“Gelded three times”!
OW! Did they find something to remove every time??
How long has he been at the new barn, because I bought a horse last winter and was very impressed with how calm he was when I took him away from the other horses. Trouble is, it didn’t last, and while he’s not as herd bound as some, he’s not okay with being separated anymore. All of mine (6) are herd bound to some degree.
What may help is to have someone with another horse increase separation just to the point of him showing a tiny bit of stress, and doing that distance until there is no reaction. Then increase the distance and repeat. Then take the other horse halfway out of site and return. Then all the way out of site for a second or two and then return. Then increase the time out of sight little by little until your horse shows no concern.
Then do it all over again with a different second horse. The process should go much faster the second time around.
Don’t set a timeframe on it. Let your horse’s emotions and sense of security set the pace. Keep his focus on you by giving him varying simple exercises to do.
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He’s been there about 10 days but the owners say he’s only maniacally herdbound when he’s turned out with other horses. So I hope he stays calm!
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So do I except it is a late teenaged mare!
She has definitely gotten worse with age:eek: We let her melt down, we tie her and try not to let it inhibit my activities with my mare. I just got a youngster so I am hoping having him tied nearby will help her settle.
I am sure you will work it out with your gelding. Good luck.
I have this horse. He wants other horses near but not too near. Often lost his mind when showing either in the warm up (too many, too close) or if we survived that, heaven help me when the rider before me left the arena if he could not see the other horses in the warm up. I learned never to show the last day of the show when everyone was packing up and heading home. I tried many things, worked with several very good trainers, finally I gave up taking him places and bought another horse. It was just too hard/dangerous. He is wonderful at home as long as he has an end stall with a submissive gelding next door, I am very careful and manage his personal bubble. I adore him, so I have decided to enjoy him for who he is. Not everyone has the luxury to add another horse to the mix, I am very lucky (as is he, that I adore him and work around his quirks).
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Just wanted to say, I’m loving the stories and feedback because this is my horse! He’s herdbound, and a screamer. If his fieldmate is taken away he runs and cries. If I take him out, he calls out in the barn, and in the ring, and constantly. Horse he likes comes into the ring? Scream. No one comes in? Scream. Someone in the ring leaves? Oooohhh the yells. And yes, he can whinny and squeal at a canter, or while doing a lovely shoulder-in. He’s probably the most fun horse I’ve ever ridden, and I can deal with his tantrums (he has a buck and wiggle in him!) but my goodness he’s loud. So I’m definitely enjoying everyone’s advice and input!
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I have a 30 year old like this. Any horse on the property is brought in he starts calling, no matter how many friends he still has. He can be brought in alone to work (he is ridden very lightly to help keep him mobile), but loses his … composure… if another horse comes or goes.
I try to ignore the noise and concentrate on getting answers to my aids, not letting him change the subject. It worked on my other horse, though he was young. I doubt my old guy is going to change much.
First time he was assumed to be a monorchid, vet only saw one testicle and removed it. Horse was still really studdy after my friend bought him, so different vet went in and found some suspicious looking tissue and took that out. Horse was better, but spring rolled around and he started wanting to go after other horses/his reflection/etc. He was turned out in the indoor for exercise on an icy day, saw his reflection in the observation window, and went THROUGH it into the tack room, trying to get the ‘other horse’. It didn’t help that he was a Percheron and therefore huge.
Owner had a vet friend out who was ‘old school’ and willing to look outside the box. This vet laid the horse completely down and out, stuck his hand in and started looking. He found an underdeveloped ‘remnant’ testicle up by the horse’s kidneys and took it out. Within a few weeks–normal horse.
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I have had this horse. He was hypervigilant and very reactive. He still is, to some degree.
Years ago, I worked with a NH trainer who taught him basic groundwork skills and exercises to focus to the handler.
Even now, when my 11 year old freaks out (and he does), he always responds to “routine” groundwork exercises because he knows them, and I can get his brain back to me. ETA: I came off the other day when pasture horses galloped up to a gate and he sunk and bolted. He has seen horses in that pasture for coming 7 years. 7 years. Seven years.
He also gets freaked when his run-in mate (separate pastures, same run-in) gets removed, even when she is removed to graze right in front of him! She went from here…to there… AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I use what he considers to be routine groundwork exercises to get his brain back on me when I’m there. It works. If I’m not there, he runs the fenceline despite his other neighbors and I consider this as “self-exercise”. The most important thing for me is that when I go to catch him and handle him, his attention is on me. He’s a very spooky and hypervigilant horse - punishing him means nothing - I work with his brain to redirect his thought process. THAT has worked wonders.
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Your horse likely lacks the confidence to be alone. These horses tend to have anxiety, low self esteem, etc. I know, that all sounds crazy, they are just a horse, right? I have a horse like this that I dealt with when we first bought him and he is now a dream to ride. I was told once to let him win the small battles. I didn’t understand that at first. But it was explained that this type of horse thinks he is always wrong. The only safe/comfortable place is with other horses. I started letting him win the small battles and it did really help him. Also, agree with above, look into Warwick Schiller. He has some great video’s on youtube that helped me out a bunch. He has one video of round pen work with a warmblood. After doing what he did for several days my horse completely changed his behavior. I still go back to that basic groundwork that Warwick Schiller talks about and I really can’t believe the change in my horse. Good luck, it’s frustrating dealing with these types of horses.
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“It could tell you if he was actually a ridgling. I have a friend who had a horse that was gelded 3 times :eek:
He was registered and branded Westfalen and taken to a keuring in Germany when he was young. He was not gelded until 5 or 6 (I can’t find out). I’m fairly certain he would not have been imported to the US as a stallion, if he only had one obvious testicle. That established, I guess I could have his hormone levels checked. Certainly no harm in finding out.
Warwick Schiller, as other natural horsemanship folks on line that I looked up, said “there’s not much you can do.” Not in so many words, but that was the gist. All of them then showed exercises to do with young horses. That’s wonderful. I would if I had a 3 year old exhibiting this behavior. Again, he’s 17. He’s not attached to any specific horse, that’s the really frustrating part. As long as he can see ANY other horse, he seems OK. But away at shows/clinics, etc., he’s nervous and very vocal. He has had substantial ground work done and he’s just wonderful at it. Terrific in the round pen, at liberty too.
No Grand Prix Yet - you describe something similar that I recently came upon and thought to try. It’s the only thing I haven’t tried. Thank you all! This is interesting, especially about the cryptorchidism.
