Gelding starting to bully mare

puli

puli

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I was wondering if anyone has any idea why my gelding has started acting like this towards my mare. Both of them share a field with enough horse and they have access to ad lib hay which in a large round feeder. Just recently I have noticed that mare is very nervous about approaching the hay when my gelding is eating. I have started to see my gelding chasing my mare away from the hay every time she approaches the hay, when he is standing there eating and others have also seen him do it. Tonight she was eating and he came over and his ears went back and he teeth came out and he ran at her and chased her off. When I brought him in he pulled the lead rope and lunged at her in the field with his teeth out. This is total new behaviour from him, he is normally laid back and is the one that gets bullied he has never shown any negative behaviour to another horse before and she is normally pulling faces at him not the other way around. Has anyone got any ideas why he has started acting like this too her?
 
For some reason he has become the boss of her. Has she got old age and lost her place in the herd? Has he got grown up and took over as boss because of that? He needs putting in his place when leading though, you are the boss then! He needs to learn not to react like that when one of them is being handled.
 
Ok that makes sense you could be right about the age thing, he is 6 nearly 7 and has been in the same field as her for a year. She has just turned 21, so it could be too do with her getting old. I agree he does need to learn some manners as he can be rude when you are leading him but he is getting better
 
He has the teenager years now then in human terms. Growing up, finding a strength he did not have before and coming into his adult character. It is common for them to challenge their owners at this time too. He will go past it with correct handling and you will have your lovely horse back. He will probably always be the boss of her now though. A meanie :( most horses will share a big round hay bale unless there is not much left. You could put another pile of hay or a haynet far away from the round bale for the mare?
 
Thankyou, so he is coming up to being a teen well I don't let him get away with much but I will make sure that he does not. I never really think of horses getting into being teenagers really. He use to share the bale fine it was normally her that pull faces at him. Last night I gave her a pile of hay but he went upto her and chased her off so I will have to put the pile down the field totally away from him. He is being a meanie he is not even just pulling faces his teeth are coming out and is really going to bite her. A few days ago he was sharing a hat net with two other horses and he went at them with his teeth out and tried to bite them. The other horses are not challenging him and the other gelding he shares the field with he is not challenging him at all.
 
Your gelding will be the boss of the herd then I think. You are right the extra hay pile will have to be far away so he cannot hoard both piles. If he is chasing everyone off the hay you might have to go onto individual piles instead of a round bale. If you do then put one more pile than there are horses, all spread out so he cannot hoard any two piles. Then if he finishes first there will be a spare pile so one of the others does not get chased away from theirs.

One of mine became a teenager at 4 1/2 years. He was like this adorable puppy that followed me everywhere with his nose in my back, then at 4 1/2 he decided one day he was not going to do that any more and started dragging me around everywhere and head-butting me. To this day I still have to remind him now and again it is not allowed. He went back to being lovely after a year. Also he used to get bullied in the field was always down near the bottom of the herd order. Then when he was eight years he decided he was not having any more of that and if anyone tries to bully him now he chases them away but leaves them alone if they are friendly. My other is five and four months now and I am not sure if the teenager phase is here or not. She has been a little more difficult than usual but that could be because the grass has gone so she is grumpy. A couple of times though she has tried to take off with me for no reason not frightened of anything just because she can. She has told my other one he is not coming in first at dinner time a few times too. So it might have started :D
 
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