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Gelding question

7K views 42 replies 18 participants last post by  5cuetrain 
#1 ·
Okay, I'm getting a lot of mixed opinions from my horse friends so I thought I would ask everyone here.

I have a 3/4 shire colt that just turned 8 months on Dec 1st. When my vet did his vaccs back when he got here, he said I ought to plan on having him gelded by 8 months. When the vet was out here a few weeks back treating an abscess on my mare's foot, he re-iterated I needed to think about gelding the colt soon because he is so big already (14.1 when I taped him yesterday). He said he'll start developing stud behaviors soon that will be a problem. (note the colt doesn't act studdy at all. He is still very baby-ish in personality, just follows mama around and plays, or feels sorry for himself when I work with him.)

A good friend of mine who raises Friesian crosses argues since my colt is mostly draft, he is slower developing and I shouldn't consider gelding him until his second birthday, to geld him sooner will make him "mareish" in appearance (I know drafts ARE slower to mature, but I have always thought this theory of gelding a horse young making him "mareish" was a myth?) But most of my friends are tuning in with her, saying I should really wait to geld him until I absolutely have too, to maximise his growth potential. To me - he's going to darn well be tall enough, I am not overly concerned with maximising his height!

Generally I would always go with my vet's opinion, but my colt hasn't even dropped yet, and I don't think it's at that "too late" point where I have to consider major surgery on him, right? Anyone have thoughts on a good age to geld draft colts?
 
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#35 ·
^^ most vets advise asap around here. waiting till 2 is sort of irresposible, the longer you wait the more chances there are for your horse to get out and breed with a mare, on your property or elsewere. once a horse covers a mare they are more likely to retain their stallion behavior.
 
#36 ·
The irresponsible behavior is letting them get out, not waiting to geld. lol.
My stallion, though he will remain intact as he is a our herdsire, could no more get out with our fillies and mares than he could fly. If I couldn't be sure he could be kept up, I'd have no business having him.

I say most vets because all of the vet handbooks, equine books and such I have in my home library state this as the recommended timeframe.
Of course, it is also the standard locally as well.

The literature also states that you will prevent the size and structure they would have had otherwise if you geld early. Depends on what you're hoping for out of the horse. If the look of the horse doesn't matter, geld now.
 
#37 ·
Maverick - Sorry I thought you were arguing the opposite of what I said (you quoted me) but then I read your articles and was confused because they said the same thing as I did. :lol:

Ryle - I was wondering if it would make much of a height difference in the adult horse as I've heard that most of the height growth is done early on... I think you've answered my question. Or maybe it would only cause a big difference if you gelded very young?

Sillybunny - I believe that you are right, the blood/nerve supply will be more highly developed so the process could be more traumatic. I would think that it would be more traumatic the older the horse got. But don't quote me on that! :D

So everyone - What is the usual age for gelding? Most of the things I've read say between 1-2 years of age or after the testicles drop, but some of you are saying that your vets say to do it under a year? The only gelding operations I've been around have been done at 1.5-2 years old...
 
#39 · (Edited)
Your right I did quote you. I guess I meant to quote someone else lol, as I thought it was you who said they don't grow as tall if gelded young...., I realized you were saying the same thing I was when you responded...but then I was confused after the second post lol......man... maybe if I didn't stay on the site so long at night, I wouldnt get my wires crossed:lol:

Sillybbunny...no such thing as a silly question! But Tiger answered that one for you...and I do agree w Tiger as well. And yes, it would be more traumatic the older the horse is.
 
#38 ·
The irresponsible behavior is letting them get out, not waiting to geld. lol.
it is irresponsible to let them get out, but sometimes it happens without any human "help." Horses jump fences and are quite sneeky sometimes. Its hard to completely horse proof anything, unless you have a jurasic park fence. IMO rather geld my colt asap then fence him anywere near a mares and cross my finger he dosent jump the fence. especially when you dont want to breed to begin with. In a boarding facility this can be a HUGE liability.
 
#41 ·
I can't say anything about the gelding them younger with make them taller because we don't know how tall they would have been otherwise. I can say that the longer you wait to geld him, the more likely he is to develop the "stud" appearance; the cresty neck and large jaw typical to draft stallions. My Perch John was gelded at 4 and still has a couple of studly attitudes (though he is getting better). I plan to get my cross gelded no later than 1 year old. I could geld him now if I wanted because he has already dropped but I want him to have a little hint more muscle.
 
#42 ·
Gelding him will make him taller(proven that geldings grow taller and studs wider) and I would wait at LEAST until he drops to geld him.I would go with the vets opinion but wait until he looks completely dropped to decrease the chances of them not fully getting everthing.
 
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