Does gelding lower future worth?

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Kub

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A bit of a random question but just something I've started wondering with people asking how much a horse is worth.

So if you get a young colt and have him gelded, if he then goes on to become absolutely brilliant in one/more spheres, gets really really good at what he does, would his potential value be reduced because you could not breed from him?
 
I would have thought it depends on what sphere you were intending to compete. Flat racing they tend to stay as entires and then can be used for breeding if successful - but of course they are generally much younger than other disciplines.

Dressage - quite a few entires around.

N Hunt racing - don't know of any - someone did once say something about getting their "crown jewels" too close to the brush fences.

I wouldn't particularly want a child's ridden pony left as entire as I think it could be too much of a worry.

I think you have to have a very special specimen of any breed to warrant leaving it as entire and breeding.
 
I'd guess...

If it is something that def shouldn't be used for breeding then the new owner will probs have to pay in time & money to geld or potentially have higher 'running costs' in terms of restrictions on where they can keep him, who he can be turned out with etc, etc. Hence value lower entire.

For something with potential to breed well then value lower gelded but ease of sale (as in many more potential homes) greater.
 
Unless you've got an outstanding example with great breeding and a good chance of the horse excelling in its field what's the point of keeping a horse entire? Most people don't have experience with Stallions or the set up to handle one so keeping a horse entire limits the market when it does come to resale, so no to me unless it meets the criteria above it definitely doesn't lower future worth.
And FWIW - the ONLY time we've regreted gelding a colt, his sire died about 2 weeks after it was done, and he was the last colt foal born from that bloodline. However he turned out to GOOD horse but not a GREAT horse so maybe if we'd known the stallion was going to die we wouldn't have gelded him, but I don't think we lost anything in the end, as I'm not sure that he would have been a good enough sire to stand at stud.
 
True, and I totally understand why most colts are gelded, but I bet there are the odd ones that turn out to be amazing but can never pass that on. But then again, I guess if a horse is really good at what it does, it will be worth a lot just for that, would maybe just be a little disappointing if you couldn't reproduce that.
 
There's always cloning - I know of one horse used for barrel racing in the states that they've cloned because he's so good but was gelded as a youngster
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In dog breeding, if we like a particular example, we go use his sire!!
The same goes in racing, so in many ways gelding wouldn't make a difference.

MagsnPaddy.... I want a go at what you do, do you or anyone else have trial days??! I drive anyway, but know very little about racing or trotters!
 
Hi Duggan - we do the same with going back to the sire with geldings if possible
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Trial days - we don't currently although I know there have been exhibition races where people from outside the sport have come to race but in normal racing you have to drive in a number of qualifier races (against other newby drivers and young horses) before you're allowed to race properly. Whereabouts are you based it may be that there are local drivers that may need help driving out - we've had people come and help us at home before.
 
Apparently they gain a little extra height if you geld them too (important to some people) because as a stallion (and if I understand this right) their bones seal off earlier inorder for them to develop secondary sexual characteristics; crests, extra muscle etc

I wouldn't want to keep an entire. It's just a faff, and even though I know a tonne of lovely tempered stallions there is so much predudice against them that they're all mental/mean/agressive and so many liverys won't take them. Even if you have you own land you never know what's round the corner.
 
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