Suddenly "romantic" gelding

[Luseride]

Gelding, 13, have owned for over a year and a half. Has turnout with one mare and is stalled while other horses are turned out, four mares and two geldings. He hangs out with his pasture mate but really pays her no attention.

About two months ago he started displaying stallion like behaviors when a mare was being ridden in the the ring, which is in the turnout field. This has progressively gotten worse. Yesterday he was going around the ring trying to follow the mare I was riding. I would move to the inside to avoid him and keep her focused.

I will begin stalling him while working any of my mares but thought it was strange that there is this change in behavior. I have wondered if he might have been used as a stud before being gelded but that does not explain the change in behaviors.

Any insight?

[JB]

Vet.

I’d be testing for PPID first, and it’s the perfect time of year to do the ACTH test if you’re in the northern hemisphere

[Alterration]

@JB

I’d be testing for PPID first, and it’s the perfect time of year to do the ACTH test if you’re in the northern hemisphere

Wait, this can be connected to Stallion-like behaviors? Tell me more!

[JB]

It’s probably not common, but PPID is a hormone-disruption disease, and he’s at the age where the risk of PPID starts going up pretty decently. Usually PPID makes horses quieter, lower energy, but occasionally it can amp one up

This article looked at testosterone levels in healthy and PPD mares and geldings, and both went up with PPID, with geldings having a higher deviation range as well as rising a higher mean % from normal

Dysregulation of Cortisol Metabolism in Equine Pituitary Pars Intermedia...

[mikeyscott]

@Luseride

Gelding, 13, have owned for over a year and a half. Has turnout with one mare and is stalled while other horses are turned out, four mares and two geldings. He hangs out with his pasture mate but really pays her no attention.

About two months ago he started displaying stallion like behaviors when a mare was being ridden in the the ring, which is in the turnout field. This has progressively gotten worse. Yesterday he was going around the ring trying to follow the mare I was riding. I would move to the inside to avoid him and keep her focused.

I will begin stalling him while working any of my mares but thought it was strange that there is this change in behavior. I have wondered if he might have been used as a stud before being gelded but that does not explain the change in behaviors.

Any insight?

It is rather strange that your gelding behaves like a stallion all of a sudden! Perhaps he’s got a big surge of hormones, this can happen if a horse was gelded when it was very young. It may be due to the presence of mares that are in the heat close by. Or maybe, he’s just plain lazy and is craving for some attention from people around him. If he is not really interested with his pasture mate then he might be looking for something new such as the mare being ridden. It is advisable to stall him when you are around your mares but there is also an option of keeping him busier probably through providing the puppies with puzzle toys and other exercises.

[Demerara_Stables]

Is it multiple mares? Has he changed with the one he’s turned out with? Has it been all the time for two months or could it be just when they’re in season? Also what exactly is he doing that makes it seem like stallion behavior?

[hoopoe]

interesting article. It is certainly something to consider. I wonder , too, if the mare had changes could he trigger behaviors in a normal gelding?

I would start with a check up for your gelding with blood and urine check.

[SusanO]

I will say my companion pony gelding gets a little studdy acting with his girlfriend in the Spring and Fall. But I think it is because she goes into transitional heats at this time of year and she is more hormonal with him - thus his behavior. He has Cushings but I don’t think that has anything to do with it - if she would leave him alone I don’t think he would be reacting to her. He isn’t very “bad” but definitely more interested in her.

[Luseride]

More of a focus on one mare but will respond to some of the others. He ignores the mare he has turnout with, even when she is in heat. He will snort and blow, get an erection, and prance around “talking” when the ones that have a different turnout time are visible to him.

[Jealoushe]

Interested to follow this as I have a friend struggling with this too. Her normally very quiet and behaved gelding has become crazy like a stallion over mares. Can’t stand in cross ties, she can’t ride him, he can’t even really be turned out a lot because he runs the fence lines screaming and if out with horses he’s trying to mount them.

She did testosterone tests and tonnes of other stuff and nothing has come up so far. She’s really devastated at this point and feels like she’s lost her best friend.

[CanteringCarrot]

When it gets this dramatic, it always makes me wonder if it’s something in the brain. No idea if a tumor somewhere would cause this, but still produce test “normal” when it comes testosterone levels.

I’m not saying your friends horse has a brain tumor, but when there’s a seemingly irreversible change in character, it makes me wonder.

[Jealoushe]

That was my suggestion too but I guess her vet thinks that’s really unlikely. She’s trying more tests before going in for a brain scan, if she even will do that because of $$$.

[Luseride]

There may be hope for her. Mine was totally different today thankfully. I will still put him up for lessons this evening while we are using several mares but he was fine when I was working some this morning. Stayed away and ignored us.