Recently gelded?

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0310Star

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I may have the opportunity to acquire a recently gelded horse, he is a very well bred section D, 7 years old and about 14.2. I have very limited knowledge of stallions and when I say recently gelded, he hasn't been gelded yet and that is something I have asked to be done before hand if we went ahead so he would probably only have been gelded a month or so. He has also covered mares in the past.

How will this effect him? will he ever be able to be treated as a gelding or will he likely always need to be kept alone with good fencing etc?

Now this isn't set in stone, I am still not sure myself so I want to get all of the facts before even considering too deeply into this. He has never been ridden as far as I am aware so would also need to go to a trainer for 6 weeks or so to be started as I don't feel I am experienced enough myself to start him.

Can I please have any experiences any of you may have on this subject?

Thank you all in advance!!
 
I'm sure people with more experience of your situation will comment more helpful things BUT personally, I would be very wary of buying something gelded so late. They will likely keep some stallion qualities. The couple of horses I've known that have been gelded late were quite dominant and lived by themselves.

It's also difficult to say how much they will calm down once he has been gelded, he may calm down alot and be OK or he might still be a handful and, with no experience of stallions, you may find this more difficult. It's a bit of a gamble as no one can predict what he will be like after.

But if you're set on getting him, maybe someone with experience can help you with him in the beginning until you're more experienced with him?
 
Depends. Some will be totally gelding-like within weeks, some may never realise they are gelded, some will have a complete character change and become timid, scared little wimps. Most will calm down considerably but perhaps retain some stallion characteristics. One of my stallions is actually less dominant than my gelding. I have gelded stallions (not personally, I hasten to add!) as late as 13 and had them out in mixed herds from 4 months after. One, gelded at 9, was never able to be turned out in company. One was a complete dope within days after gelding (and had been a very difficult stallion beforehand, which was why he was cut).

Stallions are not wild beasts, they're just horses, sometimes with a bit more oomph than others.
 
I think to an extent it will depend on the individual animal, it's temperament and the facilities you can offer, he certainly should be able to go out with geldings or mares, a mixed herd may be more of a problem if he is still trying to dominate them as he may end up fighting the other geldings my late cut gelding was fine with a mare or gelding but would see off other geldings if he was in a mixed group and he really meant it, it will also depend on how well socialised he has been early in life, whether he has been kept shut in as is often the case or allowed to have a fairly normal life.

It would not put me off if he was everything I wanted but I would only consider it if I felt I could give him a good quality life turned out with at least one other rather than him being limited to a life alone, so it really comes down to where you would keep him and how sensible they will be about careful introductions, not being OTT about the fact that he may still be a bit stallion like in some ways and being prepared for a few teething issues as he settles in to his new life.
 
Thanks every one. I am totally torn in my mind about this, He is a fantastic looking horse and he has a nice temperament as a stallion but I just don't have the facilities for stallion, nor do I want a stallion. I wasn't out looking for another horse right away (a few months I had planned due to my mare slowing down with arthritis) and this one has come up so just a general musing really. My boyfriend is a novice, has never ridden in his life but has really got into the looking after side of things and he really wants this horse so I have said I will do some research.

He has been kept shut in for the past 2 years which also concerns me a little as my mare lives out in the summer and ideally I would want him to as well.

Does anyone have any advice on sending away to be trained? I've been on to a place near me but its £400 a week for a 6 week course... which has then got me thinking I could buy a very nice ready to go horse for the price I would be paying for this horse + training.
Is this a typical price for retraining?
 
Please bear in mind that most stallions are "fantastic looking" - that's the hormones which give them shiny coats, big necks, lots of muscle and lots of attitude. Most of that will go away once they are gelded, so you must be able to see them as they will be after gelding.

Your boyfriend will need a schoolmaster to learn on, or even better - a long course of lessons at a reputable riding school. £400 per week for training is not unreasonable IF the trainer is qualified (and I don't just mean with BHS letters after name), but 6 weeks will not turn any horse into a schoolmaster.
 
0310Star said:
He has been kept shut in for the past 2 years which also concerns me a little as my mare lives out in the summer and ideally I would want him to as well.
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For this reason I would say steer clear. If stallions are allowed to be horses they can be perfectly manageable (of course some aren't) but ones that are shut in tend to be loons with lasting issues. It's not a good situation for any horse.

Also with your boyfriend being a novice, this probably isn't the best horse for him to start out with. My novice other half has given my stallion a few bad habits without even realising it and he doesn't even handle him very often.
 
I hadn't thought of the change in looks after gelding, thank you for that!

Well this is what I mean, he is a novice so this is quite a big leap! Obviously whichever horse it is will be an all rounder for me so safe on the ground is the main thing, but I need to know its safe for him.

The quote I got is from Jason Webb at Australian horsemanship - very well respected in the area.

There is something telling me this is a bad idea... maybe I need to listen to my gut on this one! I just think I could spend say £700 on the horse + £2400 on the training, then it needs tack also, so for that I could go out and get a nice schoolmaster which doesn't need all of this work/money put in!
 
I don't mean to be rude but do you really have the experience for a potential stallion like animal that's not broken and you will have to ride it green fresh from a breaker? Sec d tend to have a big personality anyway so even a gelding can be a handful. A gelding that was a stallion could be an awesome animal.
 
Cortez said:
Your boyfriend will need a schoolmaster to learn on, or even better - a long course of lessons at a reputable riding school. £400 per week for training is not unreasonable IF the trainer is qualified (and I don't just mean with BHS letters after name), but 6 weeks will not turn any horse into a schoolmaster.
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This.
I think what the others have said is encouraging (and has educated me too so thanks :) !) However, if this is for your boyfriend who has never ridden, I would not say a recently gelded, 6 week trained horse would be ideal for him. He needs an older horse that will allow him to make mistakes. You don't want to pay £400 for training and then when your boyfriend starts riding he ends up giving the horse lots of bad habits.

My boyfriend had never sat on a horse before my boy. He's 15 years old (the horse!!), been there done that type and though he looks after my boyfriend well, he still has his moments where he 'tests' him and tries to take the mick a bit.


Also the being shut in for 2 years would be worry, how much socialisation has he had ??
 
EQUIDAE said:
For this reason I would say steer clear. If stallions are allowed to be horses they can be perfectly manageable (of course some aren't) but ones that are shut in tend to be loons with lasting issues. It's not a good situation for any horse.

Also with your boyfriend being a novice, this probably isn't the best horse for him to start out with. My novice other half has given my stallion a few bad habits without even realising it and he doesn't even handle him very often.
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Thanks for this reply, I did wonder if being shut in will have lasting damage, even if its minimal and the horse isn't happy staying out that will be quite annoying in the summer months let alone psychological problems!

My boyfriend has picked up the ground stuff really well with my mare BUT she is easy. She is a thoroughbred so does sometimes keep you on your toes but like you say your other half has given your stallion a few bad habits without even realising. My mare is 18 so she is just how she is now so I don't need to worry about that really.
 
equi said:
I don't mean to be rude but do you really have the experience for a potential stallion like animal that's not broken and you will have to ride it green fresh from a breaker? Sec d tend to have a big personality anyway so even a gelding can be a handful. A gelding that was a stallion could be an awesome animal.
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Yes that is a little rude when I haven't said anything about my experience lol I have been riding/around horses for 21 years, and owned my thoroughbred mare for 6 of those. I wouldn't call myself a novice, but I would just rather send a horse away to be re-trained.
 
Thank you for the replies everyone, you have been more than helpful!! And confirmed what my gut has been telling me!

I think finding a good honest schoolmaster is a much better/cheaper/more enjoyable idea all round :)
 
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