So, a friend recently had a 6 year old stallion gelded. The horse only bred 1 mare.
Her husband told me that the testosterone is in his muscles and the best way to get rid of it quickly is to work him hard and sweat it out.
I never heard of this, but also never gelded at such a late age. Is this true or just an old wives’ tale?
Not sounding very credible. It is true that he could be fertile for a while after gelding, but in order to be useful that testosterone won’t be in his muscles. :winkgrin:
From an article by the AAEP - "Semen remains in the horse’s accessory sex glands and the portion of the vas deferens not removed during surgery. There is usually enough present for one ejaculation. Therefore, gelded mature horses should be quarantined from mares for 14 to 30 days post-surgery."
Thanks, Mary Lou, I knew about the semen, but the testosterone thing had me wondering.
Testosterone is a steroid hormone, which means that it will remain around longer than a peptide hormone. There will be some traveling in the blood, and as far as I know it is not stored elsewhere after secretion (a steroid hormone could be stored in adipose, but T is mostly converted to estrogen in fat stores). “sweating it out” is not even a possibility.
Existing testosterone will eventually be chemically inactivated & excreted in urine or bile. I can’t imagine that there is a way to affect the rate of chemical transformation. (there will still be some around, though, as some is always made by adrenal glands).
After 30 days there is no testosterone. The “sweat it out theory” has no basis.
[QUOTE=swmorse;7927537]
So, a friend recently had a 6 year old stallion gelded. The horse only bred 1 mare.
Her husband told me that the testosterone is in his muscles and the best way to get rid of it quickly is to work him hard and sweat it out.
I never heard of this, but also never gelded at such a late age. Is this true or just an old wives’ tale?[/QUOTE]
Wow…someone with virtually zero knowledge of physiology or hormonal action.
Kind of like the folks who use to tell me to feed raw tobacco to worm a horse or put pennies in the water to keep mares from coming in heat…
Sounds totally silly to me.
Amazing at the old wive’s tales floating around out there!
We have gelded several mature stallions over the years, as we kept back daughters, and since we wished to use some of those daughters in our breeding program.
We either kept the former stallion as a riding horse, or sold him, as non pro or youth horses. Having been shown as stallions, they were very well mannered
These stallions had bred not just one mare, but several each year for a number of years.
True, that they remain fertile for a few weeks, after gelding, but stallion like behavior can remain for some time, due not to hormones, but memory and learned behavior, not when handled or ridden, if that horse had been well mannered as a stallion, but more in mixed turn out with geldings and mares.
This behavior drops after a year or so, to the point i had no problem turning out my ex stallions with a mixed herd
Wet saddle blankets help any horse to becoming more tractable, but you are not going to sweat out testosterone !!!
Every horse is different in that they become a “gelding” at different rates and the end result can be different in each horse. I had a gelding who never bred a mare was only 3 but who had huge testicles. He retained a libido for years, he still will go watch the girls and they him. I had another stallion gelded at 18 who was a gelding immediately and rapidly went out with a mixed herd, he had bred many mares including live cover. The behavior is different that the actual testosterone. You have the clinical time a gelding can still impregnate a mare and you have the behavior…stimulated by who knows what in some boys brains that can keep them stallion like for a long time. This is separate from the possibility of testicular tissue remaining or a testicle not removed…proud cut. Each will become a “gelding” at his own rate. PatO
Older castrated males can theoretically turn cholesterol into testosterone. However, I believe that continued stallion characteristics are more learned and not hormone dependent.
How about a horse who was never bred, gelded at 3 and a half, not proud cut/no retained testicle, and still acts like a stallion around other horses at age 10? This is my horse. Cannot be turned out with any other horses, period, will breed the mares/fight with the geldings. Very well mannered with humans. I would add t his horse was not used to turn out before I got him. (Don’t mean to hijack but would love input from breeders, of which I am not one.)
[QUOTE=oliverreed;7931686]
How about a horse who was never bred, gelded at 3 and a half, not proud cut/no retained testicle, and still acts like a stallion around other horses at age 10? This is my horse. Cannot be turned out with any other horses, period, will breed the mares/fight with the geldings. Very well mannered with humans. I would add t his horse was not used to turn out before I got him. (Don’t mean to hijack but would love input from breeders, of which I am not one.)[/QUOTE]
Adrenal glands make T. Maybe he just has an exuberant pair.
Hey, I have a MARE that will tease other mares when they are in heat and actually try to mount them! She especially loves her half-sister.
SHe can actually be very helpful during breeding season and since she always gets pregnant herself I don’t interfere with her private life.:lol:
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