Geldings play-fighting; thoughts?

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orangepony

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My two geldings are in an individual grazing paddock together as I much prefer them to have company to groom, roll with etc.

Both are very active when out, they have approx 12hrs a day outside in winter regardless of weather with supplemented hay in many piles to reduce squabbles over food. Never fed in field other than hay to supplement poor grazing.

They are often seen rearing up at each other and leaping around during the day by other liveries, but never kick or have ears back, really just plyafighting and boisterous.

The crux of the matter is that they are both 'nippy', and so far I've seen 4 turnout rugs trashed with little (deep) tears all over! Neither are huge rug rippers but the rugs are like patched sieves now; poor mummy is sick of sewing! In this nicer weather I've taken the neck rugs off the lightweights they wear and on quite a few occasions they've been out naked; but now the rug tears are turning into neck nips...which are actually quite scabby and cannot be comfortable when worked.

Orangepony is 14 and the BlueOne is 4 ; but there appears to be very little in way of maturity from the old chap at times!

I have tried seperating over electric fence, but both trashed fence to be together, are very attached and call for each other when one is taken for exercise etc even with other horses between them in stables, and YO will not allocate a seperate I/Turnout field as not enough spare ground for the herds to rotate.

I have tried cribox on the neck-rugs which obviously meant they werent keen to chomp there but now rug is flesh it isn't ideal to cribox them both every morning!

Thoughts?

Can offer some japanese rice crackers and a crayfish salad :D
 
My boy is exactly the same. I have never seen horses play fight like he and his mate did, I say did as we had to seperate them due to my horse getting a fractured leg! Im under no illusion that it was done in mallice as they are the best of friends, just one of those unfortunate things when a game went too far. Luckily he is fine now. My boy used to get on his knees and bite his friends belly! Rearing, boxing, jumping on each other etc etc.
My rugs were trashed, like yours and his neck has white hairs from all the play battles. I bit the bullet and bought Rambos after one cheaper rug was trashed in 2 weeks and they stood up to the playing, his friend used to pick him up by his rug!
It used to drive me mad but now I feel sorry for my boy as he is alone in a seperated bit of the field and theres no one else to try him with.
 
Unfortunately this does seem to be a boy-thing. They seem to want something in their mouths to play with constantly and as you say, play fight enthusastically. Mares are happier with eating and dozing. I can't offer you any suggestions unfortunately unless, if things get really bad, grazing masks perhaps?
 
Mine is constantly covered in bald bits where he's been bitten in their games - the 3yo has a thing for legs too - but as he's not a show horse I don't worry really. :)
 
Ours are the same! They're out 24/7 too with plenty of hay. Its not even a case of the dominant one bullying as its generally Fabio who's down the pecking order who will goad Freddy until he finally has enough and then they both hoon around, nipping, rug pulling, rearing etc. This generally ends up costing me in some way as if they don't trash the rugs then Fab will rip an overreach boot when galloping about - which i have to put on otherwise it would be a shoe off! Have also tried seperating but they just stand as near as they can to easch other looking miserable! So not much that can be done but leave them to it!
 
I did consider grazing masks, but both tb (one is x) types so not really in need of the waistline control!

It doesn't concern me as such, both are unshod behind to hopefully minimse accidents due to the boy behaviour (Louby, how awful for you, but at least it was an accident rather than malicious behaviour) but to speak to some people on the yard I am cruel to allow them to play when nips and nibbles are occuring.

Musings for a friday afternoon that is all, I guess if I was terribly concerned I'd wrap them in those tough mesh flysheets, but IIRC they have an open throat area so probably just more money down the drain! Why can't they snooze and groom like the girls do?!!:rolleyes:
 
Its a boy horse thing... tends to be worse in winter and almost completely stops in summer. It's a pain but I just let them get on with it as long as it isn't causing any more than minor nicks...
 
This is the first winter I've known any of ours be so full of it all the time, maybe the change in grazing moving from home to a yard could be a factor, or just different horses as new neighbours? (not that they seem at all interested in any other horses aside from each other! It's like a man's lovers tiff at times! Hopefully they will settle soon, they are finding long and low work a little difficult with swollen gullets at present; cruel mummy!
 
it's a boy thing!! My 21 yo TB gelding is a horror for goading his field mate in to playing. He nips and nips untill his play mate nips him back then rears and rears!!
 
It's a boy thing :D

My big fella and his pal did this regularly between the ages of 4 and 8 (when the pal went off to live elsewhere). Pal was 14.2 and my boy 17hh, but whereas mine liked standing on his back legs waving his fronts around, shortstop pal used to aim for the soft underbelly and nip the underside of face, neck and knees. So I had quite a few years where my horse had seasonal lovebites all along the underside of his neck, often with bald patches.

The pal, on the other hand, freqently had rips in his very expensive Boett rug.

They tended to do it when calorie intake exceeded calorie expenditure... so when there was lots of grass, or lots of hay. In the depths of winter and in the real heat of summer, they would just stand around conserving energy ;)

The one advantage (apart from being very entertaining to watch) was that both horses were incredibly fit. All that ducking, diving, dancing and rearing is amazing gymnastic exercise.

My lad now lives with a sensible older gelding and a mare, so not much playing goes on at all. I suspect he misses it, and he is less toned looking ;)
 
My gelding (19) seems to have been particularly bad this year - in fact he will challenge anyone to a 'game'. He has had injuries - currently on box rest for the second one and I am reluctant to put him back out until they move to the summer paddock when I hope he will just settle down and eat! :)
 
I agree Brightbay, my boy had a fantastic topline and was never fat and was easier to ride as probably exhausted!
 
I have a 19 yr old gelding and a 5 yr old mare, and wow have they played this winter. The mare also has that 'threadbare' look on her neck, little chap it's not so obvious as he's woolier. This only started in the winter when we started feeding haylage in the field (they live out 24/7)
I am hoping that it will ease off once the grass comes through, the haylage will reduce so they'll have to spend more time grazing.
They are both being little monkeys at the moment too, had the (very full) barrow over last night after I'd poo-picked..... sigh...... pushed out of the field gate into the schooling area, then hooned around not wanting to be caught.... sigh...... will have to apologise to the YO later for the mashed-up ground. (grass school, waiting for the ground to dry up a bit) :rolleyes:
 
I have to agree, they are looking fab for all this exercise, and have kept themselves very fit over winter! I must confess that rug nibbling aside I do love to see horses being horses, a couple of the others in herds just seem to mope at the gates all day.
 
Mine all do this, babies and our old Shetland! He actually looks quite funny rearing up as high as he can to try and nip the others necks, and the amount of times they try to double barrel each other makes me glad they don't wear shoes! I live in hope that one day they'll all grow up and calm down.
 
Do anyone else's boys do it at set times too? Guaranteed that when i get up at 6.50am to get ready for work, look out the window - early morning kick off is occuring! By 7.10am this is all over and Fabio's having a snooze in the shelter with Fred stood outside near him like butter wouldn't melt! The next 'scheduled' tiff is at 4pm! I'm sure its because they know its work time from 4.30 onwards so get in a last fight beforehand!
 
My two geldings did this. I got sick of the bite marks and ripped rugs, or rugs hanging off when they'd unfasten them!

I put grazing muzzles on them for a few weeks - when they could only poke each other it obviously wasn't much fun and they stopped! A few weeks of muzzle will get them out of the habit usually, and by then there should be more grass, which will distract them too!

I now have one mare and a gelding, and the mare won't entertain the games, so its all peaceful again!

ps. One of our geldings was in his teens when he did this too. I swear some geldings go through a mid life crisis in their teens and get a bit riggy! Another old gelding used to herd my mare around when he hit his late teens.
 
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Oh yes my boys play too.

I've got 4 year old a 9 year old and an 18 year old. They're all as bad as each other, and have actually managed to bring each other to the floor a couple of times doing it. :eek: They rear, nip, knee bite, hock bite and full on body barge each other. But they never hurt each other nastily, or rip rugs doing it. Oh they race each other up the field too, that's the one they enjoy most.

It's not malicious at all, just boys being boys. They didn't do it in Summer, only in winter. But my horse, the 9 year old, was hunting fit before being turned away at the end of November so he suddenly wasn't burning the energy he was used to. He, being the lowest in the pecking order, did end up with a slightly scabby neck, but it's cleared up now and we just have some longer tufty patches. I wouldn't seperate them though, they love it too much.

It has the added bonus of keeping weight down too. :D
 
My gelding used to play like this with a little gelding we used to have, no harm was ever done so I left them to it, there was only the odd little tear in the rugs though. Can you spray something nasty on the rugs like the anti wood chew spray?
We have two colts next door that are being really naughty at the mo, I get worried when they start as it gets quite nasty biting legs and rearing etc.
 
yep it's a boy thing!

Mine has just discovered the joys of play fighting, and there's always one horse he goes to! have been watching and mine tends to ask for it and keep going back for more, and the other doesn't give in. We've had ripped rugs, lots of scratches. Like others have said I'm sure it'll stop once the grass comes through, haven't got a problem with it and he does have space to wander off if it gets too much. He's in a all boys field so it's one of those things.
 
Yep my two geldings do this too nearly every day. They are both nearly 17! Luckily it hasn't resulted in any damage and it's good to see such natural behaviour.
 
Boys will be boys... Blue's neck is covered in little scabs from playfighting with his pals! His fieldmate's brand new rug has already been shredded... Oops. The mares in the field next to them seem to watch with such disdain!
 
All my boys play rough young and old but I have a 2 yo filly who is a brute she is in the babies field and the other filly in there is a lady and does not join in.

This particular filly is so pretty and you can tell she is a girl at first glance but we call her conan the barbarian as a nickname.

Even the boys in the field shy away at times she is a trout who needs a fist of iron at all times, I was expecting a few comments about tomboy girls on this thread,I am worried now:eek::D
 
orangepony said:
My two geldings are in an individual grazing paddock together as I much prefer them to have company to groom, roll with etc.

Both are very active when out, they have approx 12hrs a day outside in winter regardless of weather with supplemented hay in many piles to reduce squabbles over food. Never fed in field other than hay to supplement poor grazing.

They are often seen rearing up at each other and leaping around during the day by other liveries, but never kick or have ears back, really just plyafighting and boisterous.

The crux of the matter is that they are both 'nippy', and so far I've seen 4 turnout rugs trashed with little (deep) tears all over! Neither are huge rug rippers but the rugs are like patched sieves now; poor mummy is sick of sewing! In this nicer weather I've taken the neck rugs off the lightweights they wear and on quite a few occasions they've been out naked; but now the rug tears are turning into neck nips...which are actually quite scabby and cannot be comfortable when worked.

Orangepony is 14 and the BlueOne is 4 ; but there appears to be very little in way of maturity from the old chap at times!

I have tried seperating over electric fence, but both trashed fence to be together, are very attached and call for each other when one is taken for exercise etc even with other horses between them in stables, and YO will not allocate a seperate I/Turnout field as not enough spare ground for the herds to rotate.

I have tried cribox on the neck-rugs which obviously meant they werent keen to chomp there but now rug is flesh it isn't ideal to cribox them both every morning!

Thoughts?

Can offer some japanese rice crackers and a crayfish salad :D
Click to expand...
When it all comes down to it horses are horses and they will behave like this. As long as there is no malice in it they will not hurt one another and preventing them from playing by separating them may do more harm than good. I'm afraid trashed rugs are a casualty of horse-keeping. As for the neck nipping, I don't know what to suggest apart from to say they may well "grow out" of it when they both realise it hurts and neither of them are winning.

When the weather improves and the grass starts coming through they will find better things to do.
 
Yeah my boys do this too!! If I separate them they just trash whatever fencings in the way to get back to one another!! Costs me hundreds each year in new rugs and repairs! Plus the fields get seriously trashed! And the bite marks on their necks!!! Luckily up to now neither have been seriously hurt but it does occassionally lead to kicks (ones shod) and I cringe when they're up on their back legs at each other!!
 
If its only the rug trashing that bothers you, i've found an easier solution than cribbox. Most pet shops sell a spray to stop pets chewing furniture etc, i've used various ones, & they work for cribbers too. Only problem is heavy rain does wash it off, but on the whole much cheaper & easier than cribbox. Also doesn't damage/ stain anything.
 
Trinity Fox said:
All my boys play rough young and old but I have a 2 yo filly who is a brute she is in the babies field and the other filly in there is a lady and does not join in.

This particular filly is so pretty and you can tell she is a girl at first glance but we call her conan the barbarian as a nickname.

Even the boys in the field shy away at times she is a trout who needs a fist of iron at all times, I was expecting a few comments about tomboy girls on this thread,I am worried now:eek::D
Click to expand...

Your not alone - my grey isn't very ladylike. She loves to play and boss the poor little gelding around, he absolutely adores her and lets her get away with all sorts. :rolleyes:
 
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