How old to geld?

[joanne1920]

Was jsut wondering how old horses/ponies need to be before they are gelded? my friend says 6 months old, i though owners had to wait until the 'balls' dropped and therefore the horse would be approx a year old??? thanks

 

[AmyMay]

Think the little chap on my yard was about 5 months old. His balls had dropped - or at least there was certainly enough for the vet to get hold off.

 

[machannah]

You can do at any time from about 6 months, earlier is possible but the foals can find going under quite tough so they generally like them to be well developed so that recovery is easier. My little chap is being done in 2 weeks and he will be almost 1 yr old - he is becoming a little more interested in the ladies now so is the right time to do.

Its all personal preference but they say if you leave them entire for longer they often fill out physically better

 

[minesadouble]

Many big breeders like to geld whilst the foal is still on the mare as apparently this is less stressful for the colt.
Since you have to take into account the weather when gelding most of ours are around about the 1year mark by the time they are cut and almost all have dropped by then though we have had to wait till a couple were two year olds before they had them both down,

 

[Maesfen]

Providing everything has dropped properly then they can be done anytime. A friend of mine has her foals done while still on the mare if possible, sometimes as young as four months.

It is an utter daydream that they develop better if left for longer according to many vets. It means all their developing can go into growing properly instead of increasing their manlihood (which will be taken away anyway!) at their skeleton's expense. It also, shouldn't detract from their presence which is another old tale; they either have that or they don't right from birth; leaving a colt entire for longer won't improve that.

 

[AmyMay]

[ QUOTE ]
A friend of mine has her foals done while still on the mare if possible, sometimes as young as four months.

[/ QUOTE ]
Yes, little bit was done when still on mum.

They are all done under sedation never GA.

 

[fizzer]

have had done when with mothers when bought from along way, less stressful

 

[wanderer]

we had ours done as soon as they dropped but mine was 17mths before they did and he was very coltish, wish they had come down sooner

 

[serena2005]

had my boy done when he was 18months