stallion attacking child

[mydaddysjag]

Eagle,

Please dont take this the wrong way, but if your not using him as a stallion, why not geld him and then let him live with the mares who arent out with the other stallion? He would still have the mares for company, no risk of those sorrel pinto foals, AND he would likely settle down a bit. I would bet the new stallion has him "asserting" his territory a bit, and that might be why he did what he did. Geldings make awesome kids horses, or horses for anyone really. I love geldings, If its not a gelding when it gets here, it is not long after, lol. As a matter of a fact, there will be a bit of snipping going on here in a few weeks.

 

[gatorbait4sure]

I too own multiple stallions and do not fully trust any of them ( although i'd love to ) ....but I am trying to piece the things that are happening together...and look for reasons for his behaviour. But until he "tells" us what is going on we may never know.....

1. He was majorly sick recently, and lost weight.....Ulcers? Our horses work off their stomachs. He may be prone to ulcers for the rest of his life, and that would make him unsettled if something was brewing.

2. When he recoverd from his illness he hated your dog ( read this small live being)....Could he possibly be seeing your son as another small live being?

3. A new stallion has come into his space. He may be trying to protect ALL his space now, from anything he may "See" as competition.

Just a few thoughts from the heat of Cape Cod.....

 

[RhineStone]

I am a bit old fashioned. I was raised on a farm (cattle) and was taught to NEVER trust a bull. We knew people who treated their bulls like pets, and also knew people who were seriously injured by their pet bulls.

I love my stallions. I have selected them in large part for their kind gentle nature. I have NEVER had a serious issue with any of my stallions, but I never FULLY trust them. They are stallions.

I have known of people who were killed by bulls. It is generally recognized that dairy breed bulls are more aggressive than beef bulls.

What I was asking is why has he changed? I wasn't expecting people to attack or criticize me as a mother or a horse owner.

I don't see anyone attacking or criticizing. I see people giving the actual truth about stallions. What has changed? It could be the stallion's age, the child's age or growing testerone levels, or some of the other ideas that have been offered. I don't care how "sweet" a stallion is. As long as he has testacles between his legs, even I wouldn't trust myself "letting down" around him. Heck, there are even some mini mares that I wouldn't trust around my 9 yr. old son. Unfortunately, he has been "dropped kicked" by aggressive mares who I then put the fear of God in afterwards.

Apparently, they weren't well established in the herd hierarchy with people as the "boss mares", yet.

I don't want Eagle upset and I was really hoping that someone could give me the magic answer to make him happy again.

I stopped using Eagle as he nearly always always reproduces sorrel pinto's which is the only colour that I don't like, but because he is 12 years old and always so good with my son I would never sell him on. I think I will just get rid of the new stallion and put him back with the girls.

Magic answer? Cut the stud and turn him out with the girls. A lot of stallions are not very happy just given their circumstances of having to live a solitary life. Good stallions make great geldings. We have a 17 yr. old former stud that we cut a couple of years ago who is much happier being in the herd instead of by himself. I can trust anyone with him now.

 

[ohmt]

I think he was probably upset about something and took it out on your son-probably not even realizing who it was, just acting. Could be any number of things. Was your son playing with the dog before the incident by chance?

Hugs to you and your son. It's always a traumatizing event when something like this happens.

 

[Marty]

This sounds to me a situation of territoriality. Brought on by the presence of the new stallion. Suddenly Eagle is feeling the need to defend what little he feels is left, in his mind, its his stall. Eagle feels he no longer rules the roost and he does not like that and wants to show everyone he wants his position back. He's proving his dominance.

When I brought a new stallion onto this place my sweet Nick did the opposite: he sulked and was depressed. When the new stallion did not work out and I sold him, Nick was back to his happy self. They are all different. Instead of getting depressed, Eagle got PO'd and is letting everyone know in the only way he knows how.

I'm so sorry about your little boy.

 

[shelia]

I know how heartbreaking this is for you and Alby. I am so glad that he was not badly hurt. It is a hard lesson for a child, but it will help him to realize that there are dangers involved when dealing with animals. We love our animals and want to think they have the same feelings we do.

I remember when I had my colts together and they loved each other and would get very upset if I had to take one out for even a minute. They eventually started playing pretty rough with each other. One day I decided to give each one his own little pasture and was just going to try it out for a few minutes. after about ten minutes I put them back together. They then tried to kill each other!! They drew blood! I had to quickly separate them again. They can never be together again. It is so hard to understand how they grew up together and loved each other, then suddenly would kill. Their brains are wired differently than ours. They work on instincts. Killing something does not mean the same thing to them as it does to us. To them it is not wrong. We have to accept that.

Bringing the other stallion in and giving him the mares may have triggered his instinct for survival. I don't know if you can ever unopen that door. gelding may help. Giving him a mare of his own may help.

It could have been because he wasn't wearing a shirt, or it could have been just because he was small. My stallions will go after anything smaller than them. My cats aren't very smart and I lose some of them someday to the stallions. I can't train the stallions to leave them alone.

 

[Lizzie]

I'm so sorry to hear your son was hurt by his buddy Eagle. However, as others have said, it is not safe to allow small children around horses regardless of sex. Things go wrong and sometimes with the most surprising horses, whom we have trusted for years.

If I read your messages correctly, you have three stallions on the property. Eagle, your new stallion and a yearling colt, who is also well of an age to breed at this point. Definitely geld Eagle, since you obviously don't like the foals he has produced. Decide between the other two, which one you like best and geld the other. Since you have children and they obviously bring friends to visit, you don't want to risk another accident or it could end up in a big law suit.

When I showed dogs and horses, I almost always had more boys than girls. I just prefer the boys. However, they are a big responsibility and one can never let one's guard down. I'm sure it will be a lot less stressful for you, once the two boys are gelded and it will also make your new stallion a happier fellow, since he will have no competition.

I do think that stallions should be trained to respect space from an early age, and also be given a job to do. ie. something other than just breeding. Trained animals always seem to have more sense of responsibility, plus learning that they are not at the top of the family situation. My daughter purchased a yearling colt a few years ago. He was put with her old gelding, until he proved he might be breeding quality. She had only had him for a couple of weeks and was cleaning his feed bowl, when he came from behind and bit her leg quite badly. Her old gelding stepped in immediately and removed the colt to the corner of the corral and held him there. Geldings are wonderful creatures. And no, the colt was never bred. Temperament is extremely important, regardless of sex.

Lizzie

 

[Eagle]

Thanks Marty, that sounds like it could just be the right answer. I was thinking of bringing home to the house for a little chill out time, what do you think? would this help or upset him even more.

There are no horses at the house.

 

[disneyhorse]

This is how even a stallion with the best temperament can act. This is why stallions are NOT appropriate for children. Ever.

I feel strongly about kids and animals... it is a relationship that must be carefully monitored, no matter how gentle the dog/cat/horse/whatever may be normally.

I'm sorry your little boy got hurt, I hope he's okay emotionally, too. But please, stallions and kids don't mix.

Andrea

 

[Hosscrazy]

I think Sue summed it up perfectly. Stallions are exactly that - stallions. They are not pets or toys. We have a few full size studs and we handle them differently than we would the geldings or mares. No criticism at all, but I do not put my face anywhere near our stud's faces.

Best wishes,

Liz

 

[Eagle]

Shelia, that made a lot of sense. thank you

 

[2minis4us]

That's really scary for a kid, and YOU. If you do not want to use him for breeding right there is your answer - geld him. Hormones are raging this time of year and bringing another stallion in probably upset him. He ruled the roost and now he has competition. Makes sense.

 

[chandab]

So sorry your son was hurt and scared by Eagle.

 

[Ashley]

Well if I had any horse that attacked like that, mare, stallion or gelding they would be a dead horse. Just like if my dog were to bite my kid that dog would be a gonner as well.

That said, he may not change so be prepared for that. I know of a horse that was like that except towards adults as well. The horse never changed and could never be trusted around anybody.

 

[ruffian]

Thanks Marty, that sounds like it could just be the right answer. I was thinking of bringing home to the house for a little chill out time, what do you think? would this help or upset him even more.

There are no horses at the house.

Absolutely not - this could make him even worse. He is already missing his mares, and to not have ANY contact could make him unmanageable. I agree with others - if you aren't using him for breeding, and don't want to sell him, gelding him is the answer.

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

I'm so sorry this has happened. Everyone is traumatized by it - you, your son and also probalby Eagle. Eagle has had so many changes lately and maybe he's just mad, irritated, sad or all three. Maybe he doesn't feel well physically. Maybe it was a one-time thing that will never happen again or maybe it's the new norm. Either way, it's not his fault and he is only being an animal - loving and beautiful, but unpredictable.

Again, I'm sorry.

 

[Melinda Dean]

I am so sorry you and your family are going through this.

No matter what the future holds for your stallion, you will never trust him again.

I notice that many folks are commenting on geldings being safer. I agree... up to a point.

My Welsh pony gelding was great with kids, then one day, lunged over the stall door, missed biting my 12 yr. old granddaughter on her collar bone by a fraction of an inch. I was right there, 12 feet further down the aisle talking to her and saw the entire thing. She did nothing wrong.... except she had just spent time playing with our mini while the Welsh had been stalled, so as not to crowd in for attention in the paddock. Was he jealous? Who knows. I backed him into the corner just by looking over the stall door at him. He understood that much, that the boss was mad.

Did I punish him? Why? The damage was done. I could not trust him again, as I have children visit my barn, always with tons of supervision. After drying her tears and trying to explain she had done nothing wrong, I told her that I was going to send Pedro to a nice farm, with plenty of pastures, and with a big Boss Mare, to teach him his manners again. Luckily, I was able to do this, and he is considered one of the farms best driving ponies. But no children are ever allowed near him. He has never threatened to bite in the 4 yrs. since. I loved him dearly and cried off and on for a long time. I still miss driving him, but .... he had to go.

Even geldings are still horses, unpredictable at all times. We often forget this because they can be almost perfect, most of the time.

 

[Reijel's Mom]

It is hard to put things in perspective anytime our children are hurt. But the reality is, sometimes horses can slip up and treat us humans like other horses. It really wouldn't have been a big deal if Eagle had rushed another horse the way he did your little boy. He has no way to know that he could have very seriously hurt him, he was just being a horse.

I think, that no matter what changes you make to try and make him happy, this could happen again. Because - it could with ANY horse. Gelding him (which I would strongly consider) would probably decrease the chance of it happening again, but it could still happen.

Not bashing here at all - this was a scary learning experience, that is for sure. My toddler moved too quick for me the other day and she could have been hurt by some of the minis. I was right there, but not quite close enough. Thank God nothing happened. But it could have.

 

[bannerminis]

So sorry to hear that Renee and hope little Alby will be ok. It must be so hard for you too and I can only imagine the guilt.

I hope that you can resolve it and who knows what was going through Eagles head at the time but does sound like he has had a lot of change going on that he is trying to deal with.

Maybe having him as a gelding would be win win for all of you especially if he is not been used for covering mares anymore.

 

[Marty]

I would not take Eagle away from his herd at all. He "needs" them, his friends and his band of mares around him. What he does not need is a change of scenery alone without the horses he loves. He is "established" there and its his place and space that has been invaded. That is what has got him all so out of sorts in my humble opinion. I think if the other stallion were removed or at least in another barn or section of your place and out of his site, he'd get back to his old self. He is seeing that other stallion as a constant thorn in his side. Its competition and jealousy and he does not appreciate it.