personality change

[ericavuc]

I have a 10 year old palomino gelding mini. We have owned how for 3 years now. He was kept by himself by the previous owner and so we decided to also keep him by himself. Our other horses are able to interact with him through their paddocks but that is about it. He has been great since we have gotten him- i use him for lead lining my 2 year old daughter and my 6 year old niece would also ride him. However, ever since we have sold my arabian gelding- he has turned into a different horse. He is aggressive and mean. He will buck when i try to put any kid on him. He lunges at me when i lunge him and try’s biting constantly. I have been working with him constantly trying to get my sweet, gentle pony back but i am at a loss

 

[Taz]

Oh no. It's really hard to say what's going on but it could be selling your other horse. It sounds like there was a dynamic between them that's missing. Have you tried letting one of the other horses in with him, or letting him out with them? He might need the security of having them around or he could need to have them tell him he's not in charge, it's really hard to know. Personality changes like this are normally either a sign of emotional distress or physical pain. I'd have a vet go over him to be safe and do some relationship building work with him.

 

[ericavuc]

thank you for your input!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Wow, that took you by surprise. Any way you could bring the sold horse back for a day to see if the personality reverts? Then you will know that was the cause. But that seems a drastic change, for sure.

 

[MajorClementine]

May be ulcers due to stress.

 

[Abby P]

Yes, I agree with the suggestion of ulcers - it's worth checking out anyway.

 

[Maryann at MiniV]

Since you have already seen that the change in your gelding is probably related to his friend suddenly being gone. I think you need to address that. He is expressing himself the only way he can and obviously blames you. He is looking for companionship. Perhaps you should let him be with the others and see how he interacts. (In other words, I agree with Taz.)
Let us know how it goes!

 

[Cayuse]

My first thought was ulcers, too. Easy enough to give a short course of med and see if he improves in a few days.

 

[ericavuc]

thank you all so much! do ulcers typically cause that drastic of a change in personality? it seems like he has somehow bonded with my mare. she is as mean as they come! her and the gelding she is in the paddock with co exist but she bullies him a lot. when i take our mini out she goes crazy. this was never the case before when our gelding that was sold was around. I feel like the dynamics amongst all the horses has changed so much since selling our arab gelding. but i will defiantly check on the ulcers. is the vet able to check on these?

i am nervous to let him out with the mare as she has caused serious injuries on some of our bigger horses in the past. i may try letting him out with the docile other gelding?

 

[JFNM miniatures]

Yes, The vet can check the horse for ulcers, you should call your vet and ask him. There are different ways to check for ulcers. Like endoscopy ( aka. gastroscopy) or fecal blood test...

Ulcers can be quite painful and the affected horse will usually be more anxious or nervous and will have trouble being handled on the belly. One sign is that the horse will be difficult to handle when you girth them or brush them. But there are other symptoms as well... maybe you should research those to see...

I understand how you feel about herd dynamics... it's not always easy... I'd see which horse he seems to get along most with... and make a decision based on that... I think he needs a companion, even if he used to live alone in the past.