Further 'when to geld' question: decisions decisions

Kallibear

Kallibear

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General consensus was geld pony asap to be on the safe side (obviously if he's dropped both). It never really occured to me to be a problem until Box_of_Frogs mentioned her shetland a little while ago - I'm sure we've had colts turned out with mares over the winter round here before but never really thought about it (not my horses).

Anyways - he will (if we buy him) be stabled for 4 weeks at a properly livery yard to handle him (totally unhandled) because we will never see him ever again if we turn him out onto 15acres of moor land straight away!

I have, facilities wise, to play with: a large stable with round pen for 4 weeks. A small (1acre), ungrazed paddock for 2 weeks (anymore than that and it's become a muddy hell hole). Various large (10acres+) but fairly damp fields.

Horsewise I have various geldings to play with. He could have 1 with him in the small field, or up to 4 with him in one of the large fields for a couple of weeks. By the end of novemeber he will have to join the herd, which includes the filly.


So - would you:

Geld him when he arrives (before handling - just knock him out) so he's in a stable to recover.

Geld him mid way through (i.e 2 weeks in), half recover in stable then turn out into small dry paddock for 2 weeks

Spend the 4 weeks handling him then geld him and turn him out once he's recovered a bit? Into small paddock or out with the herd in a big field?

OR - just buy a filly ;)
 
I had Piper gelded two weeks ago at 4 months. He is still on his mum but hasn't suffered any ill effects at all, hes a bright as a button and hasn't lost any condition. I must say though that with me lifting his tail twice a day and having a good look at his bits I don't think I'd fancy that if he was wild. Also your vet will have to knock him right out (Piper had to be in the end as he wasn't letting a lady with a scalpel near his danglies however sedated he was) so they may prefer to do it at the surgery which would be pretty stressful for him.
My vet was confident that I could have left him with mares until April, they said its very unlikely they would be fertile before 12 months...but they wouldn't guarantee it!
 
Does gelding horses really young keep them immature like with dogs?

I've got an 18m old colt who I am keeping intact as long as possible - not for breeding reasons, just because I want him to develop more 'substance' and also as I am diddy I'd prefer him to possibly be a bit smaller - plus he has more uses at 14h2 than 14h3 ;)
 
Oh decisions, decisions! I've read somewhere that gelding early can influence the adult height of a gelding i.e. they are often taller at maturity than those gelded later in life. Don't quote me! LOl I just read it somewhere - apparently it was from research recently undertaken.

I have a 3 month old colt still with him mam until crimbo time, I aim to have him castrated at the beginning on Nov when he will be 4 mth old. The vet has confirmed his bits have dropped but prefers him to be 4 mths or over.
 
I think the maximising height thing is common in lots of animals. The theory being that everything goes into growing rather than developing in other areas. There must be some effect on muscle development but I don't think that necessarily influences strength from a sport perspective.

Interesting about not wanting to geld after frost. Is that because of cold? Many vets feel the complete opposite in Canada, since after a hard frost of two there are fewer bugs about and the ground tends to dry up (although I guess that's not the case here). Many like doing it when there's snow on the ground, since it's such a clean environment to turn out in.
 
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