Question: My husband and I recently took a stallion (6 years), mare (11 years), and a colt (4 months). Well, there are a few questions we have that maybe you can help with. For the past two weeks, my male has been attacking my mare and doing some major damage to her. I’m afraid he will kill her. We’ve only been horse people since February 26, 2007. I’ve never had a horse in my life. The other thing is that the mare is halter broke but when we try to go to her she walks away or turns her rump like she wants to kick. Since the incident my male she will let me rub her face and neck only on the outside of the fence. I don’t want to give up on her because I’m getting attached to her. Thank you for your help.

Answer: I have more questions than I do answer for you at this point. First of all, are you keeping all three horses in the same pasture?  Do you have safe areas to separate the mare and stallion? What type of pasturing and stall arrangements do you have? Do you wish for your mare to have another foal by this stallion? What do you mean by major damage to your mare? Does she have severe injuries? Have you contacted your veterinarian if she’s lame, has large wounds, or other injuries that need attention? You said you have a 4 month colt. What sex is this foal? Did you mean colt (as in a 4 month old male horse) or filly (4 month old female horse)?

I never recommend stallions as pets/companions/riding horses for newcomers to the horse world. While stallions can be just as docile and easy to handle as mares if properly trained and handled correctly, it sounds as though you have a dangerous situation on your hands.  Is your mare showing signs of estrus (heat)? See my previous post on the mare’s estrous cycle for tips on determining if your mare is displaying signs of estrus (heat). You might also want to read my previous post on keeping small herds of mixed sex and ages. 

My first bit of advice for you is to get some help from an experienced horse person in learning how to handle and care for your horses. If you don’t know any, contact your county extension agent, veterinarian, or a reputable horse farm for assistance. Advice from county extension agents is generally free. If you keep your mare and stallion together, they will most likely breed, and you will end up with another foal next year. They may have already bred, as natural spring transition (the time period when mares start displaying signs of head) is already in progress in the northern states and breeding season is starting to get into full swing in the southern states. You didn’t mention what state or country you are from, so I am assuming you are from North America, Europe,  or India as most of my readers are from these areas.

Where these horses already together when you acquired them? If not, the aggression that you saw could quite possibly have been that of the horses sorting out the dominance hierarchy (otherwise known as the pecking order). The mare may also have been displaying estrus, and while breeding in a pasture setting is usually a very calm affair, a change of environment (since you said they are newly acquired horses) and inadequate space (you didn’t mention the size of your pasture) could have affected the encounter. Also, if the stallion has never bred a mare before, he may have been a bit over eager if your mare was not yet in standing heat (where she permits the stallion to mount and breed). The presence of the foal may also have affected how she reacted to the stallion if they were newly introduced.

I suggest you separate your mare and stallion so that you can work with them individually. If the foal is still nursing and you are not prepared to wean or do not have the facilities to wean at present, keep the mare and foal together. If you have only one pasture, do you have a stall, strong round pen, or other safe area where you could keep the stallion while the mare and foal are out to pasture (or vice versa)? How is the stallion to work with? Is he halter broke? Is the foal halter broke? You mention that you are attached to the mare. Have you considered selling the stallion and foal or asking a horse rescue or the SPCA to help you place these two horses so that you can learn to become good horse owners with just one horse to start?  

Your mare’s behavior regarding being caught tells me she knows that she can avoid being caught by you. Again, I suggest you get an experienced horseperson to be there and assist you with this situation. Here are a few tips, that may aid you in the meantime, though. Do not approach your horse directly from the front. Instead try walking calmly toward her side, approaching her withers. If you are too far behind, the horse will start to move forward, if you are too far ahead, she will likely turn and walk away or back away from you. Approach slowly. Don’t immediately try to clip on the lead rope. Instead, try to just touch her neck/withers/front portion of her back. Once she is comfortable with this, move up her neck and to her head. If she is agreeable to this, you will probably be able to clip on her lead rope rather easily. Be aware that if all three horses are in the pasture together, your stallion may be interested in what you are doing, which may distract the mare, or may make her move away. Some stallions also object to mares being taken from their pasture, so please be sure to have an experienced horse person with you if you are trying to remove her from the pasture or if your stallion is agitated by your presence. From past experience, I’ve seen that most accidents occur with untrained or ill-trained horses and inexperienced horses.

At this point, I have too many questions concerning the pasture and stabling arrangements to give you any concrete answers. Please answer the questions I’ve posed, and we’ll continue on from there. Thanks and good luck! Be safe in the meantime.