Steroid Abuse On Stallions

Steroids can help speedy recovery of the horses suffering from illness, injury or extreme stress by maximizing protein synthesis. They can boost up the appetites of the equidae. However, steroid abuse on horses may have serious side effects. The steroid abuse on horses may cause exaggerated or even dangerous male sexual behavior and troublesome reproductive woes in horses.

In late 1980, the Colorado State University conducted a study on horses to ascertain the effects of steroid abuse on the animals. The study included 48 yearling fillies and categorized them into three groups. The researchers administered different brands of anabolic steroids to each group of fillies, every three weeks, but they administered four times the proper doses (steroid abuse) to one group. The researchers found out that over the course of a year, none of the fillies on steroids showed a single normal four day heat; all had fewer ovulations and heats than the control group, and one group never ovulated at all.

The scientists revealed that fillies became aggressive toward other horses and behaved typically like stallions. The fillies were also observed teasing and mounting herd mates. The...