To Geld or not to Geld?

Question

I have just aquired a 13 year old Registared Arabian Stud. We are trying to decide weather or not to geld him (I want to ride him). He is very gentle now but none of our 4 mares are in heat now. AND if we do geld him, how long till he quits thinking he is a stud? Is he too old to geld? Help

Answer 1

I don't think I would "Geld" him...thats pretty old to do it...he really sounds like he is gentle, or it would of already been done.
After he has been a "stud" that long, I don't think
you could ever change his mind...lol
good luck!!!

Answer 2

O.k Do not geld him. I rode a paint that was gelded at age 6 and is 2 years later and is still thinking that he is a stud!! He actrally got into this big fight over this mare with a gelding!! Thats y he has 2 stay in a lot of the times!! But if u want to and think he will do great I might give it a try! But that is Ur choice if u want 2 geld him geld him hes ur horse. Hope I helped. (even though I know I didnt) LOL!!

Answer 3

I would geld him if you are going to be riding him...plus having another unwanted foal in the world is just one too many!:) A stud at ANY age is going to think of "it" contrary to many of the postings on here...they are animals! Being 3 yrs old or 20, he will have those tendencies to want to breed if he is left intact. Each individual horse is different in how they act when gelded. My friends stud was gelded at 16 yrs old and is the perfect kids horse(TWH used for at least 10 yrs of constant breeding!)...but my other friend has a 8 yr old (only bred 2x) and he is a silly nut when a mare is in heat. So, If I was you and really had this as a consideration - I would talk this over with your vet (and other family members in on the decision making). The other thing to consider is that you would have to keep him in higher fencing, etc if he is kept a stud. Good luck with your decision!:)

Answer 4

Your horse is not too old to geld, and usually it takes around six months after gelding for his hormone levels to even out. He may never lose some of the stallion behaviors he'd learned over life, and will possibly still try to mount the mares but he will be much calmer and easier to handle.

As for if you should geld him... the practical answer is do you really want to start breeding horses? Do you want the responsibility and expense of caring for pregnant mares and raising foals and then having to train and seek out homes for them? Just because a horse is registered does not necessarily mean he should be bred and unless this is really an exceptional horse (either from extremely rare and prominent lines or a show champion) there is no reason to keep him intact.

And while your mares might not be in season now, at some point they will be and you will have to deal with a stallion that wants to breed. Do yourself (and him) a favor and have him gelded as quickly as possible.

Answer 5

Thirteen is not to old to geld. It could take up to six months for the him to get the idea he is no longer a stud. My husbands rope horse was 8 before he was gelded. And he was a holy terror as a stud. After he was gelded, he then decided he was to snooty to hang out with a mare (or anything else in the barn). My daughters show gelding was the same way. A real handful as a two year old stud, and now is a perfect mannered gelding. And unless you do not want to have to build bigger fences, stronger stalls, separate paddocks, not to mention having unwanted foals, I would be at the vet in a flash.

Answer 6

It's not to old to geld, and more than likely he won't ever quite thinking that he is a stud. If he is gentle is there a reason you can't ride him as a stud? Or is he gentle but unride able. More than likely if he is unrideable now even after being cut he will still be unrideable.
If he really is gentle and rideable now then that decision would have to be left up to you. It's true gelding takes away the testosterone but at 13 years old his stud tendencies will more than likely stay, they are now just a part of his personality and how he responds.

Answer 7

As others have said, it's never too late to geld. If he's gentle now think how great he could be as a gelding!

Would you really want to deal with keeping him in higher fencing and away from the mares whenever they're in heat? He could still break out and then you'd have unwanted foals, just more backyard bred horses to add to the mix. Unless he's got some great bloodlines, I would really think it's smarter to geld him.

Answer 8

I worked with a horse that was gelded after having been a stud. I'm sure it depends on the individual horse, but this guy was a brat every time a mare was in heat and quite a handful.

Answer 9

I think it depends on whether or not he has spent his life in isolation up until now. If he has, I think it would be a waste of money gelding him because he will never ba able to be turned out with other horses. On the other hand, if he has previously run out with mares, you can geld him and he will be as 'happy as a pig in muck' turned out with your mares once his hormones have settled. Thats just my opinion. I gelded my stallion age 7 and he was no trouble, but he'd run out with mares and geldings as an entire. As for riding him, if you ride well then it shouldn't make any difference whether or not he is gelded.

Answer 10

Eh.. not true in all cases.
My trainer had an Oldenburg stud up until earlier this year - it took probably 2-3 months for all of the extra testosterone to really exit his body, but once it did his behavior changed dramatically and he's very characteristically "gelding" now.
Any of the vices he had before which were just behavioral quirks he's still got (he's food aggressive, for instance), but his excitement around mares, his aggressiveness around mares, etc., has pretty much gone away.
He's 9 years old, FYI, so I definitely do not think 13 is too old.

Answer 11

I would recommend gelding.

There are enough stallions (most who should be geldings) on the earth, and if you decide to breed later on, you want to pick the BEST candidate, right?

If he is gentle now, he will likely be a gentle gelding. Castration is a bit more complicated for an older horse, so use the best vet you can find. He may never loose his "hey baby" nicker or interest in mares, but the drive to breed a mare in season will go away, more and more over time.

My sister has a TWH gelding that has been a gelding for a LONG time, not proud cut, doesn't act "studdy" at all...but he will still cover her slutty mare every time she comes in.

My stunted Peruvian rescue orphan wasn't cut until he was 2 b/c he was so puny and sickly...never acted interested in mares, ever, in season or not.