Nuisance geldings.

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herbert

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Have just read a post about geldings mounting mares. 10 years ago a gelding was a gelding and I never had any trouble with them mounting mares or causing any trouble. Recently I have noticed that a gelding under the age of 10 is quite likely to mount a mare and be a total nuisance when a mare is in season. Has anyone else noticed this or am I alone. If you have why do you think this is happening?
 
My 20 yr old Highland x fancied the socks off a little mare when mares and geldings used to be kept together. Yard staff saw him mounting her on a few occasions, randy little git! She fancied him too coz he was the only horse she would let into the field shelter with her! As long as your gelding isn't a rig, you have to accept that sometimes they'll do this! There was some post on the forum a few weeks back about it and there were LOADS of geldings still trying to score out there! Have you tried keeping them apart?
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Have just read a post about geldings mounting mares. 10 years ago a gelding was a gelding and I never had any trouble with them mounting mares or causing any trouble. Recently I have noticed that a gelding under the age of 10 is quite likely to mount a mare and be a total nuisance when a mare is in season. Has anyone else noticed this or am I alone. If you have why do you think this is happening?

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You're not alone!
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It's true, it does seem to have started recently. I have held colts for castration since the mid 60's and the method hasn't changed that much in all that time although then a lot of vets preferred to do it out in the field where they could drop the colt safely, nowadays it seems to be a standing up job, but I don't think that's the main reason we have randy geldings at all.
I'm wondering if it is because management methods have changed so much, could be completely wrong here, but horses in the main are not looked after by professionals (by that, I mean years ago, the only people looking after horses were professional grooms/dealers/trainers, people did not do their own horses as they do now) and most of them would have had strict routines (we've all seen the recommended daily timetable in the Manual of Horsemanship!
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) and regimentation, after all, a lot of grooms would have seen army service and the like so horses had a strict upbringing, they did as they were told and knew how to behave too, that probably carried on into their field life too if that makes sense, so while they were off duty, the good behaviour at all times had been drilled into them and apart from normal field politics of who was boss horse, being randy wouldn't have entered their heads! We grazed many mares and geldings together, I can't recall any geldings being randy - and my memory of then is much better than that of yesterday now!
Nowadays, not being sexist in any way but in the main, they are either looked after by women or by people who haven't a clue as to what they should/should not be doing, who don't as a rule enforce such strict conduct rules and in many cases spoil their horses rotten which can lead to bad behaviour. I'm not saying us women can't be as strict, of course we can but at the same time, many of us can be softies too and sometimes we're too soft when we should have made a stand and said enough is enough of bad behaviour. It's a sad fact but there honestly did not seem to be half as many nappy horses about then as there are now that I read about; it would be nipped in the bud immediately and sorted properly for once and for all which does not seem to happen as much now and so the problem gets worse, not better.
 
Maybe because people are gelding later? That's my idea anyway, dont know really! One of mine will mount my mare if allowed in with her, but he's a Welsh D and was gelded a bit late because with D's that's what they do so they keep the presence and build (which he certainly has! You'd think he was a stallion!). My other geldings wouldnt dream of actually mounting a mare though, they'll show a bit of interest if she's in season but that's probably just coz my mares a tart!
 
My gelding was gelded at 9 months, probably quite young. He has never shown the slightest interest in any mares I have had and has always been kept with mares. In fact when my particulary tarty tb got in with him recently, he was less than impressed and gave her a good kick! I have always suspected had he been human he would most definately be gay!
 
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Nowadays, not being sexist in any way but in the main, they are either looked after by women or by people who haven't a clue as to what they should/should not be doing........

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In what way is this not being sexist - does that mean my non-horsey husband would make a better job of it?
 
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Nowadays, not being sexist in any way but in the main, they are either looked after by women or by people who haven't a clue as to what they should/should not be doing........
In what way is this not being sexist - does that mean my non-horsey husband would make a better job of it?

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Knew I had written it wrong!
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I did mean that in the past, women grooms were very unusual, it was very frowned upon (not a nice career for a lady type thing!
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) so obviously grooms were <u>usually</u> men who tended not to take any messing about for granted from horses from the start whereas a lot (notice - not all!
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) of women will let it get too far before they will pull something up for bad manners and then it might already have become a bad habit.

So, no, I am not saying your non horsey OH would make a better job of it just because he is a man but that you should be as strict a disciplinarian yourself if you are to get the same respect from a horse as the earlier day grooms did. It wasn't being cruel, it was being fair. An old stud groom I worked under for a couple of years always grumbled about "you young girls, you'll end up spoiling these horses and then they'll not know how to behave and it'll serve you right for not being fair to them in the first place". I've always remembered it and tried to be firm but fair with my lot; yes, they love a fuss but they know better than to misbehave too much!
Before you say it, I don't mean not to fuss your horses either, just make sure they always know where the uncrossable line is; it will make life so much easier for them at the same time.
Like any animal, you can't cuddle it and play with it then when they turn around to you and nip you (because that is what they do to each other in play) tell it off/give it a clout, because it will have no idea why you have done that and that is unfair to it. It must remember at all times that you are boss of the herd, not them if that make more sense.
I must now apologise for getting completely off the original subject!
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I prefer late gelded horses as a rule so have 2 who where both gelded 'late' one at 5 and one at 6. One has fathered children but neither have shown any inclination to mount anything.

I think this really does have a lot to do with handling, right from the start, not just after gelding and I agree with MFH, people allow horses to get away with so much more nowadays than in the past.
 
I am firm with all of mine and female
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, I suspect I must be a rogue one.

In all the years that I have owned horses I have never seen a gelding mount. I dont believe it is as common as it has been suggested nor do I believe that the problem has increased - despite all the softie girl owners.

However, saying that I like the sexes separate because mares and gelding have different field behaviours which are not always compatiable. My opinion but there you go.
 
I guess it is all down to peoples experience but my experience with running mixed herds, in a livery stable capacity, is that there is no difference now to what there was 20 years ago. None of my own geldings ever mount my mares and only twice in all these years have I seen any geldings do this, both were rigs though.

Even my ex-stallion has not once tried to mount any of the in-season mares, since being gelded, who reside in his herd.

I sortof get what MFH is saying mind you - I think if you are a kind but firm handler (as I am) then your horses will remember their manners both in and out of the field.
 
I suspect the space is not quite so tight were you are Tia so it is probably easier to manage mixed herds.

I also understand what MFH is saying - I do think horses need to know their place otherwise they get confused and difficult to handle and I do agree that some owners are far too soft with them. I'm just not sure it can be blamed on women being soft - majority of horse owners are women so it could just as easily be attributed to the move away from military style livery yards to owners of either sex who are just not as experienced.

Saying all that I havent noticed an increase in the problem
 
The other side of the coin are Nuisance TART MARES!

My gelding is not at all interested in the mares when they are in season yet they love him - in a mixed herd of 3 mares and 3 geldings. The mares even go to the lengths of bullying him for attention when they are in season, following him around, waving their bottoms and weeing in his face when he is head down trying to graze.

A couple of times I have had to separate HIM from the mares to give him a break from their constant annoyance, esp when he's been competing during the day and wants to have a roll / rest / graze and they won't leave him alone. They are not interested in the other geldings but flirt with each other as well.

I have read on here about Mares who have tried backing onto face posts when in season..
 
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I also understand what MFH is saying - I do think horses need to know their place otherwise they get confused and difficult to handle and I do agree that some owners are far too soft with them. I'm just not sure it can be blamed on women being soft - majority of horse owners are women so it could just as easily be attributed to the move away from military style livery yards to owners of either sex who are just not as experienced.



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My thanks, you've hit upon exactly what I wanted to say but couldn't think how to in less than a thousand words!
 
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