Rigs

[WJS]

Hi Folks,

I was asked a question today and I do not know the answer, Can rigs be fertile?

My neighbours Cob gelding has been happily covering her Cob mare all afternoon, I personally would not let this continue but I was asked the question, "can they still be fertile?"

May I ask your thoughts.....

thank you

 

[Carolyn R]

I am going to guess that they are not very horse savvy or they would know this could lead to infections and injury in the mare. With that said, if the boy was a partial crypt (or a full crypt and they think he is a gelding) and was not properly gelded that there is a slim chance that he could have a few fertile sperm floating around. (meaning only one or niether was removed).

 

[shadelady]

Simple answer Kim.......... Yes they can. Not often as the hidden testicle is generally too warm to produce viable sperm, but it is possible.

 

[Magic]

He could be possibly be fertile if he'd had only one testicle down at the time he was gelded and they didn't go after the other one, but that is rather unlikely. And if it had happened that way, if the other testicle is still retained in his abdominal area then the semen would not likely be effective since it needs to be cooler than body temperature. A gelding once covered a mare I had that was in heat (full size horses); sometimes it just happens but yes you are right, they should be separated.

 

[WJS]

Thank you both, my 1st thoughts were of infection.

Now this could be interesting.

 

[Jill]

We've had minis gelded, I've helped with the procedure and KNOW they were gelded, yet I have seen them "fully" covering our mares. Even one I caught as like a yearling and he'd been gelded young!!! I don't know if I just have really bad geldings, or if it is not unusual. My riding horse, too, I have seen covering mares out in the paddock and he's a gelding. Another member's QH mare used to have the hots for him!

I think it can lead to infections in the mare and it is not good to allow it to happen for that reason, however, if the horse has truly been gelded (and didn't have one retained), then they are not fertile. I've separated our "boys" from the ladies when I saw this happening. If I remember right, I have seen SIX (5 minis, 1 biggie) of our geldings do this over the years.

Also, trying not to be too blunt, but when we have bred mares to stallions over the years, the geldings lined the fence and they seem to be very "interested" (visibly so)... (urgh). So from this observation, I can say they still have some real interest in that particular area, and not a shred of shame.

 

[susanne]

When we had two geldings and a colt together, our corral frequently looked like a conga line, with all three joining in...

With geldings, I think it's more about dominance than sex, but Jill's voyeurs are an interesting story!

Fortunately, Mingus doesn't try this with Scarlet -- he just plays chaperone when Flash tries to sweet talk her through the fence

 

[chandab]

My old half-Arab gelding, that I lost last year, never in 24 years tried to mount a mare, but he was very submissive and low on the pecking order. My husband's saddle gelding (rather dominant in nature) mounts my APHA mare frequently enough to make a person wonder, but he is definitely a gelding; so perhaps it is more of a dominance issue with geldings. [And, my younger AQHA gelding has never to my knowledge, but the other gelding is higher in the pecking order.]

I've not seen it with my mini gelding. And, we'll see how my soon to be mini gelding acts later this summer.

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

Its normal for geldings to mount, and sometimes penetrate and breed. A rig, by definition, is infertile, but just because someone calls him one doesn't mean its true

If there is a testicle that is out of the body cavity then it can produce viable sperm. Testicles truely inside the body are infertile, they are destroyed by body temperature.