Maybe a weird question, but I'm wondering if chemical castration is used in horses.
Why I'm asking is because of Jordy's recent behaviour (for those of you who remember the turnout-problem thread, it has nothing to do with that, that problem is solved!). He has always had stud-like behaviour, nothing that can't be managed, but more than the average gelding. I'm 100% sure he's a gelding, I had him gelded at almost 5 years old and I've personally seen both of the boys laying in the grass. But we're not so sure anymore they've been properly removed....
The stud-like behaviour he has always had is mounting mares in the pasture, being very dominant towards other geldings and especially towards stallions, making himself look big etc. I know he has some offspring walking around somewhere, so he has been used for breeding before I bought him and he knows how everything works. I always thought his stud-like behaviour was because of that, and that's also what the vets have always told me, that with some horses the studdy behaviour stays in their head even though they don't produce testosterone anymore. He has never behaved like this in hand or under saddle, only when he's with other horses and no people. He still doesn't by the way, he's very well behaved even in large groups of horses and he doesn't look twice at mares in heat when you're working with him. But his behaviour in the pasture has gotten worse. Maybe it's because we're at a barn now that has more mares, I don't know, but he has even jumped the fences to get to them and when mares pass by his pasture he runs to the gate and makes that low grunting sound (sometimes it sounds like he's almost roaring) arches his neck, paws the ground, and he's walking around ehm... pretty excited.
Jordy and Partout had to get their shots this week, so I called the vets for that and asked her if she would also took a look at that problem too. The vet drew some blood, than gave him a shot of hCG and drew blood again. If he was still producing testosterone somehow, it should rise after the hCG shot. And it did. Before the shot his testosterone level was 0.8ng, which is lower than the baseline for a stallion, but too high for a gelding. One and a half hour after the shot the testosterone level was 2.8ng, which again isn't very high for a true stallion after a shot of hCG, but the fact that the level more than tripled isn't consistent with how a normal gelding would react. The vet thinks some testicular tissue (epididymis) may have been left behind which is still producing testosterone. But she also said that if they did surgery they might not even find it, and that the testosterone might also be produced by the adrenal glands, in which case the surgery would be useless.
Now I didn't speak to the vet about chemical castration, I thought of it just now and was wondering if anyone knows if it has ever been used in horses, and if it might be an option. If it is possible he wouldn't have to go through surgery with all the risks attached and the possibility of finding nothing.
Why I'm asking is because of Jordy's recent behaviour (for those of you who remember the turnout-problem thread, it has nothing to do with that, that problem is solved!). He has always had stud-like behaviour, nothing that can't be managed, but more than the average gelding. I'm 100% sure he's a gelding, I had him gelded at almost 5 years old and I've personally seen both of the boys laying in the grass. But we're not so sure anymore they've been properly removed....
The stud-like behaviour he has always had is mounting mares in the pasture, being very dominant towards other geldings and especially towards stallions, making himself look big etc. I know he has some offspring walking around somewhere, so he has been used for breeding before I bought him and he knows how everything works. I always thought his stud-like behaviour was because of that, and that's also what the vets have always told me, that with some horses the studdy behaviour stays in their head even though they don't produce testosterone anymore. He has never behaved like this in hand or under saddle, only when he's with other horses and no people. He still doesn't by the way, he's very well behaved even in large groups of horses and he doesn't look twice at mares in heat when you're working with him. But his behaviour in the pasture has gotten worse. Maybe it's because we're at a barn now that has more mares, I don't know, but he has even jumped the fences to get to them and when mares pass by his pasture he runs to the gate and makes that low grunting sound (sometimes it sounds like he's almost roaring) arches his neck, paws the ground, and he's walking around ehm... pretty excited.
Jordy and Partout had to get their shots this week, so I called the vets for that and asked her if she would also took a look at that problem too. The vet drew some blood, than gave him a shot of hCG and drew blood again. If he was still producing testosterone somehow, it should rise after the hCG shot. And it did. Before the shot his testosterone level was 0.8ng, which is lower than the baseline for a stallion, but too high for a gelding. One and a half hour after the shot the testosterone level was 2.8ng, which again isn't very high for a true stallion after a shot of hCG, but the fact that the level more than tripled isn't consistent with how a normal gelding would react. The vet thinks some testicular tissue (epididymis) may have been left behind which is still producing testosterone. But she also said that if they did surgery they might not even find it, and that the testosterone might also be produced by the adrenal glands, in which case the surgery would be useless.
Now I didn't speak to the vet about chemical castration, I thought of it just now and was wondering if anyone knows if it has ever been used in horses, and if it might be an option. If it is possible he wouldn't have to go through surgery with all the risks attached and the possibility of finding nothing.

HUP HOLLAND HUP