My horse is on 6 months rest, and I have the opportunity to free lease a friend’s mare until next summer,(friend will be out of country )
Board on both horses would be tough, but I have found this situation in which I could have a free stall and paddock and just pay for feed .
The problem is it shares a fence line with a 24 year old retired breeding stallion.
This mare is always kept in Regumate every spring,her heats are difficult, she is taken off The Regumate midsummer.
Her owner is fine with the situation, she does not see a problem .
So my question is ( since I have no experience with mares on Regumate) is this a foolproof plan,or do mares sometimes come into heat on Regumate?
I should add the stallion is a big sweetie, and the reason I am being offered this paddock is that his pony companion recently died.
Personally, I wouldn’t do this setup unless there’s a double fence between them. As in another fence about 6 feet out from the dividing fence to keep them from being close together. Not just for preventing fence line breedings (it does happen, though I have no idea if pregnancy can occur on Regumate) but for safety reasons if flirting and mareishness happens.
How does the stallion owner feel about this? Will you be showing the mare, taking her off property frequently, and leaving the stallion at home by himself? That could cause him a lot of stress. He may get very attached to the mare (even if not simply “studdish”) and could fret and pace a lot when she is not around. Stallions (and old horses, too) get VERY set in a routine, and they get upset when that routine changes. The stallion might like having her as a buddy, and will probably adapt to her going out to be ridden for an hour each day, but if she leaves to go to a weekend show, it might be hard on him.
I wouldn’t let them share a fenceline, either. Even if it’s a strand of hot electric tape on the mare’s side, to give a buffer zone between the paddocks, will keep them both safer and less wear & tear on the fence.
I would not be comfortable with this arrangement. IME they are fine until the stallion decides he wants to jump in with the mare and then they can both get seriously hurt… lots of vetbills waiting to happen.
Stallions are put in the darndest situations - not much of a life for many of them…frustration being so close and yet so far.
My five year old stallion has a field quite close to one mare. In fields a bit further away there are more mares. Between my horse’s fence and the fence of the closest mare there is a narrow strip. My stallion is totally relaxed about this situation, he loves it. Much better than being completely separate from other horses. He does not at all pace the fence.
No, No, and No. sharing a fenceline with any 2 horses can be a recipe for disaster. The potential for problems is
not something any experienced horse person would allow. heavens no.
You bring up some good points, I forgot to say that there is a strand of hot wire on both sides.
I won’t be showing the mare,( her owner will be taking her back late spring early summer)
Thanks for the suggestions.
I talked further to the stallion owners, when he was younger he was usually pastured next to pregnant mares.
i think you have a good point, maybe if stallions are kept closer to other horses they would be happier.
we have a gelding that I would find in the paddock with one of our mares, I thought daughter was putting him in there and she thought I was… he was jumping the 54 inch fence without a second thought to get in
Recently he had his neck under and against the electric wire to eat grass. There was not enough power but he did not use it to get to a mare.
In my experience its generally the mares that are a pain to deal with when they are in season in reach of the stallion 
(jumping out to get to the stallion).
