Should I get him Castrated??

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kate89

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Hi my name is Michaela I am 19 years old. I have a Lipizzaner colt that is 6 month old. But I can’t decide whether to keep him entire or geld him? I don’t really want to geld him as he does have excellence blood lines for breeding and I know there are only a small number of pure breed left in the world.

I am not a novice I have school and broken other horses in the past, I do have handling experience ECT BUT I have never had a stallion but I have had a rig… there are a couple of things that are giving me second thoughts, Which I hope someone would be able to help me with.
As I said before I am not sure whether to keep him entire but many People keep saying to me it be the worst possible thing I could do is to keep him entire, as he be uncontrollable and hot headed, and if I get him gelded to late because I cant control him he would have gotten used to the testosterone and still have the stallion characteristics (is this true). Also if I did get him gelded I would get him cut at the age of three… is this to old. ??
Also I have a gelding and a filly, I have done some research and it’s coming up with:

I have to keep he separate as he would want to fight with my gelding and breed with my mare. But there is so much research you can do on the subject with limited answers.( I do have my own place so I don’t have to worry about finding a yard that will have him)

I really don’t know what to do, my heart is saying keep him entire… where my head is saying geld him.
My dream is to compete in top level competition dressage and maybe one day get him graded if all goes well. Anyone with stallion experience could you please give me some advice and point me in the right direction please,

Thank you
 
I was in a similar situation with my boy this year when he was a 2 year old (or near enough), however, I was having problems controlling him as I could only see him every so often and he had a combination of two year old, his natural charater (he's a bit of a court jester) and the testosterone. I also would have to keep him at a livery yard so that was potentially going to be a problem.

Before I gelded him he was living with a gelding and we never saw him fight with the gelding as they were best friends, he was then a weaning buddy to a filly and he actually seemed to try to mount her more after he was gelde than he did when he was still entire. Some stallions can be hot-headed but the main thing is that if they have the manners then there shouldn't be any problem. Certainly I wouldn't personally geld him until the spring of his second year, i.e. in two years time.

He is now gelded and all the testostorone has gone and with it all the characteristics and although I do still wonder what he would have been like I also know that he and I are both better off because I can relax more around him (you can't completely relax around them when they're entire) and he can live out, or at least get turned out at any livery yard we go to. Feel free to PM me if you want to chat.
 
i have experiance with stallions and alot depends on how they are brought up. our competition stallions were actually quieter than some of the mares/geldings on the yard.they were shown as babies so they were taught from babies that they were not allowed to whinny/talk to other horses when in hand or ridden etc ect. they are competition horses 1st and stallions 2nd. they knew they had different bridles for covering in and working in. in a showing line up you wouldnt be able to tell they were stallions (on manners anyway). you have to be quite strict with them for your own and others safety. i would have another stallion anyday!
 
Yep, castrate him.

It can be so difficult to give a stallion a good quality of life - and unless you have your own land, and he is a really good example of the breed - you are just going to make life very difficult for yoursefl.
 
if his blood lines are good for his breed and you have suitable faclities where he can be turned out and grazed, why not. if you handle them correctly at a young age and they have the right training, worth contacting a lipizzana stud and get advice on grading him????im 5"4 my 2/3 yro colt stud at 16.2hh once he new i was in control he was great will be a future stallion one day hopefully with ladyfresha!!!!!
 
Ditto! I'm not an expert on Lippizaners - but I believe that - like Andalucians and Lusitanos - they are often kept as stallions even when wanted purely as riding horses and they often live/work in close proximity with other stallions (Spanish Riding School, in particular.)

But you need to talk to an EXPERIENCED Lippizaner breeder - or to the breed society - to be sure there will be a demand for his bloodlines once he's graded.

Colts handled properly from the onset shouldn't be trouble - the odd one is and then can become a very nice gelding. But do your research carefully and think it through - after all, you can't stick them back on if you change your mind.

Stallions gelded late can be more of a problem than colts gelded early - but with time they settle! Be guided by behaviour - if he becomes a ratbag colt at ANY stage, geld him. Otherwise, wait and see.

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if his blood lines are good for his breed and you have suitable faclities where he can be turned out and grazed, why not. if you handle them correctly at a young age and they have the right training, worth contacting a lipizzana stud and get advice on grading him????im 5"4 my 2/3 yro colt stud at 16.2hh once he new i was in control he was great will be a future stallion one day hopefully with ladyfresha!!!!!

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I have spoken to a lipizzaner breeder and she said also. it depends if they are demanding for his bloodlines and that they reguarly import lipizzaner stallions from aboard to stop the risk of interbreeding.
Think i just play it by ear.... see if i can get him graded oneday !??also if his temperament starts to go down hill then i will get him gelded... because i wouldnt want that around my other horses
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i know where your coming from i have a 8wk old friesian colt that has excellent bloodlines i want to keep him entire due to the same facts as you also he would be the only breeding stallion in the uk out of his sire im also experienced ive also had some years under mybelt working for a stud farm and handling a couple of stallions
most people say that stallions can be uncontrolable but i believe if you treat them as same as normal horses they will act like it i also believe that if you ride them before covering can also help
as i say im in two minds to but mine is over just the fact of space and time really
 
If it helps we have one at our yard, fully entire but never covered, 12 years old now, lives in the indoor block, a mare 2 boxes along, goes out in a normal height fenced electric fenced feild next to a gelding and until i looked i didnt know he was a stallion!!!! A real angel in everyway but the handling has been right from the start and i repeat has never covered a mare.
 
difficult question - I have a 3 year old - still entire and stayed at his stud in Germany up until 2 weeks ago. His training has been excellent, I could even walk him past a number of mares in the stable - but is of course no guarantee that he will stay like this. He passed his grading with flying colours, and came best in his class. I know there would be demand for him, as there was already at the grading, but decided to keep my options open before breaking him in. He is now at a state stud for AI - so should it be more difficult to handle him later, I still have the option to geld him. The disadvantage is: it's not cheap!
 
Unfortunately not much more to tell at this stage, but I found a good training yard for him where he will go in October and they will bring him on slowly and prepare him for his performance test in August next year. Can't wait to see him again next week. He certainly is a foal no longer! Has grown out of it too quickly for my liking. If lucky, a mare is already pregnant by him, with his very first semen from the state stud. Is always a gamble, but worth the try. Need to wait now until it is confirmed.

He has a nice combination of performance blood lines and will keep him low key until I have a better idea of his capabilities. Don't believe in rushing things!
 
Hokuspokus is it possible you could give me advice as you have had hands on experience? In my post I forgot to mention that I have NEVER handled a stallion but I have had a rig... When you had your very first stallion … did you have help from someone that had stallion experience or did you go at it alone? This is one of my main problems as none of my family has never handled a stallion and many people keep giving stallions SUCH a bad name!!! expecting them to play up… but I keep saying horse are like children if your not going to discipline them and don’t teach them from right to wrong then they are going to be unruly.
Have you had any major problems with your stallion and have you had moments where you thought you made the wrong decision?
 
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In my post I forgot to mention that I have NEVER handled a stallion but I have had a rig... When you had your very first stallion … did you have help from someone that had stallion experience or did you go at it alone? This is one of my main problems as none of my family has never handled a stallion and many people keep giving stallions SUCH a bad name!!! expecting them to play up….....
Have you had any major problems with your stallion and have you had moments where you thought you made the wrong decision?

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MMM ... my first stallion handling experience was at the age of 17 when I worked at a TB stud - and one of the stallions was ill-mannered to the point of being dangerous. I learnt quick!
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Now I have my own well-mannered stallion - and a number of colts I'm running on for grading - the oldest is 3 and 16.3 already! He's pretty well-mannered, although we had a few 'moments'. Handling a colt is like handling any horse - give them an inch and they'll take a mile. With firm, fair discipline and sensible handling, you shouldn't have a problem.

We've had one colt that WAS a ratbag - life is TOO short - so I gelded him at 2 and with hindsight, I should have done it sooner. But he wasn't my breeding - and was out of a rather hot mare.
 
This probably won't help much, but we have a few stallions at our yard, and they're handled much like the other horses, even stabled with the mares. You wouldn't even guess they were stallys except for all the yelling!!
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One is 4 and is a total plod, absolutely anyone's ride.
 
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