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Should i keep him a stallion?

6K views 45 replies 34 participants last post by  TimberRidgeRanch 
#1 ·
How do i know if i should keep him a stallion? My trainer say's not to bother with a stallion and just geld him. I am going to have him showing in the quarter horse halter and western pleasure shows. He has double registered zippo pine bar and joe reed, san pappy and zippo pine glow in his papers. I had a horse with these blood lines before and he was a wonderful horse. Everyone was disapointed that he was gelded, which was done before i bought him. Should i geld him? I'm just not sure what to do. :? Does anyone have suggestions?
 

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#3 ·
Geld him.

It's not just about handling, training, and showing a stallion - but do you have what it takes, as a trainer, to get this horse to win 2 year old futurities, 2 year old slot classes, 2 year old world championships against other open western pleasure AQHA horses? And then, down the line, are you going to be able to spend the money to market this horse to the AQHA journal, online advertisements, websites, etc. And then, are you going to have the facilities to breed and ship semen, train the horse to the dummy, etc?
 
#6 ·
What the horse world needs right now is NOT more stallions....and probably not more horses in general! Unless you are truly committed to campaigning him and carrying out a program of quality breeding, geld him. He's a beautiful little guy with good breeding behind him. There are lots more where he came from. The US does not need more horses.

Have you spoken with breeders lately? Most of them are either cutting back their breeding programs or getting out of the business all together because of all the problems in the horse industry. Too many horses, not enough people who can afford to keep them (and know what they're doing.) Why would you want to add to these problems? Enjoy your gelding.
 
#7 ·
Unless you have experience handling stallions and have plans for breeding him (and his confo screams "keep me as stud", because just papers is not enough to make a good stud) I'd say geld him. Owning a stallion brings lots of problems you have to deal with (most places don't accept studs, many people don't want to ride with studs, many shows don't allow studs, etc...).
 
#8 ·
I would say geld him but I don't know much about quarter horse lines. That said most folks who have stallions should not have them in my opinion. I have seen a lot of people who don't understand what a stallion requires. You need stallion fencing, you need a separate stall area for the stallion, you need to know that a stallion is not to be trusted like a gelding or a mare. Then if you have him as a stallion what will you do with any offspring? Is there a market for the offspring? If you breed him and no one buys his offspring where will they live/go? If you don't want to breed him then why keep him a stud and have that hassle of having a stud? He is pretty cute right now and easy to handle. In a few months that could change and he could become one of the challenging to handle stud colts. This is my opinion but like I said I don't know much about quarter horse lines and any horse needs to be AMAZING in order for me to think they should be kept as a stallion.
 
#9 ·
Do you plan on keeping him any length of time? Do you plan on showing local or higher? What are your goals? Are you playing at showing (just for fun) or are you serious and want to hit the breed shows? I could go on but I need more coffee! He is cute, it just depends on where you want and can ($$$) take him.
 
#10 ·
I had a horse with these blood lines before and he was a wonderful horse.

See with or without testicles, you had a wonderful horse! The same will ring true for this guy.

Everyone was disapointed that he was gelded, which was done before i bought him.

The owner of your previous horse was very responsible to geld him, despite letting others down. But seriously, have you seen the amount of horses that are being given away or put in auction or stuffed into a rescue!? It's madness. Better to enjoy a gelding than have a stallion that creates more horses and we have even more of a problem than currently.

Should i geld him?

Yes please!
He's lovely :) He'd make a fantastic gelding when he's all grown up!
 
#11 ·
How do i know if i should keep him a stallion? My trainer say's not to bother with a stallion and just geld him. I am going to have him showing in the quarter horse halter and western pleasure shows. He has double registered zippo pine bar and joe reed, san pappy and zippo pine glow in his papers. I had a horse with these blood lines before and he was a wonderful horse. Everyone was disapointed that he was gelded, which was done before i bought him. Should i geld him? I'm just not sure what to do. :? Does anyone have suggestions?
Would you have bought him as a stallion? As others have said, are you prepared to handle a stallion and all that goes with that? If you aren't in the business of breeding, why do you want to get into it?

Think long and hard and then think again. Do you want to ride and enjoy this little guy?... Think about what you want to do. And then I hope you geld him.

Or you can wait awhile and see how he develops. That might give you your answer right there. Not all beautiful foals end up beautifully conformed. They grow wonky... or their temperaments change. That cute little 3 month old foal, becomes a nightmare to handle when the hormones kick in. Or he grows butt high and stays that way. Just cause he's a beautiful foal with nice breeding doesn't mean he isn't gelding material. The world needs far more nice geldings than it does stallions.
 
#13 ·
Just reading your post OP, I'd have to agree with your trainer and geld him in good conscience knowing he will have a much happier...and normal life. It takes subtle handling to keep a stallion, and it is not for someone with little or no experience at it. I've worked with stallions in the past and got complacent over time with dangerous results. With (most not all) stallions it only takes one time when your concentration slips for bad things to happen.

Beside the daily handling issue, there is the fact that special fencing is required, and that unless you have the money to go to rated shows 100% of the time most local amateur shows don't allow the showing of studs with good reason.
 
#14 ·
He is a nice looking foal but his bloodlines aren't rare that would make one think they need to be preserved by using him as a stud. If you kept him a stallion you would be sentencing him to a life of being seperated from other horses and being banned from most group rides and local shows. You would also have to be able to sink thousands upon thousands of dollars in him to promote him and show him with no gaurantee that he will even do well in the top shows.

Make yours and his life simpler and geld him. Enjoy him and let him be a good reliable horse.
 
#15 ·
Any good stallion would make a great gelding.

There are literally thousands of stallions in the AQHA today that are double registered, have similar breeding and are just as, if not more, talented than your colt. He is a real cutie, I will not deny that, but I can say from experience that it is not worth keeping a stallion these days unless you have one of the "politically popular" trainers backing you. You will spend more time either breeding him to grade mares to make a buck or turning down every yahoo you talk to than you will even talking to the owners of the kind of mares (well built, well bred, solid show record) that you should breed him to.

It takes a crazy amount of time, money, and devotion to accommodate, campaign, advertise, and maintain a stallion. I, too, owned a great gelding that I had people go "oh man, I wish he was a stud, he has great blah blah blah," but I had the eye and experience with breeding to just thank them. Then I would look at my little horse, who had no fad bloodlines, a modest show record, and minor issues with his legs that most people will not notice on a gelding but would have ripped apart on a stallion, and I would be glad that I had such a super little buddy of a horse.
 
#16 ·
Your colt is stacked to the hilt with outstanding QH bloodlines and is an extremely handsome baby, but just those qualities do not make his being kept an intact stallion a favorable choice in today's economy status. Plus in the State where I live there is specific housing laws regarding Stallions. It takes alot of $$$ to promote a breeding stallion and sometimes the returns are not near enough to cover the costs of keeping a breeding stud. Then maybe your not even thinking on keeping your colt as a breeding stud. In that case, you'd still be faced with the housing and limitations where stallions are welcomed.

I once happened to be at my Vet's Clinic just as he was finishing doing a gelding of a very nice colt that had one descended testicle and the other one was located up near a kidney and had to be gelded. In talking with the colt/gelding's owner just after the surgery he said he had hoped to keep the colt intact, but nature just wasn't in his favor. The owner's next comment was, "I don't have the great stallion I thought I wanted, but I have an even more outstanding gelding".

There are Halter Classes for Geldings and most geldings are shown in Western Pleasure as well as mares.

Best Wishes and Good Thoughts in your decision making to geld or not to geld.
 
#17 ·
I had the pleasure of owning my own stallion for a few years, he was the easiest guy to be around to handle, but at the same time he was all boy.

The day I sold him I cried like a baby because I was going to miss him, and then breathed a huge sigh of relief because life is just so much easier without him around.

As horse people we are always checking that the gates are shut etc, but when you have a stud it's more of a worry.

Geld him and enjoy him, you will both be far happier with your lives
 
#19 ·
Unless you have large pastures with stallion proof fencing, appropriate companions and several mares you want to breed, geld.

In my experience geldings are much happier, being out with other horses with the option of going out in a herd, as opposed to being in a separate pen, alone. They can trailer with other horses and dont need any special conciderations in a stable.

If you really want to keep him intact dispite the extra hassle, carefully evalutate his conformation and temperment, then start him and show him when he's mature. If he's built exceptionally well, has an exceptional mind and is wildly tallented, go ahead, but it is a huge pain .
 
#20 ·
As much as I admire the beauty and fire in a stallion. I have never had any desire to own one.
I bought the best mare I could afford, literally took years, and when I want to breed I get to stallion shop...
much more fun than having your own...LOL
 
#22 ·
Geld him.

A wise man once told me ... "The minute you think you have what it takes to own, raise and train a stallion to be a PRODUCTIVE (key word here) member of the horse world is the minute you look at yourself in the mirror and decide to wait another five years. Wash, rinse, repeat in five years."

Thanks Dad!!
 
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#26 ·
I'm thinking it is just the picture. Plus, foals always have that funky look about them. His legs should straighten up just fine.

As per your question, OP, I would also want to know why you'd want to keep him intact. Do you have aspirations to have a breeding program or just a breeding stallion?
 
#24 ·
My answer is no, geld him, but it's your horse. Stallions are a pita and I wouldn't deal with it. I would like to take issue, however, with the "the last thing the US.. or world.. or insert your country here, is more stallions/horses" Overbreeding is not my fault or your fault if all you are breeding is for your own herd or for a demand in the market. I am sorry, I am not interested in adopting a rescue/wild capture horse when what I want is a blooded quarterhorse. I didn't abuse, starve, or overbreed anything and I won't curtail my own herd building because some misguided animal lover let their herd overrun their pocketbook. I hate to see horses sent to slaughter, but I'd much rather see that than allowing horses to starve to death, because people are afraid of trying to do the right thing and either re-home the horse(which is getting danged hard to do) or as a last resort humanely euthanize it and dig a big fricken hole... (sorry rant off)

Do what you want with your horse, just be prepared to deal with a stallion if you choose to leave him whole...
 
#43 ·
I would like to take issue, however, with the "the last thing the US.. or world.. or insert your country here, is more stallions/horses" Overbreeding is not my fault or your fault if all you are breeding is for your own herd or for a demand in the market. I am sorry, I am not interested in adopting a rescue/wild capture horse when what I want is a blooded quarterhorse. I didn't abuse, starve, or overbreed anything and I won't curtail my own herd building because some misguided animal lover let their herd overrun their pocketbook. I hate to see horses sent to slaughter, but I'd much rather see that than allowing horses to starve to death, because people are afraid of trying to do the right thing and either re-home the horse(which is getting danged hard to do) or as a last resort humanely euthanize it and dig a big fricken hole... (sorry rant off)
Why was this rant necessary on this thread?

Asking purely for curiosity
 
#27 ·
I agree that gelding him is the best bet. As others have stated big name breeders are cutting back their own herds in this economy. It takes a lot of money to properly campaign and advertise a stallion. Then there's the cost of collecting semen, mare care, the risks of live cover ect. Bloodlines aren't everything, does he have stellar conformation, is he actually winning at the shows, are you willing to travel all over to take him to breed/rated shows? If you ever need to move, it will be hard to find a place that will take a stallion, trailering him will have its own issues, not putting him in with mares, making sure that if he is in with a gelding, that he's not spending the time trying to get at the gelding. Then there's figuring out how to "house" him at the shows, again you don't want him in a stall near mares, if there are no stalls, leaving him tied to the trailer is not the safest thing, who knows if someone will decide to walk a mare in heat around him.

I really want to do breeding, but I want to find some place that is already established, has a client base, and knows what they are doing, where I can work my way up to breeding manager, I don't want to have my own personal stallion that I have to deal with, its just too much money and work and worry. That said, good luck, and keep pictures coming, he is adorable.
 
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