29 August 2008 10:51
I have the opportunity to buy a nine-year-old who was a stallion until last year and covered several mares before he was gelded. He is good in-hand and has potential, but can misbehave around strange horses and squares up to other geldings until he gets to know them. Will he grow out of this?
Answer
By Your Horse
Vet Gayle Hallowell replies:
This is a difficult question to answer – some horses improve and settle down with time and some don’t. What you don’t know is whether he would have been like this even if he been gelded earlier on in life. All the sex hormones that circulate in the body are gone within seven days of castration and their effects usually stop manifesting themselves within a month.
From what you say, I think that he is likely to be a bit of a project. But if he has recently been moved, he may just be establishing his position in the herd and will settle down once he is familiar with the other horses and you.