Herd dynamics, stallion?

We knew that when the Thew's horses arrived there would be a new group dynamic for the herd as the horses determined their new pecking order. We were however a little surprised at how things turned out. Read on for the rest of the story .....

In the first week since the Thew's mares arrived we had two breakouts from the pasture. In all the time we have had Morgan and Spirit there have been zero breakouts. Nobody was hurt or injured in the breakouts. (the electric fence has been working well, it's fairly easy to repair, the horses generally respect it, nobody gets hurt).

Then on Saturday morning I was outside with John and we observed Morgan mating with Nellie out in the field. More than once. Morgan is supposed to be fixed, a gelding, so we had not expected this behavior. Ah, farm life. Facts of life discussion with the kids.

So, in the next couple of days Kia also came into heat and Morgan was observed mating with both mares. Morgan was also observed keeping Spirit away from the mares.

So, we now know why we had the breakouts, Morgan chased Spirit away and he went through the fence.

Next, why was our gelding Morgan acting like this? We called the vet, searched online, talked to people... Meanwhile John and Mary are hoping for baby horses and of course already have names picked out.

Debby scheduled an appointment to have the vet come out to the farm today to give the horses their shots, give them a checkup, float their teeth, and to see what's up with Morgan. The vet determined that the horses are in very good health. The vet said that Morgan was not properly gelded, someone had done a poor job in the past and that she would need to operate on Morgan to correct the situation. Debby said that the vet did a wonderful job, and that she and the kids watched/assisted during the procedure.

Morgan woke up from his surgery and is doing fine but will have to remain in the barn for two days. The horses don't like to be separated, they are neighing to one another.

If we did not have the surgery performed Morgan would be considered a stallion and we would legally be required to keep him behind two six foot tall fences (and our insurance would probably go up). The vet said that Morgan's temperament should improve although he has really not been that bad. Spirit is such a friendly curious fun guy, it will be nice if Morgan becomes a little more friendly. Morgan is definitely a little aloof, shy, standoffish.

The vet said it is possible that the mares are pregnant, we will just have to wait and see. We need to have a follow-up with the vet in a month or two for a blood test for Morgan.

If you've been reading this blog for a while you might remember that I went to the emergency room on Christmas day 2008 after falling off of Morgan, now I can claim that I was riding a stallion!