# small stallion covering large mare



## feefee (8 August 2012)

hi can a 10hh shetland stallion cover a 14hh welsh mare naturally? are they ok in the same field or am i being naive? thanks


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## Fools Motto (8 August 2012)

Where there is a will, there will ALWAYS be a way!


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## WestCoast (8 August 2012)

Where there's a will. . . .


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## Nicnac (8 August 2012)

I'm sure he'll be fine if you give him a mounting block!


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## feefee (8 August 2012)

i have visions of him pouncing on her while she's lying down lol


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## varkie (8 August 2012)

I think people mean 'where theres a willie theres a way'  

Yes, a stallion of that size could cover a mare that size, and yes you are being naive thinking they'll be ok turned out together!  

I would not turn that pair out together unless I wanted a shetland x welsh foal the following year!


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## feefee (8 August 2012)

how would he mount her though? flying leap with a very good aim? he can't reach unless she's lying down, i though horses only had one position


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## little_Christmas_monkey (8 August 2012)

i no a shetland stallion who covered a 15 2/15 3 mare he covered her whilst she was lying down it resulted in a 13 2 tbxshetland had shetland body and tb legs! lol


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## feefee (8 August 2012)

neither pony is showing any interest in each other, he spends more time with my tb gelding than he does with her, does that have any relevance?


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## Nicnac (8 August 2012)

Is your mare in season?  If not, then he won't be interested.  It's a risk and if you are willing to take it, sobeit.


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## Alexart (9 August 2012)

You will end up wth a foal fullstop!!  I would never turn a mare out with a stallion no matter how disinterested/small etc he was unless I wanted a foal - they will always get it on!!!;P  My stallion is often not interested in girls in the day time, after dark it's a different matter!!!  I would keep them seperate at all times even when not in season.


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## Polotash (9 August 2012)

He will manage. You are being naive if you think "he isn't interested in her".

Slightly off topic but my friend has a dachshund x greyhound - the mum was the greyhound, and she laid down for him to do the deed!


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## Dry Rot (9 August 2012)

One of my elderly neighbours told me that before steel fencing wire was invented, the rams around here wore little skirts to stop them doing what comes naturally. I assume that's how kilts were invented. Now there's an idea for you!


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## varkie (9 August 2012)

A small stallion will find a way around it - and a mare who is in season & up for it will help him!

They will use hill slopes, bumps or dips in the field, mare will lay down, or crouch to help.  You would be amazed at how far both animals will go to allow the stallion to cover the mare.

Him currently showing no interest means nothing really.  All that really means is one of three things - he's sussed out that she's not in season so isn't interested, he's already covered her & she's already in foal, or he's covering her when you're not there!

Stallions aren't wild sex crazed animals.  They aren't at it every minute!  When my boy is with his mares, they'll often just be quietly grazing, and there is nothing to be seen.  He may only cover her a handful of times in 24 hours - and a covering will take him no more than a couple of minutes.  So unless you're watching a stallion & mare for 24 hours a day, you cannot say that they're showing no interest, or he hasn't covered her.

In my personal opinion, putting aside the covering issue, having a stallion turned out with a gelding and a mare is asking for trouble.  Many stallions will become possessive over a mare when she is in season/he is covering her, and will attack other males in their territory.


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## emlybob (9 August 2012)

Not sure there is much else to say after the above posts.

It doesn't matter about size if u don't want a foal then don't turn the stallion out with her. Instinct comes naturally to a colt. He will ignore her when she isnt in season but will find a way to cover her when she is. Yes I do think you are being naive. Nature will have its way if you leave them together. Separate them before it's too late


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## hoggedmane (9 August 2012)

I owned a mare once just after she had had a foal. It was a bit of a mystery how she and two other mares at the yard had got pregnant as they hadn't been with a stallion. There was a colt in the next field who was about 18months at the time and he was 13hh when full grown. The colt was chestnut with a full white face and four white socks. Mystery cleared up when the foals were born - they all had full white faces and four white socks. He managed it through a five foot post and rail fence three times!


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## milo'n'molly (10 August 2012)

hoggedmane said:



			I owned a mare once just after she had had a foal. It was a bit of a mystery how she and two other mares at the yard had got pregnant as they hadn't been with a stallion. There was a colt in the next field who was about 18months at the time and he was 13hh when full grown. The colt was chestnut with a full white face and four white socks. Mystery cleared up when the foals were born - they all had full white faces and four white socks. He managed it through a five foot post and rail fence three times!
		
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now that is impressive


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## JanetGeorge (10 August 2012)

varkie said:



			A small stallion will find a way around it - and a mare who is in season & up for it will help him!

They will use hill slopes, bumps or dips in the field, mare will lay down, or crouch to help.  You would be amazed at how far both animals will go to allow the stallion to cover the mare.
		
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I do wish you'd tell Prince that!  Carefully selected mare with a super temperament, ragingly in season and the right size for him, EVERYTHING done to make the job a doddle.  Could he figure it out - could he heck!!  Mad keen - just everywhere but the right place and in the end she got SO fed up she double-barrelled him!  AND it wasn't his first attempt!


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## Puffin (10 August 2012)

This thread made me smile, but what has been said is right. 
I used to work at a yard where a 17.1 mare shared a field with a (randy) 12.1 welsh gelding. We saw them at it once, she was in season and he came sniffing round, she lay down and he erm... hopped on... was hilarious to watch, but does serve as a warning. Where there a will(y) theres a way


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## ClobellsandBaubles (10 August 2012)

varkie said:



			A small stallion will find a way around it - and a mare who is in season & up for it will help him!

They will use hill slopes, bumps or dips in the field, mare will lay down, or crouch to help.  You would be amazed at how far both animals will go to allow the stallion to cover the mare.
		
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Have definitely seen/heard of hills being used and mares lying down  the tarts! 
I am sure before the days of AI there were crossed that involved small (shetlands, dartmoors) and larger horses.


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## varkie (12 August 2012)

JanetGeorge said:



			I do wish you'd tell Prince that!  Carefully selected mare with a super temperament, ragingly in season and the right size for him, EVERYTHING done to make the job a doddle.  Could he figure it out - could he heck!!  Mad keen - just everywhere but the right place and in the end she got SO fed up she double-barrelled him!  AND it wasn't his first attempt!
		
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Prince is obviously a bit special!  

My small stallion is currently covering a mare who is over a hand bigger than him.  Doesn't sound like much, but when you realise he is only 28.5", you realise that a hand bigger is quite a lot!  I think the biggest mare he has covered ever is two hands bigger than him.  He is very clever, and always covers them down hill or with them in a dip or similar.  Smart boy!


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## Littlelegs (12 August 2012)

I'd definitely say its possible. My very full up 14.2 went out one summer with a high withered 11hh gelding, she looks more like a 15hh & he looks 10.2. It didn't stop her standing on a hill for him. They were definitely connected. She has also been out with a Welsh a colt who was late dropping, he was about 10hh by the time he was cut. However they were always supervised & he wasn't the least bit coltish. A friend had to move her mares temporarily this spring. Her 11hh or so pony colt who isn't 1 till sept cleared the post & rail from a field of young geldings, went through another field & over another post & rail to badger her 16.2. And she said only the fact she was there stopped anything happening, mare was trying to help him out & with a bit of time would have.


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## Ibblebibble (12 August 2012)

JanetGeorge said:



			I do wish you'd tell Prince that!  Carefully selected mare with a super temperament, ragingly in season and the right size for him, EVERYTHING done to make the job a doddle.  Could he figure it out - could he heck!!  Mad keen - just everywhere but the right place and in the end she got SO fed up she double-barrelled him!  AND it wasn't his first attempt!
		
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haha i had an ex like that


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## Clodagh (12 August 2012)

Ibblebibble said:



			haha i had an ex like that

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LOL! LOve it.


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## micramadam (13 August 2012)

The miniature stallion at our yard tried to cover the Fresian mare!
She lay down for him.  You had to see it to believe it.


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## Toast (21 August 2012)

As above, completely possible, if by some miracle the little stallion doesnt manage it standing on something, she'll lie down for him...


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## toffeesmarty (22 August 2012)

My 16.1 mare consistently produces foals that are much bigger than her. To date I have used chilled and frozen using 14.2 and 15hh stallions in an attempt to breed an intermediate but so far they have both gone over height. 
In another bid to get an intermediate this year she went for natural covering to a 14hh stallion.

The stud told me as she waited for his arrival she instantly dropped down to the crouching position and waited for him to do his job before standing up again. As soon as her season finished she just stood there with no crouching.
She must have enjoyed the experience a little too much as the first attempt was unsuccessful. However, she was scanned in foal last week so fingers crossed for next year!


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## The_snoopster (23 August 2012)

Toast said:



			As above, completely possible, if by some miracle the little stallion doesnt manage it standing on something, she'll lie down for him...
		
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I have also seen a mare drop to her hocks in the hope of a free covering, not much fun for me as I was riding her at the time. She was a 15hh HW cob and he was an escaped shetland stallion who we encountered on a hack


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