Gelding Behavior Around Mares

Question
We purchased a 4 yr old horse from an auction.  He was gelded, but we do not know when/age.  He still acts like a stallion around mares. Should I have his testosterone levels checked?  Is he too old to "regeld" if necessary? & will it do any good at this age?  Please advise.

Answer
HI Beverly,

Thanks for your question.

There are many possibilities, but the most likely scenarios are:

1. He was gelded correctly but only recently so he still acts like a stallion (this may wear off in time)

2. He was gelded but retained a testicle.  This is called a rig.  It often happens that a colt will retain a testicle and this can sometimes be missed during the gelding process (I personally can't understand why this happens - he has two if you don't snip two then he isn't gelded!!)

3. He was gelded correctly and is just one of those boys that retains his instincts.

If it's scenario 1 then the symptoms could disappear with time.  If he's only been gelded recently it could take some time for the 'feelings' to wear off.  Similarly, if he had served mares before he was gelded, it could take much longer for the feelings to go away.  He should resume normal gelding behaviour in 6 -12mths.

If it's scenario 2 then the vet will need to perform various tests to see if he is still producing testosterone and if so, he will need to be regelded.  This can be done at any age with no ill effects.

There are many geldings who despite missing important areas of their anatomy still think they are super stallions.  This usually is limited to getting a bit 'showy' around mares and showing mating behaviour (although they rarely mount mares).  This often happens with horses that were gelded late or had served mares before being gelded.  Usually this behaviour is just annoying and doesn't hold any risk to humans or other horses and it's perfectly safe to paddock such geldings with mares and other geldings.

It really depends on the individual horse.  Some do retain the territorial instinct and will not tolerate other geldings in their paddocks.

What to do really depends on your circumstances.  If he's just being annoying and not doing anything detrimental to humans or other horses then you could just leave him and see if he settles down.  This would be my suggestion if finances are a bit tight.

If it's a bit more serious you will need to call the vet to draw blood for tests.  This is the only way to know for sure.  If he is a 'rig' he will need to be regelded, apart from feeling a bit sore and sorry for himself he should suffer no longlasting sideffects.

Good luck!