A True Gelding?

Many true geldings retain stallion-like behaviors.
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Q. I purchased my horse a year ago knowing he had some aggression problems. He is great around people, just not around other horses. Unfortunately, when he attacks, he goes for the throat just behind the jaw line. He refuses to let go at times, causing severe swelling. It’s odd he doesn’t kick or bite anywhere else. I keep him at a private facility where he is kept alone due to his aggression. Observing him now, he creates these huge poop mounds; his paddock is clean while he goes to the bathroom in only three huge piles.

We have never seen such behavior.  Are these normal signs of a stallion? Could he be a cryptorchid (horse with retained testicular tissue)? He was bought at an auction so I have no history on him. I do know of a pony that was a stallion for years and then gelded.  After being gelded, he got quite aggressive. I don’t know where else to look for information on aggressive horses.

Mylene


A. Thank you for your questions. In your very short note you have raised several interesting topics and good points about gelding behavior.  To address all of them specifically for your horse, I would need a better understanding of the specific details and circumstances. It would also be helpful to have more specific information on the social groupings in which you have seen the behavior occur – for example, to know your horse been with horses before the aggression occurred and how long it continued, and whether the herdmates and the targets of the aggression were mares or geldings. But with the information you have provided, I can make a few comments that might be useful to you and other readers faced with similar problems of aggressive behavior

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Sue M. McDonnell, PhD, is a certified applied animal behaviorist and the founding head of the equine behavior program at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine. She is also the author of numerous books and articles about horse behavior and management.

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