Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've got one gelding, a very rapid (but sweet) little guy. Our second horse is going to be dead broke, whatever it is, and it has to be very calm. We want one that's going to teach him to calm down, or at least set the example. What would be best, a second gelding, or a mare? I've heard all kinds of things. It depends on the individual horse, or mares are very uppity and flakey, or a mare would be good to calm him down, or a mare would be bad because this and that, blah blah blah. Does it really even matter what sex it is, or should I aim for one over the other and simply focus on the personality of the horse? Any suggestions or experiences? Thanks!

I would think it depends on the horse, but here's something to think about.....all my mares shove, bite, tease and boss my geldings around . Even the mares that are lower on the pecking order. Especially when they are in estrus. Some can get really nasty at that time. In my experience geldings are better mannered and tempermented in general. Not so schitzoid like some mares can get when in heat.

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PH Cody
HorseHobbyist Site Coordinator

We found our gal. Her name is Lacy and she's as sweet as can be. You should have seen Pistol when he first laid eyes on her. I walked him out of the barn and she was a good 200 yards away. His eyes widened, his ears went straight forward, his head raised straight up, and he PRANCED the whole way up to her. You think show horses have it down to a fine art? You should've seen what this guy was up to!!! Love at first sight I SWEAR it! I turned him loose so he could check her out, he sniffed her face, he sniffed her flank, and of course he sniffed her butt. He sniffed her flank some more so she swatted him with her tail and it scared him, but soon he stopped sniffing and started eating grass and she joined him. They LOVE each other! We turn them loose in the field and just let them wander the property. They became inseperable the first day... well sort of. She doesn't mind going off by herself at all, but I tried to leave him in his stall to go ride her and my GOD did that make him mad!!! If I had left him in there he would've either torn the barn down or hurt himself. So I let him loose while I rode around and they did great. He of course had to eat and run along with us, and sometimes just followed behind her like a puppy, and other times he ate a spot until we passed by him and got a certain distance away, then he'd run over to us, bucking and kicking and showing off, just to slow down about 30 feet away and graze again until he decided it was time to catch up. He got so excited at one point that he couldn't help but start rolling. And Lacy handled this BEAUTIFULLY! She didn't even flinch when he charged by us or got very close (sniffing again). The most she did was talk to him when he decided us silly girls weren't intersting anymore, and grazing was more fun, so we got really far away and he couldn't see us because the barn was in the way so he called to her, she called back, and he came a'galloping!

They're a funny little couple. They were both the pushovers of their herds. He was a pushover because he's a little 14.2 baby and he was always with bigger horses who pushed him around. She's a 15.1 150 lbs underweight gal and we figured out why. She eats veeeery slow, and she was kept in the pasture, so obviously everyone was coming over and eating her food up. Not to mention the grass quality was not what you would call wonderful. I hate it when people don't take care of their paddocks!!! Horses aren't pigs, they don't live in mud lots! Mmph! Anyhow, as I was saying, it's funny because he's trying to be the boss, and being a bit of a snot about it. He's tried to take grass out of her mouth, and at one point she neighed and kicked in the air to make him stop, which scared the crap out of him and it worked. He also tried to push her head out of the water trough, and when he realized he couldn't, he tried to bite the trough and pull it away! Needless to say that didn't work... And he also pushed his way into her stall when i wasn't looking and tried to take her food, again she neighed and kicked which again scared him. She's so funny, she obviously likes him. They run around together and don't get more than maybe 15 feet apart when grazing and that's rare. It's usually more like maybe 1-5 feet apart. He wants to be big boss man, but she doesn't even notice him if I lead him away. She just goes about her business ever so relaxed. However, if I lead her away, he comes following like a puppy!

Ahhh, horsies. My only problem now is that Pistol has decided he's going to be a little snotball, and has decided to act even more jumpy than usual! I don't know what to do with him. Now that we have found the love of his life, how am I supposed to go do ANYTHING with her without making him nearly KILL HIMSELF? As I said, she goes right along with me without a care in the world, just as sweet and serene as can be. He, on the other, neighs, kicks, bucks, rolls, screams, shakes his head, rears, absolute panic attack. What am I gonna do? I didn't trot or canter her because I didn't want Pistol getting too excited and trying to run with us and getting me into something I didn't wanna be in (like a race for those trees over there! WEE!) I also don't want to leave him locked up because he gets soooooooooooo upset! Talk about seperation anxiety!

OK...I'd say I don't mean to scare you but in truth, sounds like you need to be...this is a VERY dangerous situation that you are putting yourself in.

You need to find a safe enclosure to keep him in while you are riding her. He either needs a stout stall or a small paddock that he can not shove through or go over. I've found that round ring panels work well for this and if he's small, you can get away with making a 4 panel "stall" with them. With my stud, I had to use at least 6 or he could push them over, but he was a good 16.1 and stout as an ox. If he throws a fit - he'll get over it. Honest. Just like babies getting weaned get over their temper tantrums. He needs to learn to deal with life without the mare right beside him at all times, or not only is he going to get worse about being possessive with her while you work with her, it will also make it much harder for you to work with him.

Letting him run along beside you puts you in danger. He could kick back at the mare and either cause her to do something that gets you thrown or he could kick or strike you. Trust me, I've taken a kick to the knee before in a much more controled environment when a rider passed too close to me and my horse, and its not pleasant! It is never safe to ride with a lose horse running around you, and even more dangerous when he's already proven that he's quiet willing to try to throw his weight around and boss the mare a bit.

You need to make time to work with each horse by themselves, not with the other horse. And when working with them, you should insist on their attention. If he's dancing around calling for her, he's NOT paying attention to you or where you are and things will end up with you getting hurt. Face it, even when they are small horses they are significantly bigger than us! If he neighs, give him a firm "NO" and make him back several steps until he's paying attention. At first, you will have to do this A LOT because he's gotten away with not paying attention, but he'll come around. Its the same method we use with our stallions that we take to shows and expect to stand quietly...it works, just takes persistance and patience. Do the same with the mare, though she sounds like she's got a bit more sense and won't take as many reminders!

When he's out in the pasture with her, that's when he can be a horse When he's being worked, or she's being worked, they need to remember that they aren't out in the pasture!
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PH Cody
HorseHobbyist Site Coordinator

Well we're leaving him in the stall when I ride her these days, except today. Today I tried to ride him and that ended HORRIBLY. He acted like he'd never seen tack before, he clenched his muscles so tight you could see them, like it was going to hurt more than anything in the world. It gets better... Dad was holding him so I could mount. The second I got on he reared, trampled dad, and I fell off. I am going to murder this horse, I know it... I had to get on Lacy to go catch him because he decided to wander off into the portion of field with some woods. Thankfully he followed us out, but that had the potential to be a great big pain in the butt. At least the mare pays no attention to him. I can tell he's going to be a problem horse...

It's really not a surprise that he acts that way about the saddle, consider that the last times he had the saddle on him he was in a whole lot of pain and it puts his behavior into perspective.

You're going to have to start with the basics again with him and reteach him that the saddle won't hurt him. This will also help build the trust back up between you.

Get a really good book and/or videos on starting young horses and treat him like a 2 year old that's never been saddled...go from there. It will make a world of difference!
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PH Cody
HorseHobbyist Site Coordinator