Once a rig always a rig??

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packwood

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My horse who is five was a rig when I bought him. He was gelded properly in April and I have just started putting him with the mares. He was fine until today for some reason he attacked one of them. The vet (yes, it was a bad attack - he really meant it) says they always have riggy tendencies and should never be put with mares. What have other people done?
 
We have two on our yard which are rigs and cant go out with other horses. I think it is safe to say once a rig always a rig. I would not like to risk it anyway.
 
By rig presumably you are talking about a cryptorchid? I had a crypto colt operated on a year ago as he had one hidden testicle. I kept him away from my mares for a few months and then he moved back into a mixed herd. He's fine, never had any trouble from him, although he was born here so maybe that made a difference. Same with my stallion when I gelded him. First year after gelding he made moves to mount mares but he's rather lazy so never fulfilled the act. The following year and every one thereafter he's just like any other gelding and very easy going.
 
My friend had a rig a few years ago, he was very aggressive to other horses and a nightmare to handle. He was successfully operated on and turned into a 'normal' and very docile gelding within a few weeks, it wasn't long before he was being 'uncle' to a couple of weanlings!. I guess it will always depend on the individual horse.
 
Pharaoh was a rig (10cm testicle removed!) and he was operated on age 5. He was never aggressive to mares as such, just very protective of them and would go for anything (except me!) that went near them. With tack on he was fine, just danced a bit but it took 2 years before he was ok with mares and that's because he went in with a brilliant mare that was very dominant and put him in his place. After that he must have decided that they actually weren't that much fun and completely changed. However he was always lead in a bridle (unless a 'know it all' handled him - and they always suffered) as he had learnt to get away in a head collar when he was a rig but having it on really helped keep him in check. I think a lot does depend on the temperament or the horses though. A friend of mine loaned one that was also a rig but again had been re-castrated but he was never safe to go out with any other horse.
 
We have a pony who we suspected was a rig, but after testing it was negative. He does however have all the tendencies, always squealing striking out at his gelding field buddies, would never put him with a mare :eek:

Sometimes one of the others will annoy him, and you'll see him bucking, squealing and kicking his way backwards across the field, with none of the other horses anyway near him - think he's just weird! :D
 
I had a highland pony on loan who was extremely riggy. He was fine with a few mares in a paddock, put a gelding in the next field and he would break through the fence to beat them up to protect his mares.

The vet who gelded him said it was done very late and that he definitely wasn't a rig....he just had it in his head he was a stallion.
 
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