Stallion and gelding fighting??

Question

I have 3 horses, 2 geldings and a stallion. One gelding, Spanky, has always been the lead horse, where ever he was, but then we got my stallion, Cherokee. Spanky immediately showed he was the higher horse. It has been two weeks since I got Cherokee, and Spanky has 5 places from his mid neck to his muzzle where he has been bitten and kicked. I know it is not my other gelding, Apple, because I have had him since March, and Spanky has never been beaten up before. Spanky is always one to show he is lead, so I think that Cherokee is wanting to become lead, since he is a stallion, and they are getting into fights. Cherokee is around 3 to 5 years old, Spanky is eight. I am wondering if I get Cherokee gelded, that this will stop. Please give me some ideas as to what to do. I do not like Spanky getting hurt. He was my first horse, and I do not like the idea of him being wounded badly. If you think getting Cherokee gelded is a good idea, PLEASE tell me! I am terrified of what might happen to either of them. ☺

Answer 1

If the stallion is not of breeding quality, and you don't plan to breed him, get him gelded. It may or may not help. Because he was left intact for so long, he may retain the stallion behavior to an extent even if gelded because he had the male hormones for so long he has learned the stallion behavior. But having him gelded will tone the aggression down.

Answer 2

Ask yourself just how badly beaten up your gelding would have to be before you found a way to get the stallion away from him?  If your neighbor came over and beat your gelding with a baseball bat a few times, would you invite him back to do it again every day?  Keeping the stallion in with the gelding is no different.

Answer 3

You NEVER turn a stallion out with other geldings like that. Before purchasing more horses please educate yourself alittle, ALOT more actually.

Answer 4

if you get them gelded over 2 there is a chance he will still act like stallion

Answer 5

Better yet, he should have been gelded BEFORE being turned out with those geldings, but it;s already done now...and yes to your question, it will change his attitude and actions a lot.

Answer 6

Put them in separate fields

Answer 7

A stallion should NEVER be in the same pasture with geldings. Get the stallion out of there ASAP. He could end up hurting your horse even more than he has, or even killing him. I have a lot of experience with horses, and I am telling you this, not to scare you, but to get you to take immediate action. Get them separated now!

Answer 8

If you are not planning on keeping Cherokee as a breeding stallion then i would geld him.  He is getting older and will only get worse as time goes by, esp. if Spanky does not give up on being leader.

I think that gelding him would be a good idea, esp if you can not keep them separated  

Answer 9

There is no guarantee that gelding the stallion will change his behavior -- after alll the original gelding was the one who instigated the battle for dominance.

It's always been my experience that geldings and stallions, like boys and men, tend to play and work out their differences a bit rougher than the mares/girls/women.

I would suggest you separate the fighting horses for a period of time but allow them to spend time near each other separated by a fence line.  (Side-by-side pasture, paddocks or stalls will all work well.) This will allow them to continue their pecking order dispute but will allow each of them to escape any substantial injury by moving out of each others' reach.

After a month or so of working it out over the fences try turning them out together again for a couple of hours when you have time to move a safe distance away and observe the behaviors.  DO NOT turn them out and leave them to their own devices.  Horses have been known to kill each other with a rough bite or savage kick.  Once you see everyone has settle down and is playing nicely they can be turned out again.  But if they continue to behave aggressively, you will have to continue to keep them separated.

On another note, unless your stallion has amazing bloodlines and your plans are to compete and breed him I would recommend gelding him.  Gelded horses are generally much happier pets and riding companions.

Good luck!

ADDED RESPONSE TO COMMENTS:

Ummm, you kind of contradict yourself -- first you say you can't separate them because the stallion will go crazy, then you say he's the calmest stallion you've ever seen?

OK, either way, I urge you to take the problem seriously and become proactive at finding a safer resolution for your horses' sake.  You should also be extremely careful yourself, as often stallions who are overly aggressive with other horses can also turn this savage behavior on their human handlers.

If separation is not an option, you could also try a grazing muzzle to protect your gelding from the worse bites (especially a fatal one), and a grazing line or hobbles to prevent/avoid kicking.  CAUTION: If your stallion has never been hobbled he'll need training before these are used.

Answer 10

Getting Cherokee gelded will help, as there will be less hormones driving him to fight. However it probably won't stop the fighting completely, Cherokee is 3-5 years old, so his build and temperament are that of a stallion and while gelding will help, he will still have physical superiority over Spanky. As such, he will continue to fight to be leader and cause injury until such time as Spanky lets him take over. If possible I would separate them, at least until Cherokee is gelded and then give it a few months and see if his behaviour has changed and consider putting them back together.

Answer 11

hi hunn stallions are not ment to be in paddocks with geldings or other stallions unless they are realy quit or have grown up with the other horse its in there nature to fight with other males so tyhe only way of stopping this is sepperating them leah

Answer 12

Yes, it will help. It won't make it totally stop, but his hormones won't be raging. Even though Spanky is gelded, Cherokee knows he's a male, and thinks of him as a threat to his mares.

Still, if Cherokee is naturally dominent, they'll still scuffle, but it won't be as bad. Better geld him.

Answer 13

keep them apart?  or geld the stallion?

other then that i dont think anything else is going to help them.

this is why people keep stallions apart from other horses. . . can put them with mares and cant usually keep them with geldings(this case usually ends up happening)