:'( gelding turned stallion

[Horsekaren]

My gelding has always been really quiet in the field, he likes his own space, he does protect mares when new horses are introduced but has never ever tried to mount.
I was called to turn him in as he has mounted two of the mares, one of which was injured :'(

He has never shown any interest before.

has anyone had success with rig calmers? obviously he needs to be kept apart for a few days but what on earth would make him suddenly do this????

Only change has been haylage back to soaked hay.

He is 9YO and in a mixed herd. Mares are in season (the two he mounted have been on the yard for a month) never shown any interest in any of the others, nore these two until today.

I couldnt quiet believe my eyes when i had to yell at him to get off :'(

 

[Pinkvboots]

It could be the mares coming into season but generally geldings shouldn't mount mares but i have know a few to do it but only on the odd ocasion, for now keep him away from the mares and it might be worth getting him checked to make sure he has been cut properly and isn't a rig.

Some geldings can't live alongside mares I know as I have one he will run himself and the other horses into the ground trying to behave like stallion rounding them up.

 

[SEL]

My mare is in a field next to a gelding who I'm pretty sure would mount her if there wasn't a fence in the way. I wouldn't blame him - she's being a tart.

I used to be on a yard where ideally they wanted everything out in a mixed herd. For a couple of the geldings this just wasn't possible or particularly safe for humans or the other horses.

 

[ihatework]

Might be worth a blood test just to make sure he isn’t a rig.
But from now on I wouldn’t have him in with mares, for his and their safety

 

[LaurenBay]

Ditto the others, blood test and keep him separate from the mares.

Can you put him in a gelding only field?

 

[Horsekaren]

there isnt a gelding only field, its just one mixed herd. I just dont understand why out of nowhere he would do this.
noted about bloods, if he is a rig can they do anything?
I am going to speak to the YO later to see what we can do, it will break my heart if we have to leave :'(

 

[LaurenBay]

Some Horses can mount others as a show of dominance. If they are new it could be that he was dominating them rather then a sexual thing. But 100% worth getting bloods run in case he is a Rig. The mares being new to him and both in season would not have helped. However you can't risk him injuring another Horse or getting a kick in return and getting injured himself. So I would separate him and then run bloods. If is is a rig then go from there and if he is not and he has previously lived with other mares and not been bothered I would pop him back in with you being present (I would speak with the mare owners though first to make sure they were happy with this) If he does it again then I would think about a move of yard where he can be in a gelding only field.

 

[ester]

I'd suspect if he were a rig you would have found out before now.
Given his behaviour with previous mares I'd suspect the new two ought to be sharing some of the responsibility too. Unfortunately large mixed herds don't always work.

 

[Casey76]

I think if mares “show” enough, any gelding is going to show some interest. it doesn’t necessarily make them a rig.

Was your gelding fully erect? Did he actually penetrate the mares, or was he “dry humping”. Does he have shoes on?

The mares will need checking for skin contusions and abrasions, especially of the vulva, as geldings can be *really* clumsy since they aren’t used to doing the deed.

 

[blitznbobs]

My mare taunts the geldings in with her when she’s in season - literally won’t leave them alone - one double barrels her - the other climbs on ... its all her doing to be honest he’s a 10.2 section a and she’s 17 hh - she literally sits down so he can ‘have access’ it may be a mare is persuading him to be amorous!

 

[pippixox]

My mare taunts the geldings in with her when she’s in season - literally won’t leave them alone - one double barrels her - the other climbs on ... its all her doing to be honest he’s a 10.2 section a and she’s 17 hh - she literally sits down so he can ‘have access’ it may be a mare is persuading him to be amorous!

OMG that must be quite a site!

My friends gelding who had lived in a mixed herd for 10+ years one day was seen mounting my mare. Never saw him do it again though, or at least not with us around and never injured. My mare can be a bit flirty but is mostly grumpy to geldings even when in season!

So from limited experience yes some geldings can decide to mount but are not a rig and don’t do it all the time. Although that doesn’t solve your problem of course as you can’t garuntee he won’t do it again. I don’t know if there are any supplements you can claim may help?!

 

[Spottyappy]

Often, in my experience, when new mares are introduced they come into season very heavily. They turn into abject tarts.
I have even had existing mares mount new ones,never mind the geldings!
If your YO will, I would put him back in once the new mares are not in season, and it probably won’t be an issue next time,
It likely won’t be an issue in future.

 

[Surbie]

If a mare eggs him on enough, my gelding will occasionally have a go at mounting. I do think if you have mixed herds and you put in season mares out in them then that's a gamble you take - I don't think you can ever guarantee a gelding is never going to try. That's possibly not something the mares owners will be happy with though. I hope you and the YO find a solution.

 

[Nari]

I notice you say these mares are fairly new to the herd & I wonder if that's a factor. Is it only these two he's mounting? If he's taken out it'll be interesting to see if they move on to another gelding, some mares are such tarts that they all but wriggle under any gelding that doesn't move off fast enough!

 

[scats]

I had a false rig. He was a horror for trying to have his wicked way with Diva, but she dealt with him brilliantly.
I wouldn’t have turned him out with other people’s mares. He mounted a friends mare over the fence once and then she walked off, leaving him stuck over the fence with a ridiculous look on his face.
Tried various Rig Calm type supplements but I’m not sure it did much.

 

[cobgoblin]

I had a gelding that was fine with mares... But he mounted other geldings

 

[rachk89]

Put him on rig calm. My horse started mounting the geldings when the mares teased him. He didn't have access to them. Rigcalm helps a lot.

 

[Horsekaren]

Now the most alarming development is the mare wasn’t actually in season. Nore was the second mare , I know she was but vet confirmed she isn’t. He actually penitrated her and he is a big lad
It just doesn’t make any sense

 

[elliejhb]

I've had to seperate my gelding and new mare as he started mounting her. He's 20 & has lived in mixed herds before with no issues. But madam is a tart, squirting and showing all the time.
My plan is to continue turning them out in the school together over winter & attempt the field again next year as they're missing out on horsey time being separate.

 

[Theocat]

Now the most alarming development is the mare wasn’t actually in season. Nore was the second mare , I know she was but vet confirmed she isn’t. He actually penitrated her and he is a big lad
It just doesn’t make any sense

Don't beat yourself up about it - it happens, and for lots if different reasons! My gelding started mounting the other boys when a new horse was introduced, as a show of dominance.

Try rigcalm and don't panic - it is pretty common!