Is there a certian age that stallion should be gelded?

Question

Is there a certian age that stallion should be gelded?

Answer 1

The sooner the better, just to avoid dealing with an obnoxious, untrained stud colt.  The three I've had done were all near the beginning of me owning them, and they ranged from approximately 6 to 12 months old.  The 9-12 month old tried to nurse my mare when I brought him home from the auction, then the next week was mounting her.  The vet got called out right after that!  The other two had shown no studly signs at all.

Answer 2

I've gelded animals from 3 months of age to 14 years of age.  The old guy had bred a number of mares and was actually more "gelding like" than the colt gelded at 3 months.  There are other places where s*x hormones are produced other than the testes.

The earlier you geld the easier it is on the horse but older horses can be safely castrated.

If you castrate early, before 6 months, you can actually cause the horse to mature at a taller height.  s*x hormones cause the growth plates to harden much earlier than they do in a castrated animal.  One reason to keep a stallion intact longer might be that you want to use him hard at a younger age.  But in general the earlier the better.   As long as both testicles have decended it's really nice to take them out, geld them, and then give them back to mama.

Answer 3

No, there is no certain age to geld. A male horse can be gelded at any age. As to the outcome, it's very individual per horse. I have had a colt gelded at two months who was fully dropped and horribly studdy. He took several months to come to terms with the fact he couldn't breed everything that moved and much that didn't, but suffered no ill effects from surgery itself at such a young age. He is a stunning specimen of horsedom and quite masculine in appearance. Another we gelded at two years was just becoming studdy in that he was noticing mares a bit, had a successful surgery and forgot mares completely upon waking. We bought a newly gelded  stallion who had been used for breeding at age 4 and he was never a problem around mares nor did he have a stallionlike attitude..he was just a good horse.

Frankly, the best time to geld is BEFORE a male horse becomes a problem in any way. As for looks, I have not seen much difference in gelding times with closely related males being cut at different ages. They have all matured to be similar in apppearance.

Answer 4

There is not a set age for this though if you leave it until the horse has become an adult it will still have all the stallion tendency's. Most people geld their horses once they are yearlings.

Hope this helps

xx

Answer 5

There is no certain age but you should probably geld him at about 6-8months!!

Answer 6

'Stallion tendencies' depends on the horse's personality.  Many stallions gelded at an older age are great geldings without any stallion tendencies  - even though they bred hundreds of mares.

Gelding is not an answer to training problems, though.  If someone gelds and older stallion because they cannot handle them, all the have created is a sterile horse with ill manners.

Younger is generally better, though, so that there are no accidental breedings. Stallions can take a bit of extra training because besides all the regular ground and saddle work you have to put into a young gelding, you also have to teach a young stallion not to run to every mare in heat and listen to you.  Some stallions, just like some mares, are more likely to be distracted by breeding potential than others.

My friend has to walk through a field of two geldings to get the riding ring - she has tons of problems getting her mare through that field as the mare is distracted by the geldings the whole time.

Answer 7

3 or the horse will have stud behaviors that happen to my friends horse

Answer 8

OK correct terms here would avoid confusion.  By stallion do you meant stud colt or do you mean adult male horse already of breeding age?

The best time to geld a stud colt is as early as possible.  Some owners actually have surgery and geld them at 3 to 6 months.  Most people wait until the testicles have dropped however.  This typically happens between 1 and 2 years of age.  They then geld.

If you have waited until the animal is older then he will always act at least a little like a stud.  If he has already been breeding then he will act very studdy and it is unlikely that he will ever grow out of it.

Answer 9

If you are going to geld, usually by age 2.

Answer 10

Most folk wait until the testies have dropped and then "cut" 'em.  

Some want the stallion appearance (Heavier neck, jowls, etc) and go longer but with that they have to put up with the stallion attitude until all testosterone has gone out of his system.  The older the colt, the longer it takes.  In older horses, it may always be there (The stallion attitude) especially if he's been bred.

Answer 11

I've heard as young as 2 weeks, since apparently they drop when they're really young, then go back up inside the body, then drop again past 6 mths. Then, you don't have to deal with ANY naughty or dangerous stallion behavior.

Answer 12

There isn't a "certain" age...but if I know the colt is not breeding quality I geld him at 6months old.....that way he has a lesser chance of starting stallion-like behavior....he doesn't have a clue what breeding is all about.....the less he knows about it, the better he'll be (not displaying sexual behavior).  Once the colt gets a chance to display sexual behavior, it is more work for you to correct his behavior once he's gelded.  Make sense?

Answer 13

I get mine done as soon as i find the marbles...I'm waiting for a vet to call me right now to do my paint, he is a little over a year old.  Hopefully tomorrow we can get him done.  I have a two month old who i noticed when he was laying down his marbles are there, all ready.   I do have a gelding who was bred earlier in life and gelded a few years before i got him, he has stallion like behavior and not in the good way.

Answer 14

When the horse's testicles drop, he's ready.

It's never too late.

Please geld!

Answer 15

Not really but it is easier for all concerned for the horse to be gelded early...before 2 years old.  Stallions can be more difficult to handle and can get agressive with other horses.  I know that when I had my young colt gelded he came out of it with a brand new attitude.  He wasn't nearly as mouthy (he liked to nip and bite before) and he was somewhat easier to handle.  Since I didn't have enough space to keep him separate from my others horses and he was certainly not breeding quality it was the best thing to do for me.

There are people who believe that if gelded early the horse will grow taller than he would have otherwise.  I've heard conflicting beliefs on this subject.  I don't see any benefit in keeping a horse intact beyond two years old unless he is such an outstanding specimen that you don't want to deprive the world of his genes.