Horse people please!!

[Bec]

OK, so we have had Heather, our new mare, separated from the boys for 3 days now. We got her on Sunday. In the morning when everyone is turned out, my one gelding does NOTHING but pace up and down the fence line yelling and screeming for her. She walks away, eats and visits with the neighbors horses and isn't really overly concerned about what he thinks. My other gelding really could care less, he just stands there and eats his hay. Will my boy every settle down?
I think part of the problem may be that she has come into season, so I will have to wait until that is done, but how long will that be? I have never had a mare beofre, so I know nothing about any of that.
I didn't think this would be that stressful....

 

[birdnutz]

The mare will cycle every 21 days and be in season for (I think) 14 days. the gelding should settle down fairly soon. But then again every horse is different. It took my gelding a couple of weeks.

 

[reallemons1]

Agreed, all horses are different, but a couple weeks and she should be old news.

 

[Mule Chick]

Yep, I'd give it a few weeks. Most likely he'll settle down. That's why alot of people don't like to have mares in their strings. The mares are fine, but they turn the geldings into idiots!

 

[EllyMae]

I've seen that behavior too. My gelding is an exception and has no interest in mares, period, lol. His one true love is his hay rack, treats, and green pasture.

 

[Bec]

Ok. He will settle down for a few minutes but then if she walks away that is just it..he goes crazy! I was planning on keeping the separated for a few weeks anyway, but was just hoping the boys would do their thing and she would do hers...after about 5 hours of this, everything is pretty much sttled, it is just in the morning.
Does Pal going crazy have anything to do with when in his life he was gelded? I don't know when he was, but he raced for 11 years according to the old owner. I have already emailed him and asked when he was gelded, but havent heard back.

 

[patandchickens]

It is unlikely to have anything to do with when he was gelded (and if he raced for 11 yrs, he was surely not gelded particularly late). Some (I would say "a considerable number of") geldings are just like that.

Ignore people who tell you he was 'proud cut' (they accidentally left part of the testicular tissue in), either -- this is a common myth and there is really no veterinary evidence I know of to support the idea that it occurs or accounts for studly behavior in geldings. Some guys just stay horny even without lotsa testosterone.

It is probably as much that she's NEW as that she's in heat

Be aware that some geldings will mount a mare in heat (or try to), and sometimes will ahem even complete the reproductive act minus the technicality of sperm. Though relatively rare, these shenanigans are not ideal for the health of either parties (you risk infections in the mare, and kick injuries to the gelding). So you will want to keep an eye on them once they're *together* and she goes back into heat, on the VERY UNLIKELY offchance that you may need to reconsider keeping them together.

More than likely it is just a passing thing, though. And once you put them in the same paddock, if that's what you're eventually planning, it may take some months before things really settle down. That's just the way it is when adding a new horse, especially one of the opposite gender. I really wouldn't worry about it other than keeping an eye on the proceedings.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[Bec]

Thank You...I just took a nice deep breath. That made me feel so much better.
So worst case scenario for the future is I will have to keep them apart when she is in heat?
Before I got Pal he was basically a babysitter for yearlings and 2 year olds. I know there were little fillys out there with him, so I am really hoping that this is all just because it is new.
Thanks everyone for helping me through all this!! This is my first time even though I have had horses for the past 20 years. This is the first time I personally had to deal with this..I always boarded before 3 years ago when we moved here.

 

[lorieMN]

one option you can look into is birth control implants on your mare.here they run about 150$ and last for about one season( spring,summer,fall)and they will not come in to heat or you could look into getting her spayed as that would put a permanant end to her cycle,but may not change his behaviour a ton,he may be just one of those that fall in love..another thing about the proud cut,it does happen tho usually it is when a testical hasnt dropped and is too far up in the horse to be gotten,they are usually sterile anyway from the body heat on the sperm,but those horses will still act stupid..

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Not in any way arguing, just commenting -- the usual name for that is 'cryptorchid' or 'ridgling'.

As a teenager I trained and showed a horse who had been bought out West by the barn owner's old Irish horse trader father. "Pops" used to like to come up to where I was waiting to go into the ring, and in a loud LOUD storytelling voice (boldface here indicates the highest decibel parts) tell the wonderful tale of how "when I bought him, Flip had only one ball down. Yes he did, only one ball. So the price was good. And we brought him back here. And then the other ball dropped. And so we cut off that other ball, we did, and here he is, no balls at all."

Boy does that ever make the hunter-ring folks turn and stare at ya

Anyhow I very much suspect that Bec's horse is normal, just "being a horse"

Pat