Reasons Not To Have A Colt Gelded?

Question

Hi, I part loan a 2 year old colt, as well as other horses, and his owners want to have him gelded :( What reasons can I give them, and how can I persuade them not to have im gelded, and keep him as a stallion.

He is only two, and is about 13.1hh. He is well behaved, at 14 I can lead him past a field inside which is a mare in season and although he is obviously interested in her then he doesnt start mis behaving, even though at the end of the day he could easily pull the rope out of my hands. He doesnt bite (only play nibbles on occasion) he doesnt buck/ rear or have any other bad behaviours.

I really want to make them change their minds! What can I say?????

Answer 1

It's not your horse so it's not your call.

It's harder to keep a stallion...he usually has to be alone.  If the owners have mares, this makes their lives a lot more difficult.

If he gets out and covers a mare, it is there responsibility.

Having a good attitude doesn't make him breeding-quality.  There's a lot more to it than that.

I think they are being very responsible by gelding him.

You should ask yourself why you want to keep him a stud.

Does he have great bloodlines?  Exceptional conformation?  Will he be able to lead a happy life without being cooped up and separated from other horses all the time?  Will he be a great performance horse?  Do the owners have the time, money, and ability to deal with and train a stud?

Answer 2

The only reason to have a horse NOT gelded is if he is a serious stallion prospect. He is only a serious stallion prospect if he has a fabulous pedigree, no congenital defects, and an outstanding temperament. The other part is that the owner has to want a stallion.

Your fellow sounds very well behaved, but I don't know if he has any of the other qualities to be a stallion prospect. If the owners want to geld him, thier wishes should be respected.  

Answer 3

Ok, so he has half of the equation...a great sire whose desirable physical characteristics he inherited.

Now what do they plan on doing with him?  If they plan to promote him in his discipline, and he becomes a proven performer, then there's the other half of it for keeping the 'nads.  The final test lies in what he puts on the ground in the first few trial coverings.

If they just want a pleasure animal, then there is absolutely no reason to keep him a stallion.  That sire will produce how many colts in his lifetime.  What percentage, then, should be left intact?  To maintain the integrity of the line, only the absolute proven best should be bred.  The owners, if they aren't interested in promoting a quality stallion, are 100% right to cut him.

Having a stallion is a pain in the ***.  A major pain in the ***.  Maybe they understand this and know the that the truth is, a nice stallion prospect makes a stellar gelding.

Answer 4

Well aside from the rather obvious issue of controlling a young stallion (you're very young!) and the question of quality, you have his height to think of.

At 13.1h he is a very big 2yr old C.  If he is not gelded, the testosterone will really boost his growth and I can guarantee you he will go overheight.  Sure enough you could re-register him as a section D, but he may look like a ridiculous overheight C rather than a good stamp of a D.  (I don't know the lines just from looking at a picture, and also know nothing about the dam! - some lines could cross over OK, others are just wrong when overheight.)  A pony which is overheight is no use for breeding or showing - and if it's no good for breeding, it shouldn't be kept entire!

Why do you want to keep him entire anyway?  Being a "properly bred C" isn't reason enough!

Answer 5

It might be a financial concern, in which case you could offer to pay the extra fees associated with keeping a stallion. Those include: private turnout, many barns will not accept studs at all to board, yearly vet exam fees, and insurance $$$ for liability. They may also be choosing to geld him so he will grow a bit taller, does that make sense?

The life of a stud is a lonely one, 99% of the time they live alone and only get to touch other horses when and IF they are allowed to do live cover breeding. Studs are at risk of career ending kicks if they do live cover on a cranky mare.

I would sit down and talk to the owners and find out what the reasons are that they cite for wanting him gelded, and then think those over carefully so you can respond logically.

Good luck!

Answer 6

There is only one reason to ever keep a stallion a stallion - for breeding.  That's it, nothing more - I can think of absolutely no other reason to want to.

Our family has two stallions - due to the low value of horses these last few years, we cannot make enough money even breeding our own stallions to our own mares to even cover the cost of having them.

The general, horse-loving public is familiar with the number of horses found neglected or abused as well as the cost of maintaining horses.  With jobs on the decline, people moving to stay alive and keep money coming in, and the ease with which the formerly good economy allowed people to breed lower-quality horses and sell them, no longer are these babies being sold.

The very only way to make money breeding horses is to own the stallions, the mares and be able to raise and train the horses as a by-product of another operation.  such as the ranch owners do - they have an extensive breeding program geared to output horses that work best within their operations.  As younger ones come into training, they sell off the older ones for a good price as very well broken horses - but even the prices on these are dropping.

A person who breeds any horse to obtain a foal WITHOUT a clear plan- including a known market for that foal as well as an intended purchaser that also has a plan to enroll the horse in training in a specific discipline - is contributing to the proliferation of low - quality horses and they are increasing the potential for that baby to become a mis-understood, abused or neglected animal.  There are just WAY too many people left in this world who think they know how to raise and train a horse but do not completely understand nor have the money or sense to hire a professional to teach them and their horse together.

When there are more people who know what they're doing, the plight of horses in general and the market for them will turn around and become a great thing - but I doubt I'll live to see that day.

Keeping a stallion a stallion and intending to keep him from his natural lifestyle will be equivalent to dooming him to unhappiness at the very least.  They cannot be turned out with other horses as a general rule in an enclosed space, they cannot be turned out into just any ol' wire pasture, especially in close proximitly to other horses.  They are MORE prone to hormonal urges than mares - unpredictable creatures who will attack another seemingly unprovoked - will quickly learn to kick or bite to get what they want or protect themselves or what they perceive as their right.

Come on- think about it.  What's a stallion do in the wild?  there's one for every herd including about 10 mares.  He's constantly on the prowl to keep intruders out of his space which actually encompasses square MILES, not acres, and he must constantly lead and protect them all and keep out other stallions, fighting to the death to protect his ability to propagate his get.

I would suggest to you, since you tell me they have had stallions before, that they know first hand the pros and cons of having them and have wisely chosen, for whatever reason, to not keep this one a stallion.   I would further suggest that since they likely have a better idea of what's the right thing to do, you ask them why they have chosen to geld, then analyze those reasons to try to understand.  AFter all THEY are the owners, not you.  A stallion is not the proper thing for a person to "part loan" any other person - especially a person who may not realize the proper reasons for keeping one.  Stallions are for people who OWN them and have a plan for them, not proper horses to allow for lease or loan.

Answer 7

i whould geld him unless you are doing any serriouse breeding with him you dont want to keep him a stud. geldings make better horses and they are alot calmer

Answer 8

My philosophy is" a nice stallion makes an incredible gelding". Geld them young and they are much happier.

Answer 9

Maybe a better question is to ask you why he should be kept as a stallion?  If he isn't going to be used for breeding, then gelding him is the best thing for him.  He will be happier, easier to pasture, and more suited as a riding horse if he is gelded.  The only reason for not gelding most horses is because they will be used as studs.

Answer 10

maybe they don't want you breeding him or something??

if raised right a stallion can be very controllable in fact i have a 9 year old stud, and even though he thinks he's all that he is VERY obedient.

he's not even used for breeding! he was just given to us, but we are gelding him just because it's not fair to the mares down the rode or him, because they get in heat and he just wants to do his thing and can't so i think it stresses him out a little..so if you don't plan on breeding then geld it makes like happier for EVERYONE!

anyways there is a rumor that if you geld later on the colt will have more muscle mass than a gelding of the same age, but i don't think so ...my stud looks just like every other shetland gelding lol

oh and when you geld later on it's a bloodier mess and takes longer to heal, that might be another reason they want to geld him now?

i'm sorry but i just can't think of a good reason to keep him as a stud!? uness you want to breed him?? or maybe you can talk them into waiting a year until he's fully grown or something??

plus it is there colt sooo you can't really make that decision..sorry!

gorgeous daddy though!! have fun with your colt!

Answer 11

Unless he has great conformation and super bloodlines and is winning points in something why would they not geld him.

He will be a better horse, easier to handle, able to have a better life interacting with other horses and be a better horse for riding if he is gelded.

There is a huge over population of unwanted horses right now so jut looking nice is not a good reason to breed them.

Answer 12

This is a hard question to answer unless you spend alot of time with him. We have two colts ( 3 going on 4 & 4 going on 5) my husband and his brother have trouble handling them on there own. Yet I can lead them with a gelding or a mare. If they start to play up all I have to say is 'manners'. and they turn into the 'ultimate paddock pony'.To me it seems that they choose the person to listen to. I'm sad to say that unless you own him, then their is nothing you can do to stop it happening. Sometimes it is done in the horses best interest, I have had to choose this more than a dozen  for my own horses. It is not a nice thing to do, but in the long run it is better than the knacker yard as not many people want a colt or stallion for a pet

Answer 13

Unless he is an awesome show prospect with confirmation and bloodlines to die for or something that is going to make a Stakes winner, there is no reason to keep him intact.

He may be quiet enough now to handle but that can all change with more testosterone as he gets older and once he gets a taste for mares, you can really find yourself in big trouble. Why do you think that there are "stallion men"? Handling a stallion especially one that is breeding is nothing like dealing with a gelding or even a 2 year old colt, some are downright dangerous. I once got grabbed by the arm by a 14hh teaser and the lads that worked with me had to literally beat it off me. 2 days later, it got hold of one of the boys and got him down on the floor and started mauling him - he had serious injuries and we shot him - simple as that.

There are way too many horses out there already without keeping a colt entire for no good reason, it just compounds the problem further. Do yourself and the horse a favor and let them geld him without a word - it's in everyones best interests, including any potential offspring!  

Answer 14

To justify keeping a two year old as a stud, conformation, blood lines and disposition must be exceptional; the horse must meet every consideration for the "breed standard"....no exceptions.  

Currently, the horse market is tanked.  This makes it extremely difficult to promote a new stud as many broodmares are being creamed and only the absolute " best" are being kept as broodmares.  The rest are being sold off.  The remaining mares kept as broodmares are only taken to the best of established stallions.  

When you have a youngster that you're trying to promote as stud material in this market your chances are "slim and none" that you'll be successful when you're up against exceptional, established stallions.  

As you know the decision rests with the owners of this horse and I think they're being more than responsible by having him gelded.  It's tough to stand a stud in the current market and you can't fault them if they choose to have him gelded.  

You've got limited knowledge of what it takes just to house a stud let alone stand him at stud...for these reasons I think the owners are right on target with having him gelded.  

It's irresponsible to keep a youngster as a stud just because you want him "intact".   If he's good natured as a stud he'll be tremendous as a gelding.   Remember, it's what best for this animal, it isn't about what your wishes are.

Answer 15

At 2 how many SUPERIORS in halter/hand have you gotten with him?

If you have shown him and he's done GREAT in larger shows, that's a reason.  GREAT meaning won all of his classes.

I should off the bat ask you if the pony is registered?  No papers, no testicles.  

Now I'm guessing you're in the UK, not sure about their show ruleings, but in the US only the Arabian horses are allowed to have a person under the age of 18 show a stallion.

Now if your pony fits all those catagories, Has papers, has won extensively in the show ring, etc.  Then, by all means keep him whole, if NOT then remember a good stud colt ALWAYS makes a much better gelding.

Answer 16

Unless he is of fabulous breeding and temperament and you plan on having a qualified breeder breed him sometime down the road, geld him. There's no reason to leave him a stallion. The owners know what they're talking about.

Answer 17

No offense, but they probably will not want to hear any reasons not to geld him from you!

You haven't mentioned why you think he ought to be kept intact.  Do you want foals by him or something?  I can only imagine that if he were a stellar example of his breed, with high earning parents and a show career ahead of him, his owners would be keeping him intact.  Since they have opted to geld him, they must have very good reasons.

In my opinion they are being responsible by gelding him.

Answer 18

all i can say is you only part own this horse so really its not your decision but maybe you and his owners can come to a compromise like maybe when he is 5yrs old then his owners get him gelded  

Answer 19

Uh...hmmm, well, uh...nope can't think of a single good reason not to geld this horse.  Sorry, he sounds nice, but if he is a great colt he will make a supreme gelding, and will be a much happier horse for it.  Unless he is a world class show horse with a future as a world class stallion standing for tens of thousands of dollars, get the vet out, say, tomorrow?