He was gelded as a 4Y/O “still thinks he’s a stallion” and it hasn’t been a year since he’s been gelded?
He needs an experienced stallion handler, not a student or a trainer unfamiliar with stallion behavior.
Please don’t continue with him.
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I saw no where any mention of a health exam for this horse.
The truly aggressive dangerous horses are uncommon.
That he could be in pain is not outside the realm of possibility.
He got “broke”, then sat, then taken to a busy college situation.
That’s a recipe for ulcers, at least.
But bottom line, this school needs better instructors and better instruction, not just in how to train, but in basic horsemanship.
Defending yourself with a whip is one thing, but this
…just get a longer whip? That’s bad instruction.
“He doesn’t respond to hitting, so keep hitting him” suggests their toolbox is empty.
You are over-horsed. It sounds like your instructor is too.
.
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Hey guys thank you for all your replies. I had a long talk with my professor and my gelding will be going home. I’m reassigned to a different horse. I will have to call my boss to let her know what’s going on, I will recommend to her your suggestions. It will be up to her what her next steps are. I don’t believe he is a truly aggressive gelding, he is a big sweetheart and was never like this when I worked with him at home.
He needs a quiet space and we will give him that. Also - he is on a treatment round of Ulcergard and aloe water as the second week he was here I was concerned about the same thing. It would’ve been really weird if he hadn’t gotten stress ulcers from the changes.
Thanks again for the replies.
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Good on you for realizing things were going awry and for listening to sage advice. And for hearing what this horse was telling you. Best wishes with your new project horse.
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Tumors can make horses aggressive, out of character.
I’d definitely push for a thorough exam with bloodwork to rule things out.
Especially if you work there summers.
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I agree that you do whatever needs doing to make the horse back off. What I was saying was that in many of the scenarios the OP is describing, the horse is acting aggressive due to the punishment which seems to be exclusive use of the whip. In most every situation.
Horses don’t bluff.
Definitely a job for a professional. Not a school project.
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I am SO GLAD and relieved to hear this! I was afraid for both you and the horse, in that situation. Best wishes to you with your new horse project, and well done with the ulcer treatment early on!!
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Eh, him aggressively coming into the center of a lunge circle, getting driven out forcefully, then doubling down by coming in again… that deserved whatever he got. Screw that.
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Again I agree. The problem is that obviously the punishment is not delivered correctly and that is the problem and probably the reason he is aggressive in most of his handling situations.
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This kind of experience can ruin your confidence forever. It happened to me. Send him back. Your future is more important than his!
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I got my current horse as a very angry 4 yo of the track. I had a background in AQHA at the time that gave me a very similar approach to ground manners. The second day I had him he crowded me and I got in his face to drive him off me and he came at me with his mouth open. I stopped and he stopped and we stared at each other for a minute while I decided whether or not I wanted to die over this.
I decided in that moment to try quietly explaining what I wanted from him first, and fall back on the Battle to the Death if necessary.
I quietly asked him to back up, made a fuss when he did, led him forward, and repeated. In the future any time he crowded me, I backed him up quietly. He never came at me again, and backing up and walking forward quietly over and over again became an important reset button for him when he got tense.
I still have him 14 years later. That’s not to say I never had to get sharp with him, but backing off and trying a different approach in that moment de-escalated a very dangerous situation, and opened communication with this horse in a way that a CTJ could not have.
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It was the second day you had him.
Not the case for op.
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Adding what you experienced @TBKite was very likely Track Manners.
All sorts of BS is tolerated because “it shows spirit”
I learned this at a Derby Day party held by the trainer who sold me my OTTB.
Another trainer showed up with one hand bandaged. A filly she had in training had bitten her finger off. I was 
, she was thrilled the filly “showed spirit”. 
My own TB was never cuddly & would snap at me until I taught him humans are Teeth Off! until I’d had him 20yrs. Even then, he’d attempt a nuzzle & we’d look at each other like “You sure?”
TB are not generally stoopid, you showed your guy there was another way.
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That’s true. This one showed a lot of defensiveness and resentment in a lot of other ways, unlike another I had from the same trainer who was cocky and cheeky and full of himself. The cheeky one thrived at the track and had a long career. The angry one visibly quit in every one of his five starts.
Just wanted to update this thread if anyone is still following it. I found the gelding the BEST possible home for him. I called up the sire’s owner and asked him if he would be interested and now he is in the process of buying him. Off to Florida he goes. A very happy ending for him. I know he’ll be taken care of like a KING there.
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So good to hear. Most horses in the United States that are sold to amateurs that are never intended for breeding are gelded by 2 years old or even as young as 1.5 yrs old. As a breeder and a rider of young horses, that makes no sense to me.
What you described was typical stallion behavior. Once a horse is gelded after breeding (or even if never bred, after hitting puberty) they can get aggressive if they are forced into social isolation in a new place and under exercised (cough, your typical American boarding or training stable. There are plenty of lovely well mannered stallions. But there are some stallions and geldings that become aggressive like this, usually it is due to human mismanagement and fear.
I’m so glad this horse went home, that he is being sold back to his breeder, and glad you are safe.
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Good to hear he got that soft landing. Good on you for looking out for his best interests.
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Just now seeing this thread. In the original post, when i read that the gelding had been sent to a cowboy for intensive training it reminded me of my big molly. She had the most promising start to life. Intentionally bred on a big cattle ranch, impeccably trained and sold for big bucks to a woman in the midwest. Who was out-muled by her. And sent her to a cowboy trainer. She came back with scars on her pasterns… Things went south from there. Two homes later and two MORE cowboys later (mule experts both) she landed here. I was told she was unrideable, and that she’d just as soon kick you / bite you as look at you. Been two years now. She approaches me with such deference it almost makes me cry. I don’t ride her, i think she has kissing spine from the looks of her…and i have more than enough rideables. I just wanted to give her a safe place. She is grateful. She gets ear scratches, i brush her occasionally, give her a carrot bit every once in a while and she lives free in a large pasture with another mule and a bunch of horses. She has a HUGE divit in her side, looks like a crushed rib or something. Some day i’ll trailer her to MIZZOU and have some xrays done. She moves soundly, but i am curious about her bones…
These rough damn cowboys really can do a number on a horse. They are so effin macho about it all, and not every animal can take that pressure. Some are sensitive souls and need a soft glove.
I am so glad this gelding got to a better place. I wish him long life and happiness… poor guy.
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Define “cowboy” trainer!
It’s starting to bug me more and more how this term is used…I live in a very Western area, and the genuine cowboys who train produce really nice horses. Most horses it seems who go out, go to a Western trainer first for their start, then if the are destined for the English world, they move on…
There are good and bad in every form and type, bad trainers are just that, bad, and that’s what we should call them… 
Long live Cowboys, the good genuine ones…
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I had one break my horses face. A very sensitive TB who had anxiety issues before. Now he has a huge lump between his eyes and a severed tear duct to his left eye; after two years is finally getting over his psychological injuries suffered at this “trainer’s” hands. For a while you couldn’t even put your hand up to scratch his ears or neck without him flying backward, a horse you could shoe while he stood ground tied now has to be sedated.
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