Gelding question

Have the vet out and get him gelded. The bigger you let him get the more stress he will have from the procedure and the more risk there is. I agree that there has been NO good evidence that horses that keep the jewels stay shorter than if they were gelded. There is really no way to test that. In health matters it's best to take the vets advice.

I've only just started stalling mine at night in the last month, they were pasture 24/7 all summer long. Thanks for the compliment - you horses are gorgeous too - your dun is stunning!

I say get him gelded as soon as you can. We had my boy gelded at four months and he's so laid back now at three and a half years that I can do virtually anything with him.

Well yes of course if you are depriving a horse of nutrients it can become somewhat stunted. But if a horse is given the adequate amount of nutrients they will grow to their genetic potential....
Excess amounts of testosterone in horses have been proven to actual limit growth not increase it.
I was referring to gelding, not lack of nutrition huge difference.

http://www.hoofbeats.com.au/articles...lding_art.html

(see section under timing)

Sorry forgot to add this link.

Horse Castration

Exactly, which is why limiting testosterone (by gelding early) will allow the horse to grow to it's full potential (taller). You are removing the major source of testosterone in the body. I don't know how much taller. That probably depends on the horse. Especially as most of their height is attained by 2 years of age.

If I have time I will attempt to find the studies this week. I don't know if I will as this is my last week & a half of my (last!) semeseter of college. Yay, I'm excited. Anyways, I'm finishing up two other research projects (pathophysiology of laminitis and maternal effects on offspring sex ratio), so it may not happen. Especially if my brain implodes from reading all these scientific journals.

Indyhorse- Sorry to start a "debate" on your thread. Hopefully we'll learn something new, I know that I haven't seen the full study, so we'll see what the result is. But thanks for your compliment on Soda.

My weanling is 10 months and hasnt dropped yet. Im not sure that gelding will effect height too much, its genetics. More testosterone will make him look more like a stud though. If you have mares I would geld him asap, after he drops. I wouldnt wait till he gets studly, sometimes that behavior dosent go away.

Maverik - From your second link

"Another reason for castration is to reduce masculine conformational features. Testosterone affects growth leading to earlier closure of growth plates in developing bones. The result is a shorter, stockier, more muscular stature. The muscles of the face, jaws, and neck are particularly powerful in the stallion. Castrating at an earlier age will reduce these masculinizing effects of testosterone. Unfortunately studies have not been performed in the horse to pinpoint the critical ages of testosterone’s effect on conformation. Likely it is sometime before 18 months of age since so much growth occurs by this age in the horse. "

This is what I said in my earlier posts. Of course, based on this article this becomes a moot point after 18 months of age as most of the growth has already occurred. So there would be absolutely no reason (height or muscularity) not to geld a horse (unless you were planning on using him for breeding) after this point. I

Ok I think we are arguing the same point here

Someone stated that if you a geld a horse before 2 they will not grow as Tall. I said this WAS NOT the case. Hence the two links.

Horses that are gelded early will still reach their full height potential that they genetically were predetermined too (of course there can be some variation in this based on nutrition, and excess amounts of testosterone
Testosterone will increase muscle mass, resulting in a stockier frame...but will not increase height.

So yeah, not sure why your picking a debate w me, as were saying the same thing?

Closing of the growth plates will happen later in castrated horses, but it will not significantly change the height.

Gelding younger is actually desirable in these large breed horses because the more size the greater the risk associated with anesthesia. By gelding horses young, you anesthetize them when they have lower body weight and thus less risk of adverse events associated with being anesthetized and laid down. There is also less risk of serious post-op bleeding when you castrate younger horses. And there is less risk to the handlers during anesthetesia and during recovery.

The Horse | Castration In The Horse