Do you have a gelding who might forget he’s left his stallion life behind? Is he struggling to handle the new mare next door or in the herd?
Understandably it can quickly become a stressful environment for us at home or agistment, for our horses and the herd when a gelding decides he is going to exhibit heightened excitability, display signs of sexual behaviour and possessive tendencies towards a mare.
What could be going on in your gelding?
There are a few theories that could be causing this behaviour. Let’s dive into them!
1. False rigs or proud cut geldings
When not all the testosterone-producing tissue was removed at the time of castration, this can result in higher testosterone levels pumping through your gelding’s body resulting in his behaviour.
2. Late castration
When a stallion is castrated later in life, their stallion-like behaviour may become a learned behaviour, they will continue to exhibit once they are geldings.
3. Cryptorchidism
This is the retention of one or both testicles. These types of horses are often called “rigs” and the retained testicle(s) will continue to produce testosterone, causing stallion-like behaviour to remain.
If you find there might not be a specific reason why your gelding is exhibiting stallion-like behaviours, but he continues to do so, below are some great tips on how to help either way!
How to help
- Getting in touch with your veterinarian to help measure testosterone levels might help determine what is causing this behaviour.
- Change your herd or location of where you are keeping your gelding, if possible. Sometimes having a mare-free paddock can help keep everyone settled. It can also help if you can move your gelding away from close proximity to mares.
- Get in touch with a reputable trainer to learn some techniques on how best to handle your gelding on the ground and whilst being ridden around mares.
- Look at incorporating a nutritional supplement, such as Kelato’s
BetaMARE®. Not just for your moody mares.
Most people will recognise BetaMARE as the awesome nutritional supplement used to help manage normal balanced behaviours in “marey” mares.
But did you know it also works just as well in geldings that are exhibiting stallion-like behaviour?
The key ingredient in BetaMARE is standardised chasteberry extract. Chasteberry can help our horses in a few areas but is mostly known for promoting and supporting balanced behaviour.
Great examples of when to use BetaMARE in your gelding include:
- Adding BetaMARE to feed daily for a few weeks before you plan to introduce a new mare into the herd
- Strategic supplementation when your gelding is experiencing stallion-like behaviours
- Feeding BetaMARE when you want to reduce irritability and improve focus
- Adding BetaMARE when you are focusing on consistent performance and willingness to work
What makes BetaMARE unique?
Variation between batches can often be found when feeding raw herb versions of chasteberry, whether whole, dried, or powdered. The level of actives (the part of the herb that is in charge of supporting behaviour) can be influenced by a range of factors such as stage of growth, seasonal and environmental conditions (soil type, pH, water, etc).
This means that each bag, bucket, or bottle you buy of chasteberry that doesn’t use an extract and standardised version, might not always contain the same active levels every single time. The product might work one day and then when you buy it the next time, it doesn’t seem to work anymore!
For this reason, Kelato uses a concentrated, standardised chasteberry extract in BetaMARE to ensure consistency and efficacy between product batches. You can be assured that every bottle you buy will have the same active levels each time and perform the same way in your horse as the last one!
BetaMARE is also a sugar-free formulation. We don’t want to add any more sugary fuel to a gelding that is already exhibiting high energy!
What’s next?
You can find out more about BetaMARE and other effective Kelato Animal Health products HERE. Get in touch on 1800 KELATO or email technical@kelato.com.au
