Re: Grumble

"Joyleen E. Seymour" <joyleenseym...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I know there are plenty of people who disagree, but one thing I've
decided over my 30 something years of keeping horses is to separate by
sex.

My own experience has been that it's a mixed bag, not dependent on
sex. Lucy did not do well with Timbre as a companion, but Timbre did
great when she left here and was turned out with geldings. Lucy and
Stormy did well over all, but they were always throwing kicks at each
other, after three years together. They never connected. It was more
of a gesture. Neither backed down, and neither took it to the next
level. Caper does well with everyone, so far. Sadie doesn't seem to
mind if Caper eats, but she doesn't want Jinks eating. Maybe he just
has a big horsie bullseye on his ***.

Back at Stev & Sue's, Doofy was our Sadie. He was an Energizer bunny,
always herding someone, very occasionally giving someone a vet-worthy
injury. It never stopped, not until he left. Same with Killian. The
only horse he didn't drive to distraction was Mica (Percheron). And
Mica resorted to putting him in a corner of the field and not allowing
him to leave it. If I brought Killian food and water, Mica moved him
to a different corner. Thankfully Killian was temporary.

Lucy got along well with everyone except Timbre (who occasionally
cornered and kicked her, eventually leading to a lengthy layup). And
she did not do well with Easter Lily, the neighbor's pony mare. At
her new home, Lu is out with a gelding, and they're best buds.

My concern when bringing a mare into a group of geldings is that the
boys might start getting in trouble with each other, once there's a
mare to compete for. But Caper and Jinks actually seem to have
buddied up, rather than just tolerating one another. Go figure.

I think there are mellow horses of both sexes, who will get along with
anyone. And there are more high-strung sorts who will always be a
concern. And there are the Jinks' of the world, who embolden the ill-
equipped bottom dwellers to rise up and bring the Peter Principle to
light.

Nancy DeMarco
Mason, NH
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