Aggressive horse.

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RSL

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Been asked to post on here for a friend, He has a 16yr old stallion who's turned into a absolute arse with his field mates, which are 8 geldings, they have been together all their lives, out all year in a massive field, never shut in, plenty of grass, friends, works,range from 12hh-16'3hh, he is a saint to do anything with, good as gold par the aggression...

He did this once about 4/5yrs ago but it settled back down quickly, now the last week he has been tormenting the biggest of the herd who is normally his best friend, to the point he cut his back leg open badly, hes covered in bite marks all over his body and has a huge lump on his neck which i guess is/was a bite mark, he chases him through the solid fenceing so now the big one is petrified of him, will not go back out with him, he will climb the fence to get away for him so its really not safe, so hes been separated for now, then today he turned up to find the little ***** had started on the other boy but lucky enough he doesn't run though things so hes still out, I've told him to muzzle him for now, which he has and he let them all out together with it on, the big horse is still very weary of him but it seems like the aggressive one is trying to herd him back? hes not been nasty at all to him today but then he has got a muzzle on at the moment.

It is like a switch has been flicked, I've watched him do it and its bloody scary, its like he is possessed and looks straight through you.....Has anyone had this happen before?
 
Personally, I wouldn't be separating the horses being bullied from the herd, I would separate the horse that's doing the bullying. If you take away the horse he is picking on, he will just pick on one if the others. I'd get the stallion out of the field and on his own - the problem with stallions is that they can be very unpredictable and aggressive. Your friend is pretty lucky he's been able to turn hm out with his other horses for this long. If his behaviour has changed, it could be due to all sorts of factors, but while you figure out the reasons, I'd get him away from the others before he causes any more damage to them, or himself.
 
I don't have much experience with stallions, but I have to agree that I'd be separating him from the rest of the herd.
He might be muzzled, but he could still do a lot of damage by kicking his field mates. It would be tragic if he broke one of their legs.
Kx
 
Move the entire.
If no change in any other local dynamics (mares etc) then I'd get a full vet check & have bloods taken too.
There is the possibility that he may be weaker due to possible unseen health problem and therefore trying to dominate the next in line to him in the herd, just to ensure top-dog keeps his place.
Don't take chances, a grumpy entire is a danger to other horses (as has been happening) and you do not want to risk the chance of a person unwittlingly being caught up in it, if a sudden attack takes place.
 
Thank you for the advice.

As far as we can see there are no mares about/around the field.

We both have many years experience with stallions, mine have happily lived together for 10yrs, owning a stallion isn't for everyone but brought up right they can be great but then nothing prepares you for this sorta thing! This is the 2nd time I've heard of this sorta thing happening, I wondered if taking the stallion a way would make things worse when he comes back?

He has one gelding on restricted grazing so hes in the paddock with the bigger boy who was bullied, the stallion will not stay alone, so he would have to go in with his the littlen who he is buddies with but then that leaves all the fatties with a field full of grass, which would be better suited to the entire??

My friend was seriously thinking about gelding him but we don't think it will make a difference, I've been reading up and it seems quite common thing in geldings.

He doesn't attack them when he has a muzzle on, he will go up to them etc, and trot around with them but as of yet hasn't attacked them with the muzzle on.

I have suggested to have a vet out, do you know if any of above would be covered by the insurance? I wouldn't say he was ill etc he gets worked and enjoys it, not quite sure what to ask the vet to test for....also came across this "hormonal imbalance - dominant temperament.
 
RSL - "you both have experience owning stallions....." yet you are posting on a H&H forum what to do about the stallion?

Get it gelded, and let it be a happy lad with the other geldings and no one gets hurt that way, and there are enough stallions available for breeding so dont really need anymore.

Good luck
 
There is a reason why most colts are gelded, and this is it. Obviously your friend needs to take the stallion out of the herd, not wait until some poor horse gets even more seriously hurt (the words no-brainer come to mind here.......). As to why the horse has suddenly started to act this way after so many years: who knows? And it doesn't really matter; what matters is getting the aggressive horse away from the others. I have had stallions for 30+ years and have only had two that were chilled enough to live in a herd with other males/geldings.
 
Did anyone see that documentary the other week on Buck Bannerman (or similar name sorry) the chap who was part inspiration for the horse whisperer. There was a stallion on that at his clinic that had been hand reared and was really agressive. My point was that it really made me understand just how dangerous some horses can be as it caught a trainer offguard and bit thru his western hat and his forehead thru to the skull. It was horrific and sobering. Seems to me unless it is an exceptional horse that will add to the gene pool it's simply not worth the risk to keep them entire.
 
I've no experience with this sort of thing at all but it seems you are punishing the bullied horse when he has done nothing wrong. Maybe seperate the stallion but keep him somewhere he can see/smell other horses, and if safe enough touch/interact over an appropriate fence for a stallion? He might not be able to bite but he can still kick. A horse at my yard suffered horrible injuries after being kicked in the chest.

Are the 8 geldings all owned by the stallion owner? I wouldn't want my horse in the same field as one who is showing this behaviour. :/ Once we had a very aggressive gelding who suddenly turned on my own gelding and attempted to kick him seperate him from the other horses in the field, and he ended up being driven against the fence and being very scratched and shaken up.

I don't think it can be very good for the other horse's health if they are on edge living with this stallion.

Good luck and I hope you find out what is wrong and he returns to the happy boy he once was :)
 
Ditto the rest - take the stallion out as it's not fair on the others no to mention very dangerous for you too! Run bloods to make sure it's nothing nasty, then get him gelded, wait for the breeding season to pass ie. end of summer/winter then turn him back out with them and see what happens, if he's still the same and all physical issues are ruled out then it maybe you'll have to keep him with just one horse that he does get on with. Stallions can turn sometimes for seemingly no reason at all and it maybe as already mentioned he's loosing his rank and is having to fight to re-establish it/keep it or there is an underlying health issue.
 
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