Why do they announce before a race that a horse is now a gelding?

Question

Do they think that the horse will more likely run faster or slower?

Answer 1

Sometimes if there's a problem, they can geld the horse and he'll be more comfortable and he'll run faster. Also, it usually makes them more focused on actually racing than on looking at the fillies. They announce it because betters like to know this information... it can affect who they choose to bet on. Lavaman's a gelding and he's running better than he did before because he used to be uncomfortable running. They'll only geld for a reason because it's much better to have a stallion racehorse who can reproduce after his racing career is finished... so the information that the horse has been gelded is very significant.

Answer 2

they have given up the last hope of breeding the horse, which in some cases costs quite a bit...in hopes of having a successful racing career by gelding the horse...this keeps the horse from acting studdish and puts his mind strictly on training and racing...in most cases gelding a horse will get a better performance, or at least the best performance that the horse is capable of, just as they would announce that a horse is on lasix or bute for the first time, because the horse either bled or had breathing problems...

Answer 3

No, I don't think that's the reason. Gelded male horses are much more calm as a rule, and are better able to focus on their jobs, since they aren't thinking about sex and mares all the time. Horses are gelded for many reasons, but this is one of the main ones.

Answer 4

A horse is usually gelded because either its testicles were bothering it/did not descend properly; or because it has not been able to concentrate on racing because of fillies/mares in heat in the race. One way or another they are expecting its performance to improve.

Answer 5

Slower..Only one gelding has won the Kentucky Derby in the last 75 yrs.... Improvement in quality and performance in the equine gene pool must begin with selection of only the very best individuals for breeding purposes. Because up to 90 percent of male horses are not of breeding stallion potential, gelding is very common. Due to a decrease in the production of androgens (the male hormones) after castration, geldings generally have a more stable disposition than stallions. Gelding makes a male horse suitable for a greater range of uses.

Male hormones are responsible for much more than the desire and capability to breed mares. Athletic performance can be helped or hindered by testosterone. It can make a stallion perform with more energy and brilliance than a gelding yet it can also serve to distract a stallion from the work at hand. Similarly, secondary sex characteristics, such as muscle bulk, that are influenced by testosterone production can manifest as desirable muscle definition and strength or as an undesirable cresty, thick, and inflexible neck.

Gelding is often used as a means to modify a horse's behavior. Vocalization, fractious behavior and sexual interest in mares are frequently the undesirable characteristics noted in the yearling and two-year-old stallion. Although sexual interest is desirable in a stud, sexual aggressiveness is inappropriate and dangerous in a performance animal. The urge to copulate is just one part of the breeding ritual; related breeding behaviors include forms of whinnying, squealing, pushing, rearing, striking, and biting - all socially acceptable behaviors among horses but not between people and horses. A small percentage of young male horses exhibit sexual frustration or self-mutilation tendencies. If such a horse is not intended for breeding, it is best to geld him before habits get established.
Although gelding will remove the underlying cause for such behaviors, it will not change poor manners and bad habits. This must be accomplished by proper training. Behavior learned before gelding, especially if it involved breeding, will not disappear instantly after castration, and perhaps will never be eliminated completely.

Some horses retain sexual behaviors after gelding and are often called "proud cut". In the past this was said to be due to some testicular tissue being missed during the gelding procedure allowing testosterone production (but not sperm production) to continue. In some cases, this may have been true, especially considering the variety of crude methods of castration practiced over the last 2000 years. However, today, with the availability of restraining drugs and the level of knowledge and surgical techniques, it is unlikely that missed testicular tissue is the cause for the estimated 25 percent of geldings that are said to exhibit some type of stallion behaviors. Since the adrenal glands (located near the kidneys) also produce testosterone, it is thought that the cause of so-called "proud cut" behavior may be due to the (hyper)activity of a particular horse's adrenal glands. Other stallion-like behaviors may simply be poor manners due to inadequate training.

Two weeks after the horse's surgery, from outward appearances, he is a gelding. However, past behavior patterns and a low level of androgens make the yearling continue to act somewhat like a stud-colt. Use caution in turning the new gelding out with a group of mares, for example. He may learn a lesson the hard way. Depending at what age he was gelded, the horse may need as long as 4-6 months to mentally and physically forget he was a stallion.

After castration, the gelding's metabolism is likely to slow down. Therefore, to maintain optimum condition, a gelding usually requires less feed and more exercise than his stallion counterpart. Although a gelding and stallion may have similar muscle bulk, a stallion's muscles exhibit more definition because a gelding's muscles tend to be covered with a layer of fat giving him a rounder appearance.

Horses gelded before puberty usually grow taller than if they were left stallions. The testosterone rush at puberty triggers the closure of the epiphyseal plates (where bone growth takes place), so the stallion essentially quits adding height at puberty. The horse gelded at one year of age has a gradual, delayed puberty and the additional time may allow him to add extra height.

Answer 6

When a horse is gelded, he could do nothing else but run. He cannot do anything else.

Answer 7

Yes, some bettors think it does affect the way the horse races. They think he will race faster because the jockey will be able to control him better.

Answer 8

It depends if he has been gelded yet, if he hasn't he will run like hell !

Answer 9

if they cut your nuts off you would run faster to make sure it won't happen again

Answer 10

His nuts have been cut off!!!