The Gelding Life

 

The horses step away from the bale often to play and otherwise interact with each other. They do this both at the Homestead and in Chugwater. They stop eating to play, nap, drink, and graze. The mares rarely play, other than a few of the yearlings and two-year-olds. Most of the rough housing is from the geldings, both young and old. Just a bit ago, 17-year-old Cody initiated play with coming 2-year-old Cal. They ripped around for quite a while, having a blast. All of the herds, big or small, have complex social interactions. 

We often hear that mares are the ones that are hard to own. Because we both breed and rehome, we get a lot of mares. They have, by far, been the easiest of the genders to have. Before I start on our experiences with geldings, I want to say that the significant majority of geldings have been great to have, even if they do tend to be more playful. We've had more geldings tear apart the facility playing with tank heaters, feeders, gates, fences, etc. We've also had more than one gelding pick fights or bully other geldings or mares. Some geldings cross the line between play and go into aggression toward their herd mates. Four geldings in our history have run other horses through the fence. That is not a large percentage, by any means, but it was a problem, nonetheless.

Geldings seem to be more playful, and a rare few tend to be herd aggressive whether they live with only geldings or in a mixed herd. A few geldings have mounted and penetrated mares, as well. Yes, we checked testosterone levels to make sure that they were indeed fully gelded with normal hormone levels. Luckily, this is not a common problem. It is not uncommon, however, for some geldings to become possessive or show stallion-like behavior if they are near the breeding pen during breeding season. Because of this, we do keep the geldings away from the breeding pen.

All of that being said, the
vast majority of geldings are easy to have and cause little drama. Most of the geldings are kind and playful, which are great traits to have. The mares do tend to be less interested in play as they get older.

Ultimately, it all comes down to preference. I have my collection of what I consider personal horses, which include two stallions, two mares, and three geldings. A good horse is a good horse.

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