I have a Haflinger cross gelding, who is eight years old. I’ve owned him since he was four days old. He’s been with other horses his entire life on 24/7 pasture. Any time I take one of the other horses out to ride or do anything with them, he races around the pasture calling the entire time until we return, regardless of how many other horses are still with him, or who I take out. He’s been this way his whole life, and I think he may have learned it from my old pony gelding who I sold 5 years ago, but I had before I bought my current gelding. The older pony did the same exact thing his whole life as well. Both were gelded around 6-7 months, so no cryptorchidism. My gelding is great to handle, and goes off alone just fine. Is there any specific reason he behaves this way? I’ve tried starting with just a few minutes of another horse being gone and building up to longer periods, with no change. No mare I’ve ever owned has ever cared if I pulled another horse out, nor have any other geldings I’ve owned. Just these two geldings. Could it just be a learned behavior at this point since he was with the older gelding for the first three years of his life?
It doesn’t really matter if it’s learned or not at this point. The question is whether you need to fix it to manage your horses safely and if so, how. If it doesn’t interfere with using your horses, maybe you can just let him have his quirk?
It isn’t a learned behavior. It just goes along with the individual horses personality. If you own enough horses you will eventually have one of these.
I had horses for 30+ years before I got my first separation anxiety nightmare in 2010. She is extremely dedicated at having a major melt down every time but we live with it.
Nobody is in danger from the behavior, I was just wondering if it was more a gelding thing than a mare thing, and if anyone had any thoughts on it.
I’ve owned over a dozen horses so far in my life, and handle several friends horses, and the only ones I’ve ever seen get so worked up over another horse being removed was my two geldings. It’s odd how their personalities are so intense, while others who seem just as rambunctious, just don’t care about another horse being removed.
I have just 3 geldings at home, and 2 are quite bonded as they are our driving pair. I do ride as well, so at times take one out into the barn to get ready etc and that leaves 2 in the paddock. Usually one of the pair (our older guy at 12) calls every couple of minutes at the top of his lungs but doesnt run around. Just screams and screams until we come out to ride (they can see each other when I’m riding as the paddock is right beside the riding ring). He then will scream when I go back to the barn when I untack and stops as soon as I come back out to turn his brother back out with him.
The one I’m riding oddly enough never calls back when they are alone in the barn and seem quite relaxed. The younger of the pair (8 year old) seems fairly chill and if I happen to ride the 12 year old, he only calls once in a while, if ever. And again the 12 year old when in the barn never calls back or makes a peep. Its quite odd!
When we take the pair to a show and put them in their stalls, which are always side by side, the 12 year old has a mini meltdown for 30 mins or so screaming at the top of his lungs calling for his brother. He settles very quickly after that though, but he does this every time at every show. And his 8 year old brother never makes a sound beside him. I wish he would nicker back!! But heaven forbid I take one of the ponies outside of their stalls at a show without the other. Then either of them have meltdowns. Doesnt matter how many other horses are around them, they have to be in close contact away at shows all the time.
I’ve never had mares before, but they seem to be more confidant and don’t care quite as much to be alone. That’s what I’ve noticed at least at the barns I’ve been to or with my in laws brood mares etc. But of course there’s always the exception. But I also find the bonding trait a little closer with geldings.
My mares do not agree that this is a gelding thing. My mares say that friends that have left are the cause of many a mental breakdown. Even very visible over the fence friends = freak out. Friends must be touchable at all times.
This is a good example of correlation not being the same as causation.
OP, you just happened to have two horses, who both happened to be geldings, who happened to overlap in their time with you, who get very worried when the herd changes/someone leaves.
There is no such thing as “learned behavior” in horses. There is ALWAYS a REASON why the horse opts to choose a particular “behavior” to communicate something. Some “behaviors”, especially those borne out of stress, can become compulsory to the point that even when the stressor is removed or rectified, the horse still displays the “behavior”. In this case, the stressor is the removal of a herd member: some horses are extremely sensitive to changes in herd dynamics and will get worried when someone leaves, is shifted to a new paddock, etc. It has everything to do with the horse’s own sense of safety: some are totally fine being alone, some get attached to certain horses, and some - like your two geldings - are more sensitive the herd as a whole. I find these individuals also tend to be worriers in general.
There is very little you can do to directly address this issue because it tends to be borne out of a deeper insecurity. You can, over time, address the horse’s deeper insecurities in your handling and work with them and it can resolve this sort of issue, but so long as the horse isn’t a danger to himself or others when you remove another horse, I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
I had one mare who absolutely lost her mind when we took our other horses out for a trail ride. She’d run the fence the entire time and work herself up into such a state I was surprised she didn’t colic. One time we came home and she came trotting out of the barn, she had knocked down the fence to her paddock and ran to the barn across the yard and just stayed there until we came home. I started boarding her shortly afterward as I was tired of fixing fences when she ran through them. She eventually mellowed right out and realized life didn’t end if one horse left it’s paddock. I sure do miss her, what a pistol she was.
In my case it is a mare bonded to my other mare. She is perfect in every other way really.
This makes so much sense, and I’m not sure why the thought never crossed my mind before. He’s always been quite keen on establishing everyone’s place in the herd if a new member is introduced. He’s chased horses through fences in the past (on loan to a friend) because he wasn’t separated long enough before being turned out with them. Usually he will chase new horses around to establish dominance, so I guess his reactions to horses leaving would connect to the fact that he needs to know exactly where his herd is.
Same here when next door moves their foals that Sim had been watching over every day. Sigh.
He would react for 3 days. I had to get hubby to hold him as I could not, when he usually stands still with no halter. This would happen each year that happened.
I went to a trail ride and John Chatterton was there, he said instead of trying to hold him, leave him loose and pull and release when he misbehaves. This is with the lead rope through a halter with circles not squares and up behind the jaw.
I did that and to start with it seemed to be useless but at least he wasn’t getting away from me like when I was trying to hold him. Afterwards I was able to lead him in a paddock which was a plus.
With the next session he put his head down and grazed instead of cantering for 3 days. Fast forward and many years later we hardly notice when the foals are moved. He might have a bit more energy being tacked however you are able to tack him and ride, which was impossible without two people before the pull and release method and we have not needed to use the pull and release method on him for years. Somehow that worked mentally on him and was not needed again.
