Gelding behavior

Question
My arabian/saddlebreed is 5 years old. He was gelded in November 2005 and had an infection from this per the previous owner. They were training him with the Monty Roberts method.  I attended training seesions before I bought him.  He was doing very well, personality was friendly, etc..  I moved him to a large farm with good pastures and stalls.  He was put into a pasture with 2-male minis (previously he was in a pasture with his sire and another gelding).  He gets along great with the mini's.  1st poblem - He hates the vet who came to check him over when I moved him.  She went into his stall and he freaked even with a curb chain on his gums which I did not approve of.  Since then she has been back for another horse and I was told he was upset with her being inthe barn.  The fisrt visit I was there for and she did nothing to him except invade his stall space.  Now he is very nervous in and around his stall.  He was also headshy but we had him to the point where we could rub his ears take halter off & on but now he freaks ove this also.  i think someone may have slapped him or did something to him recently in the last few weeks for him to turn back to being headshy.
2nd problem - He was moved into a pasture with other geldings and a mare.  The mare had to be moved becasue she was getting beat up on but they were not sure by who, there was recently another new gelding brought in so they thought maybe it was him.  NowI am told that my horse is the problem.  He was seen facing off to the other horses, challenging them to come at him.  He is showing stallion behavior. I am not sure what is going on.
He is a good horse.  We lundge him for 20-25 minutes before working with him and he is fine.  I am able to touch his face, ears, halter, etc... He is not under saddle yet.  We are still working on ground training and I think it is going well.
I really want to keep this horse.  But I am afraid he will be asked to leave this farm if I can't curb his behavior towards other geldings.
I thought once a horse is gelded they stop being so aggressive. It is possible he is encripted and need to see the vet again?
Thank you, Shelia

Answer
Hi Shelia,

I personally own Arabians and a Saddlebred and I have also worked with many of these such crosses. They are generally very smart and highly intune with their enviroment. Not always a good thing. These common traits can make them difficult to work with. He is also a difficult age. When a horse turns five it is like a boy turning fifteen. You are no longer dealing with a young horse that can be simply managed.

1st problem: I am not interested in whether your horse "likes" your current vet. I am interested in why he is being disrespectful and acting out toward a human he obviously feels threatened by. ( i.e. the vet in this instance ) A gum shank is not out of order when it comes down to your horse being managable while treated. It does sound like you may be at the point where physical restraint is no longer working and I would recommend sedating him for the next vet visit. He is 99 percent a fully formed horse at the age of five. He has decided that the vet is a bad thing and most likely you will not change his mind. For his saftey and the saftey of thoses working with him, sedate him. It does not make him a bad horse. Just one that does not like the vet period.


2nd problem: How your horse chooses to treat other horses you have no control over. You can only train and augment his behavior to humans. It is impossible to attempt to "explain" to him that he must play nice with others. The only real thing you can do is try him with horses of different temperment or simply turn him out by himself.

He has been gelded long enough for any residual horomones to have left his system. Now, you are simply seeing his true personality. If you have any medical questions or worries you need to have a vet look at him. ( under sedation )

I am not worried or convinced he is a "bad" horse. I am truly worried that he is five years of age and has yet to be under saddle.

To be a responsible and caring horse owner you must give him the best start in his riding life. I strongly recommend a professional trainer in your area to work with him. He needs to be broke to saddle within the next 6 to 8 months or else you will have big training issues that may turn him into a"bad" horse.

Good Luck, Be careful and remember to always wear an ASTM/SEI approved helmet!

Solange