Gelding obsessed with mares

[jellybean95]

Hi everyone

Just after a bit of advice really, my 5yr old gelding is starting to become obsessed with mares, over winter he was stabled next to and in a field next to mares and wasn't bothered at all however since he moved onto his summer field he is becoming a nightmare. As soon as i turn him out he bolts down to the bottom of the field to stick his head over the hedge to see the mares next door, he walks up and down the hedge all day just whinnying and watching them he separates from them fine to come in however if one of them happens to be riding at the same time as me he is impossible, he literally plants himself near to them in the menage and wont move more than 10ft away Took him show jumping last night and one of the mares which he is most attached too came in the same lorry and he was absolutely fine to be around her and didnt shout for her when separated or anything. As long as they arent in the actual menage together he isnt bothered. Loosing the will to live as its becoming impossible to ride.. is moving him to a field away from them the answer? although hes always going to be in reach of at least one herd of mares wherever i put him Any supplements i can give him to remind him he isn't a stallion?? TIA

[gillwales]

I wonder if he was correctly gelded. Hormones in an entire rise in spring to ensure they are ready for mating. Ask your Vet to check him, a blood test should detect any testosterone present, which if he has been gelded properly should be absent. Do be careful as his behaviour could get worse if this is the case.

[jellybean95]

Thanks gill wales, ill get onto the vet. Out of interest if it came back that he wasn't gelded correctly can this be treated/resolved?

[sarahp]

If he was a genuine rig, ie they'd tried to geld him and left a testicle internally it would as far as I know need an op to find and remove it - not cheap! But the blood test would tell you. If left, the internal testicle can cause worsening behaviour and turn cancerous. Sorry, not good news I know. You don't say how long you've had him - is this his first summer with you? If late gelded they can take some time to turn into what we think of as a true gelding behaviourwise, they may have learned stallion behaviour to get out of the system.

[jellybean95]

Had him since December but he was on the same yard as me before that however i doubt i would have noticed last spring when he wasn't mine. I think he was gelded as a 3 yr old, will get him checked anyway and hope for the best. Thankyou Sarahp.

[gillwales]

May 17, 2018 14:18:33 GMT jellybean95 said:

Thanks gill wales, ill get onto the vet. Out of interest if it came back that he wasn't gelded correctly can this be treated/resolved?

It is something you will need to talk about with your Vet, The term is called a proud gelding where tissue that can create testosterone is left behind, a rig is where some of the tubes are left in place. Take it one step at a time, I doubt it will be an easy procedure and I suspect he will have to be knocked out, be warned having gelded several stallions who have worked, you need to get them through a winter before you see results, and I do not care what a Vet tells you. Did you have him gelded or was he already done when you got him? It might be worthwhile looking into his history to find out how old he was when he was gelded and by whom, if nothing else there should be a record and there might be something helpful in them. Please be very careful with him until this is fixed, however lovely a horse is this can suddenly change them when they become frustrated. Make certain you have 3rd party insurance. Keep other people away from him. Better to be safe than sorry.

If any Vet left a testicle inside I would sue them as this would be negligent unless they have a record of informing the owner in which case that person should have advised you when you bought him. I had the most beautiful little horse who failed to drop a testicle so we could not licence him, it cost me over a thousand pounds to geld him and that was 13 years ago now, he had one wrapped around his intestine. He however went on and qualified several times for HOYS and RHIS.

[jellybean95]

Thanks gillwales, some very useful information there. Fingers crossed

[sarahp]

I always understood, but perhaps I'm wrong, in that it was very bad practice for a vet to remove just one testicle, leaving the whereabouts of the other unknown to cause trouble, but he/she should check there are two there before beginning the op in the first place! Certainly the vets I've used always have but I've never had a colt that could not be gelded normally given time for them to mature, lucky perhaps having been breeding for over 40 years!

[jellybean95]

He was from gorse bridge in ireland, came over as a gelded four year old so ill have to do some tracing back to work out when and where he was gelded. Hes been vetted, surely something would have shown up in that?! Bit worrying

[sarahp]

I shouldn't think so - how would it if the only sign is behavioural? Blood testing for testosterone isn't routine in a vetting, and nothing would show on the outside. No point getting ahead of yourself though, talk to your vet, have a blood test done and go from there.

[catkin]

When he is turned out does he have any company in the field with him ie. is he lacking that so looking next door? We've never separated geldings from mares in fields. Perhaps doing this is exacerbating the issue? Just a thought

[gillwales]

In this instant I would avoid putting him in with mares, he could get nasty to other horses or humans, especially if a mare was in season. I have seen mares hounded so keep him by himself. Once fully sorted he should be ok to got out with anything after the winter

[jellybean95]

Thanks for the advice, he’s turned out with geldings as it’s a yard rule that they are split and isn’t my choice but I agree gillwales that he isn’t safe to be with mares right now anyway! Will just have to wait and see

[sjw87]

I have a gelding who I've had since a 2yo. I bought him already gelded and over the years (he's 11 now) he has lived in a mixed herd and been fine with all the mares except one; He would pester her and even mount her.

He was blood tested and was not a rig so there was nothing the vet could do.
You can give mare supplements including regumate though to riggy geldings which can help.

I sold the mare in question as she never grew big enough for me and my boy hasn't been over interested in any other mares since.

[jellybean95]

May 20, 2018 16:36:25 GMT sjw87 said:

I have a gelding who I've had since a 2yo. I bought him already gelded and over the years (he's 11 now) he has lived in a mixed herd and been fine with all the mares except one; He would pester her and even mount her.

He was blood tested and was not a rig so there was nothing the vet could do.
You can give mare supplements including regumate though to riggy geldings which can help.

I sold the mare in question as she never grew big enough for me and my boy hasn't been over interested in any other mares since.

Im sure this is similar to my situation, i wondered if there was anything i could feed to help. Ill ask the vet about it when they come out, thanks.