Colt behavior -ok or need to geld asap

[Hilary]

I have a colt who by virtue of a bunch of oddball circumstances is still intact at 18 months. Until now he has shown no indication he has any idea about testosterone but now twice while grooming he has dropped and yesterday he began to look, erm, a bit excited. I stopped grooming (had been brushing his tail) and took him for a walk and he put it away and we did some walk/halt/turn pay attention to the handler. He isn’t otherwise acting studdy.

My my question is do I need to get him gelded like tomorrow or can I wait until the wound he sustained a couple of weeks ago has fully healed. That was one of the oddball circumstances. Is the grooming arousal kind of normal for this age or is it an indicator that the hormones are about to arrive full force?

[JB]

My geldings will often drop and become a little erect while enjoying a good grooming. I wouldn’t read anything into that, if it’s just that.

Just stay on top of impeccable behavior, don’t make a big deal of anything he does with his penis, a redirect (like you did) is never a bad idea

[Arlomine]

This is no big deal. My gelding loves his grooming sessions and will drop, become erect, and sometimes slap his belly. I don’t care at all. Why should I?

[cayuse]

Nothing to be concerned about. My thee geldings do the same. I have one little exhibitionist that just likes to “hang out” where ever he is. Grazing? Yup. Grooming? Yup. Halter Classes? Yup. Sleeping? Yup. It’s just him.

[Hilary]

Thank you for the reassurances! I had a gelding several years ago who frequently showed his appreciation for grooming, massages etc in this manner but my current 2 are very shy and just want to make sure I’m not making a mistake here with the little guy.

[Jumper37]

We have a very well bred now current two turning three year old which we decided to geld - as during the spring of his two old year he began to become very aggressive with the other geldings and colts in his paddock. At 18 mos he was fine - but when spring hit and the Broodmares on the farm were foaling (even though at a large distance), once he started to feel his oats, he seemed to continue dominance. We decided to geld as we decided his overall life of not being to very aroused at shows and the like would be better. In addition, better for grooms and rider - at least our thoughts. We did however collect him for 14 days, then gelded. The semen quality was not powerful, but we have many lifetimes of ICSI doses. In the end, we believed we could do all three positives - use his future breeding with the collections, eliminate the potential of crazy as best possible, and give him and everyone a more enjoyable experience.

[Daventry]

I have to agree with what everyone else has said. Stallions and geldings will often drop while being groomed. It is a sign that they are happy and relaxed and shouldn’t be anything to worry about.

We own stallions and also manage stallions for other owners. Kathy St. Martin from Equine-Reproduction.com LLC gave me some excellent advice many years ago - school the behavior, not the penis. Basically, if they have dropped but are standing quietly and are relaxed, I ignore what is happening down below. They are animals. If they have dropped their penis and are exhibiting “breeding” behavior at the same time, then we reprimand the behavior.

[crosscreeksh]

@JB

My geldings will often drop and become a little erect while enjoying a good grooming. I wouldn’t read anything into that, if it’s just that.

Just stay on top of impeccable behavior, don’t make a big deal of anything he does with his penis, a redirect (like you did) is never a bad idea

I wouldn’t be worried about your colt…as long as he isn’t “rank”…he’s just growing up!!

My 22 year old (previously abused) TB gelding does the same thing!! He also does it after a good ride/schooling…guess he’s glad he survived another human contact…I’ve only had him for 10 years!! Maybe he feels safe and happy!!

[SilverDragon]

he is just being a horse lol! my friends two geldings do the same.