Hormone problems in geldings? And calmers....

Sol

Sol

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Just a random question, can geldings - not rigs - have hormone problems??


Also, can anyone recommend a calmer to try? Have tried Magic and it didn't make any difference at all. Not sure what else to try!


Thanks.

(sorry if I don't reply, on holiday as of tonight but will read when I'm home!)
 
Do you mean can horses that are properly castrated show "stallion like" behaviour in their dealings with other horses? Yes, sure. They do still produce a small amount of testosterone naturally and in some cases there are learned behaviours that continue. I had one that was definitely not a rig (examined and blood tested) who not only reacted to mares in season and other stallions as if he were entire, but other horses reacted to him as a stallion. Like many geldings, everything "worked" and when we briefly turned him out with a mare in an attempt to keep him in the field, he "bred" her as soon as she came into season. It's rare for a gelding to be that "fully operational" but it happens. (Horses mount each other for "social" reasons as well - this was not the same thing, trust me. ;) )

Behaviour, particularly towards humans and other horses while under human control, is a different matter. There is no reason a well trained and properly managed stallion should misbehave. I had trouble with the above gelding a few times due to interaction with in season mares and other stallions but that was because I didn't know what I was doing and how to properly manage that horse. I have seen some very "studdy" stallions who are quite tricky to handle when they're wound up but I'd class that as management as much as anything and don't know of any geldings that behave in that extreme a fashion, in part because, of course, they wouldn't be breeding.

I guess it is possible for some sort of tumour to affect hormone levels significantly enough to produce a noticeable change in behaviour, but I've never personally heard of that happening.
 
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