Arab stallion that used to drop over a hundred pounds during breeding season. He looked horrible. Even in a stall, he would worry and pace.
I got him a mini donkey gelding and they are just the very best of friends. It has certainly made a big difference in this horses behavior. He is now relaxed most of the time, and holding his weight well. Best of luck to you.
Thank you both for the great advice. I put our 3 goats in with him and although it seems to help a little, he still paces. And now that we're feeding him even more food, the goats have decided they want some too! I would have written back sooner, but I could not log back into this account until now.
I have had the best luck with an Equine companion.
I do not place the donkey in the pen with the stallion, but next to him where they visit and touch through the panels. I make sure that the donkey is on the same side as where he paces. (usually between his line of sight to the mares or other horses).
This has made a HUGE differece for this stallion. For the first time, he has maintained his weight through breeding season. I also have a feeder( and water ) in his turnout pen on the side that he likes to pace. That way he can visit his donkey and munch on hay during the day.
Our QH stallion lives with a mare year round, except for foaling time. She is bred to him and they are both content. When it is time for her to foal we will take her away to foal, and give him another bred mare for about a week or two, then put the first mare back with him. We have never had any problems with that.
Our QH stallion was refusing to eat, trotting around until he was ready to drop. We put a bred mare in with him. He soon realized that she was off limits and they became best buddies. Now the only time he paces is if a new mare comes on to the property. He has gained about 100 pounds too.
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