I realize this thread is a couple of months old, but I am wondering how old the OP’s horse was when he was gelded. Testosterone is known to close the growth plates in long bones, and male horses gelded before they become sexually mature very often keep growing even after “adulthood.” That is one of the reasons why breeders in Europe often do not geld until the horse has turned 3, esp. in bloodlines that tend to be tall. They don’t want a horse that was gelded as a yearling (for instance) to keep growing until he hits 18h as that can affect marketability. It is also a reason why some very nice young stallion prospects are gelded BEFORE age 3 - if they look like they are small (short) for their age, removing the testosterone from their systems delays closing of the growth plates in the long bones, so the horse will continue to add height for several years - and sometimes even after age 5.
Hello, thanks for your response, it is interesting. I’m not sure when he was gelded, I should ask his old owner that I’m still in touch with. I don’t know if it has any relevance but at six years old he still occasionally tries to mount my mare in the summer and is a strong heard leader. That probably isn’t relevant but thought I’d say Incase. He turned six in July this year and still looks bum sometimes to me, not the best pic but here’s a recent one, sometimes he doesn’t look bum high, sometimes he does I can’t tell.
Very interesting, thank you!
Super interesting! My 2 year old was gelded at 5 months so I’m hoping he will continue to grow!
I have heard this too, and this would certainly explain why sometimes breeders report having TALL colts out of smaller mares yet those same mares tend to produce smaller when the offspring are fillies.
The only example i have in my limited time breeding so far confirms that as well:
15.1hh mare bred to 17hh stallion = 15.3hh mare
same 15.1hh mare bred to 16.2hh stallion = 16.3hh+ gelding (gelded at 11 months)
