7 year old gelding attacking yearling filly he used to get along with?

Question

7 year old gelding attacking filly yearling he used to get along with?

I have a 7 year old gelding who has happily been in a field with filly yearling but recently a friend left her mare and new foal with me and the gelding has attached himself to the mare and foal and has chased the yearling away constantly, i have separated the yearling from the others but is it possible to re introduce her, should I separate mum and foal away from gelding and put gelding back with yearling?

Answer 1

Alright. I just want to make sure I have all of these horses in the right place first. You had the yearling with the gelding. Then you moved a mare and foal in with the gelding and took away the yearling. Did I get that right?

Depending on the age of the foal, I would say to wean the foal and put the mare in with the yearling. But if the foal isn't old enough to be weaned, I would see how the gelding reacts to the yearling without the mare and foal around. If your yearling is a normal horse, she's probably confused because she's completely alone now. The gelding may still have stallion-like qualities that make him overly protective of a mare and foal, even to his "friend", the yearling.

Answer 2

The mare and her foal should not be with that gelding, and neither should the yearling- HE'S the one who needs to be in a paddock by himself. Obviously, that gelding still has enough hormones in his system that he is acting like a stud, and he is doing what studs naturally do- in that he has taken possession of the mare and foal as if they were his herd. In his mind, THEY ARE his herd- and his family, and he naturally perceives this other yearling to be a threat to them- which is why he attacks her and drives her off.

The only problem with this situation is that eventually, this gelding is going to become more and more aggressive and protective- and the time will come when he won't allow ANYONE else NEAR his mare and her foal, and he MAY ATTACK YOU, his owner, if you try to come near her or the baby. This isn't his fault- he's only doing what nature and his hormones have programmed him to do. All stallions in the wild behave this way- and your gelding thinks he's a stud, even if that is physically not the case any more.

I would put the yearling back in with the mare and foal ( provided, of course, that the mare will tolerate the yearling around her new baby- a lot of mares I know WON'T, and will attack an older foal or yearling because they are perceived to be a threat to the foal's safety) and keep the gelding away from all three of them. Also, this gelding needs a job, meaning that he needs to be worked or ridden daily, so he has something else to think about besides s*x and what his mare is doing. At 7, he should be in full work or training, every day. The yearling filly should be getting daily training and handling too- she is old enough to start ground work, at least, and she needs to learn to lead, tie, and stand for grooming and to have her feet done by the farrier. It wouldn't hurt to introduce her to a lightweight saddle, and let her carry it while she's being groomed or walked around, and she also needs to be introduced to and learn to wear a bridle. It doesn't have to be fancy- a simple snaffle bit is all she needs at this point- but she needs to experience what it's like to have a bridle on her head. She will be easier to work with down the road if these things are done now.

Good luck to you, and I hope this helps.

Answer 3

I agree with starlight...the gelding is the problem.  I'd separate him and keep the other three together for awhile.  If the three females bond, they'll put him in his place once he is returned to the group.

Answer 4

its because the filly is a threat the gelding thinks to the mare and foal. I also dont understand why he is being aggressive in a way towards the filly as normally a gelding would do it to another colt or gelding because its a dominance standing. I think your gelding is thinking the mare and new foal are his creation and he doesnt want the filly to hurt either so hes chasing her a way because he doesnt see the filly as part of his packed. This is a horse thing, but becareful because it can get worse as that filly gets older so supervise them if you put them together at all times incase you have to jump in and take the filly away.

Answer 5

This is a gelding thing.  I had a gelding that we had to sell because he absolutely refused to stop harassing our arab mare.  I spent months working with him.  In that case it started when I separated the mare to put a little weight back on her.  I put her in an adjoining pasture by herself for a month.  When I put her back in with the other horses this gelding went nuts.  I finally got him to where he did not run her and run her but I NEVER got him to stop biting and harassing her whenever she got very close at all.  I spent 6 months trying to because the gelding was a wonderful ride and the best ponying horse in this part of the country.

Answer 6

Sounds like the gelding has decided he has a new "herd" to protect (mare and foal) and the yearling is being viewed as a threat to them.  I would separate the gelding and yearling, of course, if they are fighting.  But, I have to wonder if the attacking will contine once the mare and foal are gone and/or the foal is weaned and older - I'm thinking it probably won't.  Is the gelding usually territorial like this?

Answer 7

this happened to our horses before but i was only like 6 so i dont remember what my mom did =/

sorry

but we did get them all together without problems so u should be able to i would guess,good luck =]