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Can you Geld a Horse Safely At 24?

6K views 22 replies 13 participants last post by  Super Nova 
#1 ·
I am thinking about purchasing a 24 year old appaloosa stallion. He is wonderful with kids and is very calm, for a stud. I have no interest on breeding him and plan on gelding him. Is it safe to geld a horse when he is that old? I love his coloring and disposition. We currently have 3 mares and 3 geldings in our herd, and they are all pastured together in one huge field. Except in the winter when we take our older mare and gelding to my moms cousins house where they get close supervision. The stallion has been kept with geldings, no mares. I am wondering what would happen to him when I geld him. Would he keep his stallion attitude? Would he get infection when we geld him?

:?Here are some pictures of him-



Here

 
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#5 ·
I would have the vet look at him. My old trainer had her arab stallion gelded at 21 when she retired him from breeding. He actually had less issues then her 6 year old stallion, who she also retired. (she got out of the breeding part of the business).
 
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#6 ·
I have nothing to offer to this discussion. But Farmpony84, the horse in your avatar looks like Mudpie!!!!!!!!!!
 
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#8 ·
ooh could be:) Is your guy registered? If so, who's his daddy? (I must discover these things)
 
#10 ·
Hmmmmm... Mudpie's not registered (if he is, I don't have the papers) but I have a slight suspicion that his sire might be "Cowboys Hall of Fame" .... I can't find any pictures of him, but I've been tentatively considering calling the owners and asking if they have any pictures...

We'll see!
 
#11 ·
my boss Gelded his 17 yr old Stud Last Oct he was fine. He had always been broke to ride and competed in cutting for several years. After he was gelded he was still pushy with the mares and sometimes acted stud like (protect/aggressive). But I would still have a vet or twos opinion before putting him through this procedure.
 
#12 ·
I gelded a grand old stallion that was given to me when his owner went to prison. He was a Palomino Saddlebred parade horse and drill team horse that that had been in the Rose Parade several times and had been in Madison Square Gardens in the Shriner Parade group that his first owner belonged to.

His second owner inherited him when the original owner died. The guy had been a stable boy at the Shriners' barn and had cared for the horse for years. He got into trouble with the law a year later and his mother called me and said I could have him or she was having him put down because she could not afford to board him out.

I drove day as night to save the old horse. He was 20 years old and in great condition.

I had him gelded 3 or 4 days after hauling him home. He was just fine. He did not bleed more than 3 or 4 drops. If good emasculaters are used correctly, even an old horse will not bleed much. We have gelded several old ones, but I think Lucky was the oldest.

The only effect gelding had on him was that his quite sizable crest on his neck lost all of its 'starch' and fell over to one side. I guess it needed testosterone to stay rigid.

The old guy was so well trained - having been used for parades and drill teams all of his life -- that he made the best lesson horse ever. I used him until he was 32, gave him to a little girl that had her young horse die and she rode him 2 more years before he died.

He looks like a neat old horse. Go for it.
 
#16 ·
Nope I am in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is currently in Spring Creek, Nevada. He could possibly be on craigslist though I found him on ksl.com.
 
#15 · (Edited)
I need to talk to my vet, I will be taking my horses there in a few weeks to get their spring vactionations done. Just wondering what your opinions are about this before I buy him.
 
#18 ·
With age comes increased risk but I think that risk can be managed by having a surgeon do it in a clinic and have the horse stay for a period of 3 to 5 days to make sure he is well on his way to making a full recovery.......but it is expensive.......here where I live it would be about $2000.00

Super Nova
 
#19 ·
We have just done all of the older stallions -- including the 20 year old -- just the same way we do the young ones.

A good set of emasculators, left on a little longer to make sure the bigger cord and blood vessels are thoroughly crushed, is all we have ever done on an older breeding stud. We have done probably 20 or more of them that were breeding horses over 8 or 9 years old and none had any problems.

Our Vet does not charge any more for any of them. I think he charges $100.00 now and lays them down on a clean grassy spot. He uses Rompun and Ketomine. They are down for 15 or 20 minutes.

The day I bought a cheap stud off Craigs List for a kid's horse and paid $2000.00 to have him gelded, you would have to lock me up. It would mean I had completely lost my mind. Just me, I guess.
 
#21 ·
That's pricey SN, maybe it's the just island. In the Cariboo here, it's about 2 hundred and same price for an 18 yr old. OP, a male at any age can have the testes removed, as long as they are healthy, they don't need them.
 
#22 · (Edited)
While there is increased risk, I believe it will be worth it. He will be much more reliable around people and other horses. Just remember that it will take a while for the hormones to really leave his system and make him impotent. Do not turn him out with mares right after he is gelded.

Horse Gelding and Aftercare


from Cherry Hill

The castration of a male horse is a simple surgical procedure with few risks. Sperm cells are produced in the testicles, matured and stored in the epididymus, and transported via the vas deferens to the ejaculatory site. Gelding removes the testicles, epididymus, part of the spermatic cord, and the covering of the testicles. With gelding comes an immediate cessation in the production of sperm cells, yet newly gelded horses have impregnated mares. This is due to the presence of the ampulla, a sperm reservoir at the end of the vas deferens. Because the ampulla is not removed during gelding, a gelding can potentially settle a mare for up to one month after castration. After one month, the sperm that were stored in the ampulla at the time of castration are no longer viable.

Also, get some supplements to boost his aging immune system, as he may be more prone to infections.
 
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