I’m just curious, hoping those of you who’ve had experience will chime in. I jus t bought a horse who was gelded last fall at the age of 8. To the best of my knowledge, he was never used for breeding. I’m told he’s not good with other horses, that he’ll seem ok initially but then will get aggressive. The farm he came from had mares on the property, and we have only geldings. He is presently in solo turnout, but seems interested in being with my small group of boys. In your experience, is group turnout after late gelding possible …or is sort of “once a stud, always a stud”, no group turnout for you? Thanks for your replies.
Our vet says they need one month of being a gelding, for each year they were intact, for the testosterone level to reach “gelding” levels. Just his rule of thumb.
I’ve had two gelded late - 7 and 8. One was bred. Both settled into group turnout after time passed (one year+). The one gelded at 7 even goes out with a mare at 9.
I rode a horse who was gelded at 8 - he was in an individual paddock for a few months after arriving, then out with a mixed herd in a large (40 acres) pasture. He did work his way to a dominant position in the herd, but was not really aggressive or violent about it.
I have one that was gelded at 8. He doesn’t play well with others. Same thing you are talking about… starts out OK then he just either won’t leave the others alone or gets PO’d when they won’t leave him alone. After too many stupid injuries either to him or to others, he now lives in his own paddock with a shared fenceline.
But, I think he was extremely badly socialized as a baby, from what I have discovered. He’s nippy and pushy. Hes’s also now 20 and not going to change at this point. Just as well I love him dearly.
I have a friend who has a horse that was used as a breeding stallion and gelded pretty late. Not sure how late–he was gelded when he showed up at our barn in about 2006, had probably been gelded for at least a few years, and was born in 1992.
This was in California and there was no group turnout, but the owner moved to Texas where he’s turned out with her small group with no major issues. At this point I don’t know if they’re more ex-stallion issues or just geriatric issues.
When he was in my barn he was owned first by a older man who puttered around on the flat and then by a girl who did short/long stirrup with him. There was a bit of personality in there, but nothing that wasn’t appropriate for the two riders. The worst thing I ever saw him do was get pretty obnoxious when hand-walked with a chain–my guess is that’s what they did when they took him to breed/collect and that’s where he thought he was going. Otherwise he was a gentleman, including around other horses, including mares.
If anyone’s curious, it’s Hilltop Cordini and he’s still alive.
I had an ex-breeding stallion that was gelded at around 10 and he did retain some stallion tendencies, but it also gave him an unique and bold personality that “clicked” perfectly with me. 
He got along with most other horses but was definitely dominant, and would sometimes try to “breed” one particular mare if the opportunity presented in the beginning of being out with her…it was a problem that had to be curbed at first but eventually he quit doing that.
I’ve got multiple ex-wild horse ex-stallions here. They all go in group turnout, usually mixed mares and geldings. Sometimes I need to do some swapping around, but mostly they settle quickly. It helps to have a dominate, bossy mare in the group. She will keep all the boys in line. I’ve never seen any of the ex-stallions attempt to mount the mares, even when they’re in season and desperate!
Currently I have a still intact stallion here who was mustered from the wild at the beginning of May. He went out with the Shetland and the tiny pony on Sunday, and everything was fine.
I’d say if a gelding is difficult in a group, it’s more likely to be because of poor socialisation than because he was gelded late.
[QUOTE=phoebetrainer;8701672]
I’ve got multiple ex-wild horse ex-stallions here. They all go in group turnout, usually mixed mares and geldings. Sometimes I need to do some swapping around, but mostly they settle quickly. It helps to have a dominate, bossy mare in the group. She will keep all the boys in line. I’ve never seen any of the ex-stallions attempt to mount the mares, even when they’re in season and desperate!
Currently I have a still intact stallion here who was mustered from the wild at the beginning of May. He went out with the Shetland and the tiny pony on Sunday, and everything was fine.
I’d say if a gelding is difficult in a group, it’s more likely to be because of poor socialisation than because he was gelded late.[/QUOTE]
THIS…^^^^^ and I would add poor horse management practices.
In any herd of horses you will have “herd dynamics” that need to be sorted out between the horses. The manager needs to know how to let that happen while minimizing potential for injury.
Anytime a new horse is introduced into the herd you need to allow for the dynamics to settle down. Even when a horse is removed from a property for a few months, then returned, things can get a little “intense”.
The the behavior you are describing has nothing to do with being a stallion…more with the individual horse. If everyone has been afraid to turn him out because he was a “once a stallion,” how is he supposed to learn socialization?
When I was looking for a horse once the breeder took me out into her 2-yr old field. I pointed out a horse I was interested in. She said he wasn’t for sale as that was her breeding stallion…who was running in a herd of about 10-15 youngsters.
I have a boy who was gelded at 9 years old. He is a gentleman, and I have had no problems with his behavior. In fact, I didn’t know about the late gelding when I bought him and I was surprised when I found out about it. He is fine being turned out with other horses, but does want to be in charge. He’s not aggressive about it, just insistent. I don’t know wether his pasture dominance comes from the late gelding or just his personality.
Thank you all for your replies.
He was gelded about 8 months ago when he retired from racing, so the socialization issue is spot on. I’ve never owned a former stallion… so wanted to see if there were issues I hadn’t thought of. I"m going to do what I’ve always done with new horses… let them share a fence line for a few weeks, then try him with the one of the geldings and see how that goes.
I have an Arab whom I gelded after acquiring him at the age of 7. He had been used as a breeding stallion and lived a solitary life prior to coming home with me.
Gelding went smoothly, no issues whatsoever.
From the moment he arrived on my property, I expected him to live and behave in a small “herd” situation. He had a single fenceline separating him from the other geldings and cattle for several months, and was then integrated.
Some squealing and striking, but no outright fighting. He is NOT the alpha, he conceded that position to my 32 yr old Arab gelding. He does not challenge the alpha at all, a simple stink eye or snark from my old guy sends him running.
He is not overly dominant to anyone else in the herd, either. He is pretty darn close to a perfect gentleman, even at feeding time.
All sorts of factors can affect the success of a horse after late gelding, but it CAN be done.
I just gelded a 14 year old mini donkey and expect no issues. I’m certainly not waiting 14 months, poor guy is already lonely and is only separated from touch and not eyesight of my other three. He was gelded 5/31 and has already lost some studdish behavior per the old owners, so I hope to have him out with the other donkey around the end of August if not sooner. Odie was out with my gelding intact and directly after gelding with no issues but was never used for breeding to my knowledge and gelded at three; Argie was so I’m playing it safer.
FWIW I started a APHA stallion who was actually easier to handle as a breeding stallion; once gelded he turned spooky. The only one I know of that wasn’t a positive change after gelding, most are either the same personality wise and drop the studdish behavior, or become more mellow personality wise :yes:.
My 13 yo OTTB has been gelded since at least 3, but up until recently was not easy with others. Sold at auction as a weanling, yearling, and then 2yo, and then raced to 7, so probably a socialization issue as well. Mostly a nudge who bugged the heck out of the others, so would set himself, or others, up for injury from rough play. He could be ok with exactly the right one, but even then, would pick on pasture mate.
This winter he was getting very anxious, his pasture next to one with a handful, and they’d often be at the other end of their pasture. BO decided to put him in with a small bunch as spring came, and she needed to rotate fields. OK, finally at 13 he began to get the drift. The groups have been getting larger and he is now out with 11 others. He still does wanna be bossy, but at least not arguing, just herding. Although of the 11 is a pair of Haffies who are almost his equal. He finally seems to be just letting most alone, although the BO says sometimes he will still try to interfere when they are bringing one in from the pasture. I haven’t seen that, actually the opposite from a couple of the other boys.
However, what was helpful in a previous barn was a mini who used to escape into his pasture-of-choice. They got along like old bikers. Mini was full of himself as well, and they’d play tag and were just a riot, always up to something. My guy also interested in other smaller critters. So if your guy needs company, and is irascible, a mini, or maybe a goat might do the trick, until you feel comfortable introducing him to the rest-of-the-herd, or perhaps as an introductory lesson.
My 15 year old mini gelding had been a stallion for a number of years but as others have said it was the lack of socialization that was a problem for him. I don’t know why, but even after he was gelded his former owner kept him away from the other horses.
The poor little guy wanted to socialize and ‘be a horse’ when he came here, but he said so many insulting things to the other minis (he was a squealer) that they chased him around for months. Once he figured out how to talk to the other horses everyone settled down. 
Stallion behavior is driven by instinct, not hormones. Those provide the fuel for the behavior, but not the behavior, itself.
We’ve done it a few times. All the stallions had good temperaments before and so had good temperaments after. We sold a 21 year old stallion who went sterile shortly thereafter. His new owner thinks he’s the best saddle horse she’s got! He was always well behaved, even during breeding season.
What gelding does not do is erase the experience the horse has had as a stallion. That might account for the vet’s claim of “testosterone” levels needing a long time time to decrease. This means that turnout with other geldings might be a problem, where turnout with a mare band with a strong alpha will be quite successful.
With the older horse it’s best to do the cutting in a proper vet hospital as if the procedure goes wrong it will go wrong badly and in a big hurry. Post-op care must be meticulous. Keeping the newly gelded horse away from any mares is season is very important. That suggests cold months when mare are not cycling is the best time to do it.
G.
We raised and kept our ranch stallions with our geldings, so they learned horse social manners quickly.
Even as breeding stallions, they lived with the geldings and would let the boss gelding tease a mare over the fence while easing up to the gate for us to halter and lead into the pen, then serviced the mare and were turned right out with the geldings.
Once the hand breeding was over, to clean up, we would turn him out with the mares and he would stand by the gate, wanting back with his friends, thinking mares were being mean to him.
Never had any fighting at all, but we would not have kept a stallion that would have been fighting others too aggressively.
Now, we had some other stallions raised isolated and those just were not suitable to live with company, so we kept them up, if with company across the fence or just one companion if possible.
I think horses are individuals, some are mean, some very mean, most just horses.
See what you have there and you may just have a well socialized one that will fit with your other horses, just as if he was initially gelded young.
He may just fit well.
There are no always with horses. Introduce them one at a time with someone holding each horse if you can’t do the introductions over a shared fence line.
I know a few stallions who have been gelded late and did take time to level out. But in all instances they were ultimately fine to be in a group/herd environment.
We have had three different horses that had been recently gelded (as mature males, at 3, at 5 and at 7 years old respectively) introduced into the mixed herd successfully. The 3 and the 7 year olds were no problem.
The five year old’s problem wasn’t his gelding so much as his complete lack of “speaking horse”. I don’t know if this is because he came off the track or what. He would pester someone and they would pin their ears, bare their teeth, threaten to kick or whatever and this poor dumb guy would just stand there and then get pummeled for not moving away after all the warnings. It took him over a year to finally learn the lingo of the herd.
It’s true as others have said, it’s the mares that really teach the manners in the herd, we have a cadre of bossy mares, Mare number one and her lieutenants that keep the order and smack around anyone being rude.
I could sit and watch the herd dynamics all day…it is totally engrossing.
