Q: I bought a 5-year-old Tennessee Walking Horse several years ago. This being my first horse, I chose a very calm, easy-to-handle "gelding" with a great gait. I bought him from a broker and have no history about the horse.

I rode him on the trail a few times with no problems. Then, on one ride, my bridle broke and I had to bail. As I was dismounting, I lost the reins and he ran off. No injuries, but when the trainer caught him and was tacking him back up, she discovered that he was not a gelding.

The sellers immediately had him gelded for me. He became very infected after the castration, was treated with intramuscular antibiotics and was hand-walked, and he seemed to recover without complications. However, after being gelded, he became a different horse and extremely difficult to handle. He began to pull away and escape when being led by hand. He also would not let the veterinarian near him, especially around his male parts.

He remained wonderful under saddle, but around groups, the split-second his head wasn't restrained by a bridle or halter, he would take off. He didn't try to do this when we were alone