Castrating a soon to be 4 year old

[Aphrodite]

Hello everyone,

So, I’ve have had mares, geldings and stallions but I’ve never been through the experience of gelding the stallions that I’ve previously owned. Meaning that the Geldings I’ve had were bought as geldings.

However, I’ve recently purchased a talented youngster last year and he has been showing a lot of promise. He is quite well behaved when ridden, but yet again he has been ridden a handful of times and things might change as soon as he is more confident with his balance and is more fit. He is still a young horse so quiet green in some aspects but no Stallion attitude when worked nor ridden - so far!

He lives in a livery barn with small paddock next to two geldings, one on each side and mares a few boxes away. He is again very calm and relaxed in his box and paddock. However since he’s in a livery barn, not everyone is aesthetic about the idea of having a stallion around, especially a young one. He does acts stallion-ish walking down the isle of horses, and puffs up and jogs down neighing but other than that he is cool. He tends to be very fidgety when groomed and we don’t have grooming boxes, we have a shared grooming area, which also makes it a pain. To add to all this he has a very cute personality to be around, and is very sweet and he has bonded and is always paying attention to me when working him from the ground (Free work him) no tack just a whip and he follows my movements and aids.

So to cut the long story short, I’ve been considering gelding him, I’ve already made contact with the vet and checked what the procedure is, healing time etc BUT I am worried that castrating him might affect his personality and his way of going when worked? Am I overthinking this? I am also worried that he might loose his nice neck, or since he is 4 next month, with the right training he’ll maintain his physique? Plus I don’t want him to change, I just want him to be the same with no stallion behavior, is this the case when gelding or do some horses lose some of their spirit when undergoing castration? Will we still have that bond when free training him or will he lose interest once the hormones are gone?

Sorry for all the silly questions but I just want to be sure before booking an appointment, as I said I have no experience in the transition.

Many thanks in advance, and bear with me

[Redlei44]

To even have the choice is somewhat of a luxury - most boarding barns prohibit stallions. Yours sounds sweet but overall, they pose more challenges to the horses and barn staff.

The longer you wait, the more likely those stallion behaviors are to become ingrained, in my experience (again speaking in general). You’ve already waited quite a bit longer than most. So sure, you might lose some “spirit” when you geld, but not his underlying personality - and you’re making the responsible decision.

[CanteringCarrot]

Yes, you’re over thinking this and yes, he’d make a nice gelding. :winkgrin:”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹

I’ve had horses gelded around 4 and it was pretty uneventful. The healing time isn’t terribly long, and the after care is somewhat simple with cold hosing and light exercise/walking.

They don’t lose their personality and he’ll still be the same horse for the most part. His neck will probably stay about the same.

Honestly, owning a stallion can be a pain in the bum. Especially at a livery yard. Unless he’s going to be competed, campaigned, and is an extraordinary example of his breed, he doesn’t need to be a stallion. Even if he is all 3 of those things and then some, he’d still make a nice gelding and it’s much easier on everyone (horse included) to have a gelding.

[Aphrodite]

@CanteringCarrot - Thanks! I feel better about it, and to be honest I wasn’t planning in breeding him, so I don’t see the point to have a hormonal horse around if there’s no purpose for it. I want to fully enjoy him and want him to be comfortable and happy.

Can they tie up from their back end due to castration? or is this a myth?

[cutter99]

I have always been told that great stallions make incredible geldings.

I would geld him ASAP. I have a gelding who was gelded as a four year old, and he was starting to get some stallion behaviors that took a little work to overcome, in particular mouthiness. I will say this horse has a ton of personality, so I do not think gelding him changed that about him.

[Aphrodite]

@cutter99

. I will say this horse has a ton of personality, so I do not think gelding him changed that about him.

@cutter99 so he’s not the same anymore, personality wise?

[Zu_Zu]

• there is NO reason to keep him a stallion

• there is every reason to GELD Him -ASAP

• before the heat and bugs arrive *

Good Luck ~ ENJOY your new horse ~

[CanteringCarrot]

@Zu Zu

• there is NO reason to keep him a stallion

• there is every reason to GELD Him -ASAP

• before the heat and bugs arrive *

Good Luck ~ ENJOY your new horse ~

Oh yes! A fine point! Before the heat and bugs arrive!

We can go over “what ifs” forever as there are risks with any procedure. You won’t know until you get it done, so speculation is a waste of energy at this point.

I have never experienced horses tying up from gelding (from young colts to stallions that were in their teens). With horses anything is possible.

[Cassi1125]

I gelded one colt at 3-1/2 (another one got cut on his third birthday (not the best birthday present a horse could ever have) but he was in a training barn so different set of circumstances). The 3-1/2 year old was terrifically easy to work with, but I wasn’t interested in breeding, so off the not-so-little bundles came. Never had a problem with him after gelding, nor did his personality change. (He was brought up in a busy barn, and wasn’t really treated any differently except that he couldn’t go out with the mixed herd.)

[iberianfan]

The horse I bought in Spain was a stallion, and a well regarded one (rated Calificado), but I had him gelded before importation. At 13. He has lost none of his personality, and can still act a little stallion-ish.

However, when he first came, my saddle did not fit. I did not realize how badly it didn’t fit until I got one that did. With the first saddle, he was “lazy” and lacked enthusiasm. I even spoke to a vet about it. That vet said that, sometimes, stallions who are gelded older (I would say that 4 is NOT too old) never get over it and they administer anabolic steroids to get the “wow” back. No thank you!!

With a well-fitted saddle, I have a wonderful horse. The one I thought I was buying. There are two stallions in the barn, and while super animals, a PITA.

I vote geld him and enjoy him!!

[pony_grandma]

Where are you, since you mentioned livery yard. What season is it there? Spring- clean fresh pasture and no flies. Vet lays them down out there and then you leave them out to walk around.

An aside, time of day may be important - my vet was late for early afternoon and didn’t show up until after 3 something. So there we were out in the field. Horse on his back, me holding him upright and vet at the rear - then here comes the school bus.:eek:

[MuddyHalter]

I gelded my then-4-year-old mini. No issues, except he is very smart and was angry at me for a couple of weeks. :lol: His personality is exactly the same. Neck stayed the same. The only downside is weight management became more challenging, but I’d expect that would be less of a concern when you’ve got a horse taller than 9 hands. :winkgrin:

[RMJacobs]

I had a Hackney pony that was gelded at age 10. I bought him twelve years later, and he still had pretty intense stallion behaviors. I believe he was used for breeding, so that might have contributed. He was great with people, challenged all stallions and geldings, and saw all mares as girlfriend material. He tried to mount my friend’s mare while I was driving him and my friend was riding her mare (darn it, I told her not to get so close!). He tried to pick fights that he couldn’t finish, since he was only 12.2. So I would suggest gelding sooner rather than later.

Rebecca

[exvet]

I’ve gelded multiple stallions that were 4 and older. The oldest one that was gelded that I owned was 12. He was a perfect gentleman but then he was as a stallion as well. It’s far easier if you have it done when it’s not fly season. As for losing the nice neck, in my experience they don’t lose ‘their’ neck once it’s developed. My mustang, now gelding, who was intact when I acquired him and was a late 5 year old, coming 6 (gelded him in February) when he was gelded. He still has the same neck. My horses have always bonded with me regardless of their sex or changing hormones.

[Wicky]

Like exvet, I’ve gelded several older horses. The last was 4, the one before that about 10. Just want to say that older stallions have large testicles and the blood vessels can be large, as can the inguinal rings. I had those older horses done at the vet hospital, under anesthesia, and it was a good thing because the 4 year old had very large inguinal rings and was at significant risk of having an inguinal hernia at some time in the future, which could be fatal. This cannot be known before surgery, either.

[cutter99]

@Aphrodite

@cutter99 so he’s not the same anymore, personality wise?

Oh, he is! He is a character and always has been. He is the type of horse you never forget because he is extremely athletic, but has the personality to go with it. He is always looking for something to get into, very curious and one of the few horses who runs towards things that most horses usually run away from.

I don’t think you will have any regrets gelding your horse.

[goodhors]

I strongly recommend having horse gelded at a Vet facility, just because of his age. Blood vessels are larger, may need special equipment, meds, which are not on the truck coming to your barn. Just MUCH safer at the clinic, if any part of the gelding process goes wrong. We take all of our older colts (over a year old, have the bigger blood vessels too) , older (7 years and up) stallions, to the Vet Clinic for gelding them. Gives us peace of mind that practically any problem during the gelding procedure can be managed by them there.

We have gelded older stallions, they were not much changed in personality, even breeding stallions. Well trained before and after. Still were a bit dominant type horses, but accepted humans as being “in charge”. They got turned out in horse groups before and after gelding, were well socialized in groups with other horses before gelding. They had never been kept isolated like stallions used to be.

Gelding your horse will make his life easier, managing him in all situations will be easier too. He should have an attractive neck after gelding, not the bigger crest like a mature stallion may have.

[Aphrodite]

I am worried now about the larger blood vessels @goodhors, I do have the option to take him down to the clinic but they would still do it standing and the horse clinics that we have here aren’t super advanced but still, better than at the stables.

[kande04]

@Aphrodite

I am worried now about the larger blood vessels @goodhors, I do have the option to take him down to the clinic but they would still do it standing and the horse clinics that we have here aren’t super advanced but still, better than at the stables.

Donkeys are different in that the blood vessels absolutely do need to be sutured unless they’re gelded early, and I knew that and told my vet who didn’t believe me. Long story short, my donkey almost bled out, got infected, foundered, and that basically ruined what was a nice saddle donkey. With 20/20 hindsight, I should have left him entire, or at least insisted he be sutured.

Not that a friend made out much better with gelding an older jack, because she took him to a clinic knowing that he was high risk and made them promise to suture him, and he bled out, anyway. She didn’t follow up, but she thinks they didn’t suture him even though they promised they would.

Had my horse gelded at 5 because I wanted to be able to take him to shows by myself, but with more 20/20 hindsight I should have left him a stallion because 1) I lost interest in showing, and 2) he was much less spooky when he was still a stallion.

My situation is different though, because I keep my horses at home.

[MsM]

Stallion-like attitudes before and after castration seem to be pretty individual. A friend had an Arab that was a breeding stallion until he was gelded at about 4 or 5. He was about 8 when I first knew him and he was totally a gelding. No interest in mares, nothing in his appearance or attitude that would let you know that he was gelded late. Owner said previous owner reported that he was just as mellow as a stallion and was just gelded since they didnt plan on breeding him any more and he was more marketable as a gelding.

At that time I had a grade gelding that reportedly was gelded before his first birthday. While he didnt look stallion-ish, he certainly thought he was one. Called to the mares and, when put in mixed turnout, would “breed” a mare! :eek: