Hi Everyone, wondering if you’ve experienced this and what your thoughts are. My 27 year old gelding gets an erection and air humps while being shod. He’s always been a bit “studly”. He squeals and prances for other horses, winnies like crazy and is very dominant in the pasture, but the only time I see this overt stallion behavior is while he’s being shod. Have you experienced this or have any thoughts as to why he’s doing this?
thanks!
Lots of geldings retain some studly behaviour and can show it when challenged by other male horses or around mares.
My boy does that often when I curry his rump! I just figure, well, he is enjoying himself…
I see lots of geriatric (male) horses who drop when they are shod, because they either have neck arthritis or some sort of back issue. Holding up the hind end is difficult for them and they tend to drop (usually to a side). I’ve seen many people misinterpret that.
This is what I originally thought until he started air humping today. It was very obvious and no way it was mistaken pain. He also did it with every foot. My poor farrier (who is also my husband lol)
Can’t help with your query but just wanted to add that I feel your embarrassment. My gelding had his doodle cleaned during a dental and while the vet was checking for beans he started thrusting in her hands. I was so embarrassed!
Poor OP - at least you are only embarrassed in front of your husband! Ohhhh, studly - BAD horse.
(Makes me glad I have mares 😆, though I’ve also owned geldings - luckily they have never done this…One of my students had a horse who would drop if you looked at him, though, and was very, Er, “busy” with his manhood. He had the cleanest penis I ever saw on a gelding!)
My gelding drops out his penis whenever I do any clicker training with him. I clicker trained him to stand still when I say “Stand,” because he was sometimes tricky to mount. It worked well - he stands very nicely when I have to mount him. However, because I clicker trained that behaviour, he drops out his penis when I mount him. It probably looks very weird (my husband saw and asked how my horse walks with five legs), but the horse retracts after we start walking around. He doesn’t ‘air hump,’ or display any studly behaviour when I work with him, so I don’t worry about it. He IS studly in the pasture with mixed groups of horses. He was put in with two fillies (two year olds, I think) at his boarding stable (although I wrote in his file I’d prefer he not be put with mares). However, I let that go because he was fine with the fillies. I could take him away from them without him getting sour about it. Then the stable then put a gelding in there. That did not work out - my horse (gelding) would drive the other gelding to the back of the paddock if he got near the fillies. Because the fillies are always around the hay, the new gelding couldn’t eat. He was put in another pen.
Anyway, it could be that the muscles this horse uses when standing three-footed cause his penis to drop down, which activates the neural pathway that causes the humping motions.
I also did some reading and it’s not uncommon for geldings trained with food to drop their donks out while being trained. Was your horse trained with food to hold his feet up?
https://thehorse.com/17521/geldings-that-drop-during-training/
Sorry, multiple post.
Well, my studly gelding is pretty good when being shod because I sedate him with Dormosedan. Otherwise, he drops while being groomed, when he knows he’s getting a carrot and in the wash rack when I’m using warm water. And when I hose his face which he seems to hate but drops every time. Cleaning his sheath/cleaning beans is never an issue.
Not good behavior for your farrier. I suggest reinforcing that he has to STAND for the farrier and not be studly. He’s in working mode with your farrier, not in his pleasure or dominance mode. He has to behave. Even breeding stallions can behave for the farrier. I know, I’ve held breeding stallions for the farrier and I reinforce that they simply stand calmly for the farrier, and they do. Penis or no, reproductive behaviour with a farrier is never acceptable. Show your horses the way, he seems confused;
Repost!
Sorry for the multiple posts, I can’t seem to edit or delete them!
My husband is our farrier so we are both working hard to curb this behavior! lol He used to stand perfectly still for the farrier, but he was barefoot for 15 years before I took over his care. The first few times he was shod we had no problem besides him dropping, but the last two times he’s done this. He’s always been studly in the pasture, but never while being handled. We are huge proponents of teaching our horses to stand calm for the farrier, it’s crazy how many people expect farriers to deal with unruly horses!
Can’t help with your query but just wanted to add that I feel your embarrassment. My gelding had his doodle cleaned during a dental and while the vet was checking for beans he started thrusting in her hands. I was so embarrassed!
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