[palimino57]

So our horses have always been pastured together. New horses come and go, never with more then few squeals and bites in that first few hours.

We have one gelding in the herd.. and 5 mares. Today.. he tried to kill the new mare.. for the 3rd time. On day one he ran her for a good 2 hours.. Honestly we were running out there ******** out, trying o get him off her. Finally caught him, and honestly I LOST it on him. He tried to run me down to get at her, and he got the end of the lead rope a few good times. They eventually calmed down.. and have been living together fine the last 3 days without incident. We have just found out she has some sight issues a few days ago. She has taken to my one mare ALOT, she tags around with her all the time. The pony still runs her off the feed on occasion (after thy have been grazing together for 2 hours he just randomly freak out and runs her 30 feet away)

I was outside Checking on our preggo mare, and heard what I thought was death.. Horse Screams, fences twanging. Horse squeal, kicks branches snapping etc.. Got out there like a bat outta ****, and got them separated.. he had her pinned against the fence.. Poor poor thing. Took him he **** out of there. Not her cause she gets along fine with the ladies, and I figure him losing his *girls* and being alone all nigh tint he outdoor might help him realize that being a **** gets him no where. We are going to keep him separated for a few days at least, but just dont understand. We got him in october, and have had MANY horses come and go, geldings mares etc. Why this one..

I just dont know what to do. She is a bit sore, and has Bites EVERYWHERE but nothing major, just scuffs and a good chunk of hair missing off her forehead. She is so darn sweet. Even if she is useless and unbroke, I will keep her over him if this persists. His *owner* agrees, when he is reintroduced to the herd, if he goes after her again, he is GONE. Hes worth a pretty penny, and will be sold to a show home here he will not be pastured with others so it will be easy to sell him, rather then her.

This is my vent. Vet will be out in the AM to check her over and do an eye exam on her and check our HOPEFULLY foal that should be born. Iggys mom is taking him for a good long ride tomorrow and sticking him back in solitary. I wish I had a shock collar right about now. its the only thing I can think of. He KNOWS hes bad when he does it, not once has he ever not come when called, but when he goes at her, he will try and attack his mom even to get her outta the way to get to the mare. its just so sickening I am shaking. Honestly, he is lucky I dont have a gun.

[rageandglory]

not all horses get along with all horses. he perceives a threat from her of some kind, real or not, and likely won't let it go. he needs seperate turn-out or another farm.

every now and then, one comes along that just doesn't adjust. i had a mare here with similar results. sadly i had to place her in rescue care because of it tho she is permanently placed there : ). i count myself lucky.

[Blistering Winds]

Yep, personality conflicts.

Now you say she has eye issues? He may be the type of horse that knows that and to protect the herd instinctually, she has to go or she draws predators in the wild.

Now, you aren't living in the wild, but this is what they know. And unfortunately how they handle it in the wild. She would be chased off from the herd to keep her from drawing the predators into the main herd. She is the weakest link. And more likely he has no tolerance for it.

And some horses can only be with x amount of horses. add another one in, and that one is one too many and they will push the extra one out, sick or not.

This is the behavioral life of a horse. You either accept it and adjust your paddocks to accomidate his needs, or you do as you say and get rid of him. Let him be delt with by another owner who either has the facilities to take him on, or someone who doesn't give a rat and will just separate him perminantly causing him ulcers, health issues, etc like so many end up with.

Not trying to guilt you, I promise. Just that is the picture of these guys that I see.

I figure him losing his *girls* and being alone all nigh tint he outdoor might help him realize that being a **** gets him no where.

Horses are not humans. they do not rationalize like that.

One must realize that to understand how to handle that type of situation. you need to take that mare out and keep her away from your gelding. Bring that other mare that she gets along with and place them in a different paddock.

But trying to force your gelding to accept that mare is like telling a brick to move on its own.

[nicz2cu]

Very good post BW

Originally Posted by Blistering Winds

Yep, personality conflicts.

Now you say she has eye issues? He may be the type of horse that knows that and to protect the herd instinctually, she has to go or she draws predators in the wild.

Now, you aren't living in the wild, but this is what they know. And unfortunately how they handle it in the wild. She would be chased off from the herd to keep her from drawing the predators into the main herd. She is the weakest link. And more likely he has no tolerance for it.

And some horses can only be with x amount of horses. add another one in, and that one is one too many and they will push the extra one out, sick or not.

This is the behavioral life of a horse. You either accept it and adjust your paddocks to accomidate his needs, or you do as you say and get rid of him. Let him be delt with by another owner who either has the facilities to take him on, or someone who doesn't give a rat and will just separate him perminantly causing him ulcers, health issues, etc like so many end up with.

Not trying to guilt you, I promise. Just that is the picture of these guys that I see.



Horses are not humans. they do not rationalize like that.

One must realize that to understand how to handle that type of situation. you need to take that mare out and keep her away from your gelding. Bring that other mare that she gets along with and place them in a different paddock.

But trying to force your gelding to accept that mare is like telling a brick to move on its own.

[4horsem0m]

Very good post BW.

My instructor had a 40+ year old pony that she rescued and rehabbed that got along just fine in the herd for a couple of years until his cancer got bad. The horses ganged up on him and killed him. She was running and screaming trying to get them away from her pony, but in the end he was dead. She said it was so hard to look at the other horses for a long time, until a good friend of hers told her the same thing as BW did. Horses will drive away/kill any weak one that threatens their safety, it's instinctual even to these animals that have been "domesticated" for so many years.

I don't think you are going to change his behavior at all by "punishing" him with a night away from everyone else.

[nicz2cu]

Moose did the same thing to mini-moose ( rescue ) not long after bringing her home.

He was keeping her away from the water, she overheated and had what looked to be a seizure. To make it short , he reared half-way up and struck her in the chest because she was trying to go down.

Now, Moose is a horse who has been with "D" since she was weaned ( babysitter ), well trained and never shown aggressiveness of this magnitude before.

I learned a great lesson from that, I now have two water troughs in different areas.

Oh, before I forget..... no, they were not put together for over two weeks after bringing her home and were supervised then.

I'm a firm believer in allowing safe introduction time .

I believe that is why I didn't catch the problem of him keeping her away from the water ( no aggression shown at hay / feeding time ). I never had another problem between the two after that.

[JosephineJones]

I also know a horse that was killed that way. She was chased into the fence, and it won.

Honestly, considering the number of times you say it's happened, I wouldn't give him another chance. Better safe than sorry.

[spinandslide]

I would bet money hes singling her out due to her eyesight. Its a primal thing, get rid of the weakness within the "herd"..heck, Dogs have even been known to kill older members of their packs when they start to slow down. Cesar Milan talks about this alot.

Anyway, Id get him the heck away from the mares..HE is causing the problem and I probably would have beat him senseless he tried to run me over..1200 pounds of unrespective horseflesh is not something to mess around with, dont care WHAT type of horse he is or how much hes worth. Be Careful.

[IslandintheSun]

While I can certainly sympathize, I have to admit I was more than a little alarmed at the OP's original comment that the gelding was lucky she didn't have a gun. I am assuming that this was hyperbole and she never actually entertained the notion. If the horse has never been aggressive before, I think finding him another home elsewhere is the thing to do. Good luck, and hope the poor mare hasn't been traumatized.

[ejforrest]

When I brought my one eyed- half dead horse home and after weeks of seperation, I got her in with everyone and the only one who did what your horse did was my Appaloosa gelding. He chased, bit, kicked her constently. One day I heard this gasping sound and went to look. Chief had her on the ground by her throat and she was gasping for breth. He got the shock collar on after that. After a few shocks he left her alone and they now eat together. You might have to do something more drastic before he kills her.