worried about my lonely stallion when his friend passes

Question
hi, thankyou so much for your time,i could not find a question similar to the ones i have. i have had horses growing up for the last ten years and I've always had an active breeding program with my stallion for the last seven. he is now twelve years old and i have bred him to at least 3 mares every spring. I love his off spring and they show and sell well. I bought him 11 years ago at an auction with a gelding who is much older we are not sure but estimate him to be around 20-23 years of age. they are very close to each other.

part of my question is that I'm worried if the older gelding passes away that my stallion will be lonely and rather depressed. he is always nervous when away from the gelding for too long and i even have to take the gelding with us to shows if they are more than a day. Is there some way to get another horse integrated into their group? and can stallions bond with each other because i have another stallion on the property as well, i don't mind buying another gelding if that would help him.

thanks so much for your time, i appreciate any advice you have- aimee

Answer
Hi Aimee,

Horses are herd animals as I'm sure you already know, but there are plenty of horses who live their lives without a pasture mate and do well.

I can tell you that considering your stallion's age, I would not try to introduce another stallion as a pal.  Another gelding may do the trick, but you're going to have to take some time with the introduction process.  And there is always the chance that they just won't get along, no matter how slowly you introduce them.  Horses are a lot like people in that respect.  There are some that get along and some that just don't, no matter what.

Most horses who have pasture buddies do get upset when the other leaves, as you say your stallion does when you take the gelding away.  But horses are also very adaptable to circumstances and my guess is, that once the gelding is gone, your stallion would go back to normal within a few weeks' time.  It's just like the weaning process with a foal... they are extremely upset when their mother is taken away and will sometimes become depressed, quit eating etc. but given enough time to adjust to the circumstance, they are fine.

My stallion does not have a pasture pal but he can see other horses close by and he does just fine with that.

If your stallion having a pasture pal is something you're overly concerned with, then I would try integrating another horse to their group now.  You would have to start out with introducing the new horse over a strong fence and just letting the new horse live very close to the other two, but not in the same pasture with them.  Let them get to know each other through sniffing and talking on their own terms.  Once you can see that no one is attempting to strike or kick, then let the new horse in the pasture and just see how it goes.  Some new horses are accepted quite quickly and with others it just takes time and patience.

I wish you luck and hope it all goes well,
Sandy