Shawn is getting gelded

So, tomorrow Shawn is getting gelded as he is too aggressive as a stallion. It's unfortunate as we wanted to breed him, but we can't afford to have a dangerous horse.

How did we come to this decision you ask?

Let's start with what he did last week. Our beagle, Cody loves to greet Sidekick (our other stallion), when I go out to feed. Well, he ran into the paddock to give Sidekick a kiss, when Shawn charged him (Cody), and bit him on his back. I was shocked as Cody cried out and ran over to me. Thankfully, the bite didn't break the skin, but Cody was sore for a while.

About an hour later, I was grooming Shawn, and he snapped at me. I decided I'd halter him, and work with him; to work on his attitude, but he bolted. For some reason he decided to take out his anger on Chance (who he'd started bullying), and chased him around. I tried to get them separated, but he cornered Chance, causing him (Chance) to flip over, and get injured. I ran into the house to get my dad, so he could get Shawn away from Chance, who was limping slightly after getting to his feet.
Shawn charged dad a few times, attempting to kick and bite him, but he managed to put him in what we're now referring to as the stud pen. We examined Chance, and found that he had a minor cut on his left hind leg. He was guarding it, and it was swollen. We let Sidekick and Chance into the pasture, while we added a few boards to the stud pen; making sure Shawn couldn't get out.

Luckily, Chance didn't need any vet wrap on his leg, and I've been applying SWAT on it. The swelling is pretty much gone, but he's still a little sore. Shawn is trying to make us forgive him; and not geld him lol. He knows he's in big trouble. Sidekick and Chance seem to be happy that he's unable to bother them.

Yep, he tried to bully Sidekick; unfortunately that didn't work out well for him. Sidekick is the boss, even with Chance (they're inseparable). He quickly put Shawn in his place.

So, as you can tell Shawn needs to be gelded, as he's unsafe for the animals and us.

Here's a few pictures of him. Yes, we fully realize he's a butterball. The boy is a pig even though we have him on a diet. Once he's recovered from being gelded, we'll start more ground training with him. That should get his weight down a bit, and give him some actual muscle.




The pictures were taken in February before his attitude problems started. Sidekick is the dark bay in the second photo, and Chance is the light grey/white in the others.
Ignore the cinder blocks, bricks, etc. Those are slowly being picked up, and the horses generally avoid that area. The paddock is quite large so they have plenty of room.

Wish Shawn luck with his surgery.

Miniatures!!!! ♥ It's a good thing he's not any bigger, or he would've hurt you, your dad, the dog, or Chance even worse!

Though, it might not be such a good thing, as Mini studs think they're bigger than they are!

GTGDSVFYWHESBYFRHGYEMINIIIIIII

As I'm reading this I thought he was a fully grown horse >.

@Feathered: Yeah, he is very bossy, and overall not the sweetheart he started as. We had originally considered selling him, before deciding to geld him first. As we still really love him. Hopefully, he'll improve his attitude once he's recovered from surgery. We bought Chance in I want to say 2002, and he was an extremely aggressive stallion. He nearly killed one of our other stallions through the fence. We had him gelded, and two days later he was a complete and total sweetheart. He still is, and I do tricks with him.
Sidekick is a laid back and chill stallion; who loves people, dogs, other horses, everything. He especially adores kids, and let's toddlers get on him for pictures and short rides. He's never had any formal training to be ridden. So, it goes to show he's just super calm. I do in hand jumping with him.

@Gemini: lol nope, but a Mini can be just as dangerous as a fully grown horse. I managed to get kicked last month by him, and boy did it hurt. Of course, it didn't hurt as bad as our 14.3 hh drafty Haflinger, Mack kicking me. But, Mack did it on accident lol.

Shawn will also be turning two in May.

Oh, and Copper did help out with herding Shawn into the stud pen. Which was interesting to watch as he adores the horses. Here's the proof.

^Chance not so fond of his daily routine of licking him right on the mouth. But, I think he secretly likes Copper lol.