Odd behaviour totally changed personality of gelding....

ElvisandTilly

ElvisandTilly

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I have owned my 15 year old gelding for 9 1/2 years and he is the biggest softy and always has been ..... until this last 2 weeks!

What he is behaving like is totally out of character so much that I am worried there is a medical condition going on?

He has been in mixed herds from when I got him up until 5 years ago where he was in with geldings. I moved to a new year just under 1 1/2 ago and he again has been in a large group of geldings. All fine never any fighting and he was always happy in company or on his own. He was gentle and laid back and always very human orientated for company.

Around 2 1/2 weeks ago the geldings were moved fields and the mares that are normally other side of the yard were moved into the next field. Another gelding started to lay claim to the gate that separated them and my horse was trying to get to the mares over the gate but the other wouldn't let so there was a lot of fratching going on. This escalated over 3 days and then my horse was thentop dog and wouldn't let anyone near the mares or the gate. It ended with these two horses constantly fighting like stallions over the mares and neither would give in. The other horse was taken out for a week and all settled again and there was no fighting with the other geldings. The other horse went back and again my horse was chasing and biting him so my horse was then moved out. Rather than be on his own he was put in with the mares.

He has been in with mares nearly a week but he is behaving so stallion like it is unbelievable the change in him! He has never ever been interested in mare sexually or for friendships so tomsee this change has me worried especially after 9 1/2 years of such a calm horse!

I know mares can behave stallion like if they get cysts but what could cause an imbalance in a gelding? He certainly is no rig and has definately been cut and both testicals are gone. Could this be something neurological or hormonal? If I get the vet out not sure what they could do! I'm at a loss!?

Anyone else experience something like this with a gelding that is definately not a rig? Is there anything I can give to calm him down? He is now even wanting to be off with his girls rather than coming to me which he has always wanted to be with his hoooman! Lol!
 
I've had the exact same situation with one of my liveries, and only recently has he reverted to the big soppy lummox that his owner swore he always was before. He was so violent that I had to remove him from the herd, and he lived on his own for about 7 months. Even then, he would regularly attack other geldings over the fence, and spent hours patrolling his fence, and charging anything that came too close. He was blood tested to see if he was a rig, and that came back negative

I moved the mares out of sight/earshot - and over a few months, he settled down and gradually reverted, to a point where I was happy to try again to integrate him. I was really unconvinced about putting him in with Alf, who he had previously attacked so violently that he tore huge strips of skin off his back, but they were spending so much time standing together and grooming each other over the fence, that I decided to give it a try. They've been best of friends ever since - and Alf is still no1 in the pecking order.

Bizarrely, the mares are back in the next field now, and there has been no silliness at all. I don't know why he was so awful for those months, and I don't suppose I'll ever know. I'm just relieved that he's over it now!
 
Thanks for the info Auslander so glad it's not just my horse that has done this! It's exactly the same situation that we have. The mares will be going back to their usual field in a few weeks so hopefully we can get back to normal when they are out of sight! I will probably have bloods done just to make sure nothing else going on too.
 
Not quite as extreme but when I moved to my last yard my normally easy going gelding turned into a wally. He went out with two geldings and a mare and he obsessed like a love-lorn teenager over her. He became almost unrideable and difficult to handle. I had to have him separated and gradually his behaviour returned to more normal. A change of yards worked even better as there were other issues with that yard too.

Sometimes he can act a little stalliony / dominant around certain mares and young males but not all and other than that he really is a very easy horse on the ground and to ride and definitely not a rig.
 
this same thing happened to my boy. I even started a thread on here as I wondering if he could be a rig. He was even striking out at me and became very unpleasant to know. ( Hes normally a very loving horse ). In his case they were 4 broodmares, one in particular was very flirty with him, and sending him ( and me ) mad.
The only thing that helped was some firm but fair handling, and the mares going back to their paddocks ( separated from Jazz by a road and a paddock ).
Since then they have been in the paddock next to him again, but hes never reacted that badly again, he just likes to show off - pulling off numerous shoes in the process !
Hopefully your boy will come to his senses again soon
Kx
 
Thanks for all the advice and glad I am not alone and it's not something that is medically wrong with him. Helps put my mind at ease. It's just such a total change in him and having him 9 years and never seen this behaviour made me worry he was ill! Hopefully when they go back to their paddocks for winter he will settle again. He stables next to these mares and has never bothered at all!
 
The same thing can happened to mares and happened to mine! She used to be bottom of the pack, the biggest push over in the field. Then one day we had two new fillies arrive on the yard and she went into megatron-tigress mode and went after the lead mare in the field for a whole three days. Eventually she became lead mare and things settled down, but then I moved yards when I got a brand new job and she had to grow accustomed to an entire new field of herd mates. Eventually she was put in the sin bin - a stallion paddock - with a pony for company. She paced the fence, whinnied constantly, and was awful with other horses on hacks. Then we moved yards one more time and the problem vanished - zero issues, she's happily in the middle rank, and has bonded with a little chestnut shetland. I've no idea what caused it - it was a 6 month blip in the 5 years I've owned her.
 
I used to keep my horses at a riding school and they were all in one mixed herd for most of the year. One of the RS horses who was 22 and had never been any bother had a session with the physio for a bad back. Within 48 hours he was mounting mares, chasing the other geldings, refusing to be caught and generally being a nightmare. He reverted back after about 8 weeks but I can't see them organising another physio session any time soon!
 
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