Dealing with an Aggressive Gelding
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I have a five-year-old, off-the-track thoroughbred gelding who likes to boss the other geldings around. He tends to kick, rear and have “stallion” behavior with the mares. If he is taken from the mares, he has to have an eye on them or he goes insane. My other gelding became dehydrated and needed an IV because the mares are always by the water and he will not let any gelding near them to get a drink. No mares are in season, and the water source is not moveable. What can I do to stop this? Thanks!
- Rachel
Rachel, the behavior your horse is displaying is not likely to change overnight. I am most concerned about your other gelding. If there are no other sources for water, you will need to keep one of the geldings out of that pasture.
I would have your vet conduct a thorough check on your gelding, including a hormone assessment, to make sure we are not dealing with a medical condition.
Your course of action for modifying the behavior should involve a certified applied behaviorist working step by step with you, as the behavior can quickly spiral further out of control without the proper assessment.