I just purchased a gelding and he is calm and very well mannered, however he is mounting my mare.  How can I check to see if I really got a stallion or if he has been gelded?  Everything down below visually appears to be the same as my other gelding.

He could well in fact have been cut proud and you have in fact a Rig! He might have been gelded to early before both testicles were fully down.  Its an issue definately and one that is not easily fixable.  You need to consult a vet.

When you say "cut proud" I would assume you are stating that he was in his sexual prime when cut.  Is that correct?

No I mean that both testicles were not fully down when he was gelded, do you know how old he was when he was gelded?  We used to geld ours when they were still on their mothers, we had one that every time the vet came out he would suck them back up inside! Took a while to get him done

If on the other hand he was gelded after maturity and perhaps he was used as a stud sometimes they tend to still show stallion like tendencies and it takes a while for the hormones to settle back down again.

Was your mare in season when he was trying to mount her?

Could also just be playful if he is young - young colts will often try to mount their mothers!

Its hard to just SEE if everything is ok - and even more difficult to put your hand up there if the horse in question doesnt know you too well!

Cut Proud is a term meaning that the vet may not have been able to get all of the testicles and the related structures that are usually removed when gelding.  Your horse may also have a retained testical that the vet wasn't able to reach in a normal gelding and left it.  This would cause the horse to retain stud behaviors, but he would be sterile.  A blood test will help determine wether he has a retained testical or just a small amount of testicular tissue causing the problem.   If he has a retained testical, you may have recourse with the former owners for not disclosing his condition.  Also, do you know when he was gelded?  If he was gelded within the past 6 months, the hormones may still be working out of him, if he was sexually mature at the time of gelding.  Your best bet would be to separate him from any mares, if he was reciently gelded, he could still get a mare in foal, and have a vet vet check him out.

Good luck.

Spotted Pony

SpottedPony_horse:

Cut Proud is a term meaning that the vet may not have been able to get all of the testicles and the related structures that are usually removed when gelding.  Your horse may also have a retained testical that the vet wasn't able to reach in a normal gelding and left it.  This would cause the horse to retain stud behaviors, but he would be sterile.  A blood test will help determine wether he has a retained testical or just a small amount of testicular tissue causing the problem.   If he has a retained testical, you may have recourse with the former owners for not disclosing his condition.  Also, do you know when he was gelded?  If he was gelded within the past 6 months, the hormones may still be working out of him, if he was sexually mature at the time of gelding.  Your best bet would be to separate him from any mares, if he was reciently gelded, he could still get a mare in foal, and have a vet vet check him out.

Good luck.

Spotted Pony

This is not always true.   I had a colt with a retained testical a while back and when the vet got it out it was up in but still had viable sperm in it.  The other one was much higher and was definetly not viable but it can happen.

I agree with QHAA...this isn't totally ucommon for geldings that aren't proud-cut, cryptorchid or even gelded late.  Many geldings still mount mares, but most don't actually 'breed' the mare...they just mount them. That said, it is potentially dangerous behavior for both the mare and the gelding, so I would remove them from eachother.

 You can have hormone levels tested (if they are proud-cut or still have a retained testicle, their testosterone levels will be elevated) to see where they fall along the gelding/stallion range. It is easy and relatively cheap, but still has to be done by a vet.

There s a test that can be run to check hormone levels in geldings that retain satllion like behaviors:

The male hormone testosterone is measured in the blood before and after administration of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG).  Stallions and cryptorchids have higher levels of testosterone and levels of the hormone increase after hCG administration.  Castrated horses have low levels of testosterone and levels do not increase with hCG.  The test is approximately 95% accurate in identifying cryptorchids.  A test that does not require hCG administration is blood levels of conjugated estrogen.  Typically, levels are higher in horses with testicular tissue, and a single measurement can often identify cryptorchids.  The test detects cryptorchids about 95% of the time, but is unreliable in horses younger than 3 years and in donkeys.  Both tests should be performed if either is inconclusive.

I have a gelding that prior to my purchasing him was a breeding stallion for 8 years and then gelded. (IMO he's a poster child for gelding at an early age). He's nothing special conformationally, although he is a beautiful bay roan, Leopard Appy. Maybe they bred him thinking he'd pass on his color, beats me.  Frankly, I and the vet agreed with  this also, that he and alot of other supposedly "proud cut" geldings retain the memory of his life as a breeding stallion. He still herds mares, challenges other geldings ( no stallions on the place or I'd have REAL trouble!). He is well mannered with folks and when the saddle goes on he knows it's time to work. He's been tested and hormonally is a gelding, now if someone would just tell the rest of him.