Has anyone here gelded an aggressive colt/stallion?

lindsayH

lindsayH

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I'm really interested to hear if anyone has any experience of gelding an aggressive colt or stallion? How much difference did it make? How old were they? I'm trying to decide if I should geld or shoot my very aggressive 4 year old pony stallion. Half the people I've spoken to say of course I should shoot it, if it's that bad then gelding will make little difference. The other half say I should try gelding it first. None of these people (including the vet) have any direct experience of the situation so I thought I'd see if any of you have. Any wisdom from those with expertise in this area would be most welcome.
 
Hi, yes. We had one (nicknamed "Fluffy") who was very aggressive as a stallion, had him cut and hey presto we now have a very aggressive gelding. It depends on the cause of the aggression, Fluffy is aggressive because he's been abused, and will never get over it, TBH he would prob be better as a sausage but his now owner loves him for what he is and keeps sending him to various trainers to see if they can sort him out. He was a 4 yr old also when he was gelded, he's now 5.

I personally think that if you can't put aside the time or money after he's gelded to try and sort the problems or think they are so deep rooted that they aren't sortable then yes, you should shoot it.
 
i havnt got experience with agressive colts but i had my colt gelded at 3 because he was to sensitive to stay as a stallion. he changed over night and is now very quiet and easy to handle, hes 16.2hh and my 6 yo sister can ride and handle him. i wouldnt have let her near him before. i dont know if your colt has been used but if not then having hormones raging around his body and not being able to do anything about it may well cause the agression.
 
I had my 3 yr old shettie gelded last August cause he turned nasty.

He got that he wanted to attack horses when lead out but was manageable then one day he wanted to attack my 17hh and was trying to climb over 4 foot wall (shettie is 34") in the process of me trying to stop him getting over he turned on me and and tried taking a chunk out of my cheek, he completely lost it and was wild.

Decided there and then he had to be gelded and it was the best thing, he is so laid back and adores my big lad now. Plus he has filled out lovely and the clunking from his stifle has disappeared so am going to show him this year.
 
Why is he aggressive.
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I expect you have already looked at his lifesyle eg living in or out, horses hes with, work hes doing etc.
It looks like it would be a good idea to try gelding him, considering other peoples experience - I think I would take the chance.
 
Very interesting and useful replies, much appreciated. He sounds very like 'Fluffy' in that he's aggressive towards people to a greater extent than other equines and I suspect some similar past history. Thank you.
 
my old YO gelded an 8 year old horse who was very agressive and would bite, kick and generally try to trample anyone who handled him.
Anyway, he calmed down a bit after being gelded and was easier to handle although we never trusted him not to bite, I think once they have done it you always have to be wary of it. I would say he remained partial to a bit of dominance/agression but certainly was not as bad as he was when entire.
 
My friend had a Section C stallion...he was an evil b******, in fact that was his nick name.

He was gelded because he simply became too dangerous and it was felt he was not going to be able to enjoy life. He came from a proper old fashioned welsh man, where he lived in 24/7 and probably had a few good hidings!! He was much better after being gelded, but he is still quirky
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Interesting that an 8 year old improved. TBC, do you know how old the sect C was when gelded? Sounds like there might be more hope than I thought, although I think maybe the term 'aggressive' may be a little subjective...
 
I'm not remotely asking anyone to make a decision for me, or even asking what they think I should do. I'm perfectly capable of making my own decision, I'm just asking for people's experiences of gelding older, difficult entires. I'm interested to hear their stories. My situation has no bearing on what other people have to say about their own.
 
In all honesty, why haven't you gelded him already? An agressive horse is not normally breeding material and whats the point of having balls if your not going to use them???
What does he do giving him the title 'agressive'?
 
Thanks for your reply RuthnMeg. I don't really want to get into the whole story on here. I don't think there's much point going through the whole thing when it's always really hard to judge from what people say on a forum. I have plenty of horsey friends and colleagues in real life who know me and the pony and have discussed it at length with them. They are split down the middle as I said and I don't want to start the same row on here! I started the post, as I said, to hear of other people's experiences. If you're really interested, we could talk about it via PM?
 
Many years ago I bought a pony stallion outside an auction which was very aggressive; at every and any opportunity would lunge at you teeth bared, boxing with forelegs etc. etc. He'd had such a bad start I really did want to give him the best chance I could so I had him gelded to see if it would help change his behaviour. Sadly it didn't make a scrap of difference and eventually he was pts.

Bare in mind when reading replies, there is a big difference between true aggression and boisterous 'colty' behaviour which to those not used to it could seem aggressive.....
 
He was about 6 when gelded and 8 when eventually PTS.

His aggression was to due to an attempt to break him to harness by a group of ignorant young men.

I really wanted things to work out for him as I couldn't help admiring him for standing his ground even when being subjected to the most awful treatment; he always came back literally fighting.

Sadly after an incident with a group of lost walkers (which would have been quite funny had the outcome for the pony not been so tragic) we decided we had to pts.

I hope you can make the right decision for your boy
 
My boy was gelded at 5, as no one could go in the stable with him as he would attack them!

Hes now 12 and is lovely. He still is incredibly cheeky but it is just cheekyness. He is a really sweetie really!
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you could geld him and see if it changes him. takes about 6 weeks for the hormones to subside. you could also put him on potassium bromide to cqlm the male instincts. ?why is he aggressive? is this new behaviour? how long have you had him? and does he really need a big whack and some manners and work instilled? another Q is whether (when aggression issue dealt with) he has potential as something?
 
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My boy was gelded at 5, as no one could go in the stable with him as he would attack them!

Hes now 12 and is lovely. He still is incredibly cheeky but it is just cheekyness. He is a really sweetie really!
smile.gif


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This sounds like colty behaviour rather than aggression to me
 
I worked with a 5 year old stallion whos behaviour became unacceptable and he was gelded. He improved drastically, He had already been used to cover mares.... so knew what his bits were for.
 
6 weeks to change?!? More like you'll know in 6 months! It takes much much longer for a stallion to settle hormonally than a colt.
 
we gelded one of our stallions at 6yrs, not because he was agressive, but because he was inconsistant, and found any work with him would be a battle, sometimes brilliant but more often than not, his hormones would win, we felt that he did not have what it takes to be entire and work, as todays boys must show that they can cut it in competion, and not just looks. so he was cut. and yes he now works very well.
 
[ QUOTE ]
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My boy was gelded at 5, as no one could go in the stable with him as he would attack them!

Hes now 12 and is lovely. He still is incredibly cheeky but it is just cheekyness. He is a really sweetie really!
smile.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

This sounds like colty behaviour rather than aggression to me

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How is that colty behaviour?! No one could enter his stable or in fact handle him because he would do everything in his power to physically hurt you. Hence why he was gelded as he was too dangerous to handle even by people experienced with stallions.
 
Our stallion was 3 when he was gelded, he was incredibly aggressive, lunging and rearing whilst trying to strike at you, he would also double barrel at every opportunity. After gelding he wasn't much better but I was terrified of him so probably didn't help when I handled him. I was going to have him pts but as a last resort sent him to a IH RA for 3 weeks. He has never reared once since he came back, he did it twice with her when she collected him but never after that and is a different pony. He is 9 now and is the most lovely pony.

I also know of an arab stallion that put 2 professionals in hospital and was dangerously aggressive, several vets advised pts but the owner was convinced she could make her fortune out of him. Eventually she had him gelded which made absolutely no difference and she tried to sell him to a dealer without telling about how dangerous he was. I told the dealer the horses history because I was worried he would end up in an auction and sold to someone with children. The dealer refused to buy him so she asked him to just take him for free. The horse got free whilst they were trying to load it and it was horrific. It was trying to attack other horses over the stable doors and at one point was attacking the 4x4 that they were trying to herd it with because no one dare approach it. It jumped into a field and was given lots of sedalin overnight with a feed, the dealer collected it the next morning and took it straight to the abbatoir. He said he had never seen such a dangerous horse.

I suppose it depends on why it is aggressive, our boy was very insecure and possibly harassed by kids whilst protecting 'his' mare.
 
LindsayH - no personal experience sorry hun but quite often stallions have to live a totally different lifestyle to geldings or mares. They often live in almost total isolation and have very little, if any, turnout. When they do have some time outside their stable, it is almost always in isolation again. This sort of lifestyle can make any horse wretched and miserable and aggressive. Gelded, he would be able to live a more natural lifestyle. I'd want to give him a chance. How much would it cost to have him gelded? Do you feel he deserves a final chance? I'd say give him this one last chance but that's just me x
 
totally agree with box of frogs, it can be a lonely life for a stallion, all the more reason for temperament to be good.
hope all goes well for you.
 
I met a stallion like that years ago, at a riding centre.

He lived in his box 24/7 with no turn out and no friend and would attack everyone apart from his owner.

I went back a couple of years later and they'd gelded him (due to his 'attitude') and he lived out with his new friends. Turned into the nicest boy ever. I can't remeber how old he was, but not young.

Sadly they had got themselves a replacement stallion, also kept in 24/7 with no friends and he was starting to become aggressive too. Some people never learn
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