When would you geld a colt and why?

rippling~wave

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Sep 9, 2005
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As in the title, at what age and time of year would you geld a colt?

Would you say different breeds should be gelded at different stages?

Would you only geld Spring or Autumn or any time of year?

What are your experiences of gelding your colt in terms of behaviour and maturing etc?

Thanks :)
 
I think this is entirely up to the owners as to when to geld.

If the foal is not got what it takes to procreate then I geld them whilst still on mum. If I think the foal has potential I will wait and see how he develops. If an any time I think that his temperament is not what it should be or his conformation is not good enough then he is in for the chop.

For me it does not go on season, although here in Australia I would avoid gelding in the height of summer, would not want infection setting in because of heat an flies etc.

Many think that gelding when colt is older will mean he will grow bigger because of testosterone that however, IMHO, is an old wives tale as I have seen colts gelded within weeks of brith grow up perfectly normally.
 
here in the uk, it is more common to geld in spring or autumn due to risk of infection etc from flies if done in the summer,

Kaiser will hopefully be gelded in autumn (was meant to be spring but there were problems) I have no notions to breed from him, he has a lovely temprament etc, but so do many other stallys.
 
I think it depends on the facilities available to you.

E.g. At my old yard (where Rambo used to live in France), there was a pasture that was for stallions and colts (+ Rambo who thought he was The Man) ... The colts were rarely gelded before they were 3 or 4 years old - basically at the point where the owner decided if they were going to be a stallion prospect or not. As stallions they still got to enjoy 24/7 turnout in a herd environment, so didn't lose out on anything just because they had balls!
If balls are going to get in the way of good husbandry (sadly often the case), then I think it's only fair on the colt to sort out his problem as soon as possible!
 
ASAP, for most ponies.

we are a commercial stud so we breed with the intention of producing stallions, and we have the facilities to run them on in safety and bring them up to be good citizens. if they come out and are clearly not going to make the grade, then they are done as soon as the bits appear.
in our breed they are licenced first at 2, so we generally run on until then and take them for licencing and see what the judge panel say. even if they pass, we might discuss it with the judges and decide to geld. their second licencing is at 5 so if they escape at 2, we will back them and see what they are like, trainability, tmperament and adult conformation, and then geld if needed before 5.

if at any stage in the proceedings their temperament or conformation appears questionable, then off they come.
 
You need to have correct facilities. I would not be happy as a mare owner to have a colt covering my mare on livery for example so would expect adequate housing for it sperated by a fair bit from mares and if not then I would expect it to be gelded or not out when mine are, so for me I would geld unless I could be sure I could contain him :)
 
I have heard different things from different vets. One insisted we leave Monty to be gelded in the spring, but another just said keep him in, and that they need to stay away from mares for a while after anyway. And that other operations happen all year so why should gelding not, as long as you are hygenic about it.
As for age...leaving Monty until he was two was a real mistake, I am sure he would never have gone so crazy if we hadn't left it so late! The other colt I had, Ballou, was also left until he was 2, and although he was not crazy like Monty Moo, he was not good in the field.
 
I have heard different things from different vets. One insisted we leave Monty to be gelded in the spring, but another just said keep him in, and that they need to stay away from mares for a while after anyway. And that other operations happen all year so why should gelding not, as long as you are hygenic about it.
As for age...leaving Monty until he was two was a real mistake, I am sure he would never have gone so crazy if we hadn't left it so late! The other colt I had, Ballou, was also left until he was 2, and although he was not crazy like Monty Moo, he was not good in the field.

the main difference between gelding and any other operation is that it is an open wound, so being hygenic about it doesent really matter, you cant tell your horse not to lie down in the dirt coz he'll get dirt in his wound!!!
 
We geld any time as we don't have a fly problem.

One little gobby colt tunred around after being gelded, he was an insufferable colt, but the dearest gelding.

Gelding them early may make them grow a bit taller, gelding them late meas they might not grow so tall. Testosterone fuses the growth plates earlier.
 
the main difference between gelding and any other operation is that it is an open wound, so being hygenic about it doesent really matter, you cant tell your horse not to lie down in the dirt coz he'll get dirt in his wound!!!

Dirt is dirt in summer or winter though! Really...if it is wet or dry it is still mud! And no guarantee of it being dry in summer anyway. Best to avoid it being v. hot because of flies though.... or so common sense would suggest!
 
Arnie got booked to be done at 9 months. Having taken away his water, and feed the night before as instructed, I managed to get rushed to hospital with kidney stones:D.

I lost 2 stones and he got to hang onto his 2 for another couple of months:D
 
I gelded both my boys in the autumn of their yearling year.
The reason for this was because a)I wanted to wait until the end of summer so that the flies wouldn't bother them. b) I wanted to wait until it was a bit cooler, because it would help with swelling.
I wait until their yearling year, because sometimes it can take them that long to drop down properly.
There's no harm in gelding them early, but I like what the extra testosterone does for their shape.
 
Oh, and forgot to say, he finally got done in February, at 11 months old. Personally, I am not happy handling entires and although he didnt get particularly "coltish", you could see it starting.

His field companion was a Welsh Sec A mare so I didnt want to wait till there was any risk of accident which is why I originally tried to get things done at 9 months.

I would have had him done at 6 months when I first got him but he was a poor wee thing and I wanted a bit of condition on him before I had him cut.
 
As soon as their bits drop properly, I was told. I'm not sure why some people wait for ages, especially if they aren't going to breed. One gelding I know (brilliant ex-eventer) was gelded very late like when he was 11 and looks a bit moody sometime but isn't. Most stallions I know will bite, the only issue I can see, really, apart from when there are mares about.:rolleyes:
 
Mine was gelded about 2months ago now, hes two next month. The reason....hes not breeding potential, thats all, he was still impecably well behaved.
 
Thanks for all your replies :)

Quite a variance!

Im still in two minds whether to get mine done this Autumn or wait until Spring you see.
He will be a year come March and ive been advised to wait til then to 'let him fill out' and he will be more stocky rather than gelding at 6/7 months and being 'tall' (I haven't actually seen any published research on this so I don't know how true it is, need experienced people to tell me).

Too much conflicting advice, Haha!

I guess I should just see how he goes but don't want to end up mid winter with a real coltish boy and have to wait til spring!

There are no mares where he will be at present but that might change come winter.

Hmmmm.....
 
Hi,
I get my colt Jasper in October and will have to have him gelded then as the stable where he will be doesn't like stallions kept there.He will be 6 months.Can anyone tell me the procedure and how long it take for the anaesthetic to wear off.Also what is the average cost?
Thanks :)
 
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Hi,
I get my colt Jasper in October and will have to have him gelded then as the stable where he will be doesn't like stallions kept there.He will be 6 months.Can anyone tell me the procedure and how long it take for the anaesthetic to wear off.Also what is the average cost?
Thanks :)

hopefully he will be ready for it then:o

k was supposed to be gelded in march (he would have been 9 months) however there is a layer called the abdominal wall between their abdomine and where their little parcels drop to, if this layer isnt fully closed over they wont operate as i found out, as its an open wound, they run the risk of their intestines etc falling out the hole which equals a dead foal. I was lucky my vet found this, as some dont do a thorough enough examination. so hopefully he will be ready in october time!

as far as i was told, they sedate them, (not anaethsatise) leave them standing (my vet does anyway) make a small incision, everything falls out, and then the leave the wound as it is. From my vast amounts of times k has been sedated it takes anything up to about 3 hours for them to be fully with it after sedation, but just depending on how much they need!
 
I have no clue, but wanted to ask a question related to the original topic :)

With the dogs, we advise people to wait until over the age of 12months, preferably more like 2 years to neuter or spay their dogs when they get a puppy from us. This because the hormones are vital to the correct growth of the dog and with labradors in particular is you neuter them too young you can have strange growth such as very tall dogs, very little bone, incorrect shaped heads etc etc.

Whilst I suppose its not vital that you have a "correct" looking dog, i would rather wait until they have done their growing to neuter them as it is a more natural way of doing things.

Pengapenga said that a horse will not grow taller if left ungelded, but surely they will fill out more and look more masculine?

My boy was gelded at 3 (going on 4) when we bought him and he definately looks more solid and chunky than horses of the same breed which are gelded as youngsters, and he has a fairly cresty neck which i think looks nice!

I suppose with horses though, i'd be swayed by whether the colt was very "stallion-ey" in his behaviour as you dont want a hormonal, badly behaved youngsters when theres mares in season around him!!
 
I know someone who had to have her colt gelded shortly after he came to her out of necessity - bolshy behaviour, and lack of facilities meant it needed to be done asap, so as soon as they dropped, it was done - it was early June, and he stayed out in the field, with no problems from flies or dirt.
 
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