To geld or not to geld???

jodie3

jodie3

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I have taken on a 5 year old stallion as a rescue/project. My first thought was to have him gelded asap but my vet has suggested not doing it as at his age and development he is always going to retain his stallion characteristics and appearance. Also, there is always the associated risk of an older stallion bleeding, possibly to death:( So basically if I had him done I would end up with a horse that was to all intents and purposes a stallion but with no b******s!

So I thought I would tap into the vast information pool here on the forum and see what you guys think or have had experience of.

Many thanks in advance!
 
I think you should geld, the retaining of stallion characteristic is a bit of an old wives tale:)
I have seen several horses gelded late, there might be increased risk to the procedure, but the advantages will outweigh it.
 
A friend of mine gelded her horse when she got him at 9, and he had been used on mares... although he walks like a giraffe given half a chance, and he looks a little cresty... you would never know, he is very gentle and calm... and also a complete poof - totally terrified of the mares and has a boyfriend!!!
 
Talk to another Vet!

Geld. If he isn't being used as a stallion then his life is going to be a lot happier. Yes, there may be slightly higher risks, but plenty of horses are gelded later. I believe Weezy had one of hers done at about that age, under GA perhaps?

My horse is 6 now, the moment I decide I no longer wish to use him then he will be gelded, already discussed it with my Vet, he sees no problem what-so-ever.

As for the bleeding, my Vet clamps, and leaves the clamps in situ until the next day to help prevent precisely this scenario, he has been doing that for 40 years and finds it very peculiar that it does not seem to be common practise in the UK.
 
Yes geld. I would get an opinion from another vet.
If he is not going to be used for breeding then I would not want to risk him jumping a fence and getting in with someone else's mare, or chucking you on a hack and coming across a mare, it is just not worth the risk tbh. I have heard of lots of stallions getting gelded much later than 5 years old, not having any problems and actually not keeping a lot of stallion characteristics.
 
My horse was gelded at 5. The owner/breeder thought he might keep him as a stallion but he was just too hot, didn't like being brushed, got all hot and bothered at competitions and tired himself out before he started.

He did have a serious complication with his boy bits and had to go to hospital to basically get gelded again. :( He had an infection in the tube opening so it hadn't healed properly. (eternally grateful to OH for spotting this, there were no real outward signs other than he was reluctant to stretch over trotting poles). I don't think that was due to his age when gelded though. My research on Dr Internet showed that while not really common, it is a complication that happens.

He's rising 7 now and I feel that the stallion – ness (English???) has finally gone. He used to hate being brushed but now he's starting to enjoy it. He does remember what his willy is for and does try to give OH's mare the best 5 mins of her life. But even that seems to have subsided now, or perhaps he's had a few too many hoofprints in the wrong places. ;)

He does have a fantastic stallion neck though and is often mistaken for a stallion because of this. His sex drive has now been replaced by food drive!

Personally, if there is no intention to breed from the horse I would always geld them. I feel sorry for a lot of stallions (they often keep them whole here because they think it gives them more presence in dressage), I think they live lonely lives in a state of permanent sexual frustration.
 
Speak to another vet, fair enough he has his own opinions based on possibly his own experiances but what he has said is not true.

We has a stallion gelded at the age of 18, no problems and the vet had no problems with doing it.

Unless the horse is going to be used at stud to produce quality foals, it should be gelded no matter what age I say.
 
Speak to another vet and geld. There is an increased risk gelding older horses but they can be done much later than 5!

For his quality of life he should be gelded. The only reason to keep him entire would be if he had exceptional conformation, breeding, movement and temperament suitable to breed from. If hes not good enough and you dont want to then chop them off!
 
Although I agree about gelding late, the bleeding is fairly common, by friends horse had it quite bad and needed to drained. As the horse gets older it does become more complicated. You just have to weigh out the positives and negatives.
 
Yes some horses can still act like a stallion but many don't, I had my 5yr gelded who knew he was a stallion but had manners, all that has basically gone, he no longer gets frustrated and bites the horse horses but he still has a spark about him.

Just had a 6yr old done, he had one ball up, I've had no problems with him at all, eberything is a risk but sometimes you need to take it.

If you boy will be living alone I would gelded him now, it isn't fair to keep stallion alone.
 
My new one was gelded just 6 weeks ago, 3 weeks before his 5th birthday. His previous owner (who sells many stallions who are subsequently gelded) and vet had no qualms about gelding him.

Just remember that they remain fertile for up to 2 months afterwards so keep him away from mares in case he "hops on the good foot and does the bad thing" as Austin Powers would say, and it takes quite a while for the stallion behaviour to wear off!
 
I had one gelded at 6 a couple of years ago, I also had a 4 yr old cut last year. Both with my very good vet, done standing in their boxes with sedation and local. There will be more dripping than doing a weanling, but there are risks with gelding any horse. You will probably get told by numerous vets that gelding an older stallion needs to be done under general at the vets, with a half decent vet, this isn't the case.
 
I've had a 10yr old breeding stallion gelded and he was totally fine after - never showed any interest in mares again - much to his mares annoyance!!:D I also had a 4 1/2 yr old done last year and he still thinks he's a stallion but it is getting less and less, so I'd go ahead and get his nuts off, there are increased risks purely because the nuts are bigger and the blood supply is greater but it is worth it in the long run for the horse.
 
As others have said, talk to another vet but gelding him seems like the sensible option. Only thing to consider is that at his age it is best to have it done under GA in a theatre situation,as the risks of castration do increase with age. This may require referral if your own vets don't have a theatre. Castration under theatre conditions can be done at any time of year, as opposed to standing or field anaesthesia when spring/autumn are best, so you could have it done this summer if needed.
 
When they are older then yes I believe there are more risks associated with the actual procedure itself, and the possibility of complications but personally if the Stallion is not going to be used for breeding purposes then if it were my horse I'd definitely have him gelded as much safer for everyone- if your vet has issues with doing so then maybe you can ask for a second opinion on the matter for advice or set up a referral to a vet hospital.
 
i dont think there is a problem gelding late. I think temperment of horse needs to be considered too though. For example a 3 year old pony was gelded last year at the yard im at, he was quite a horny bugger, but it worked fine, i think you would need to wait before turning out with another horse though because after a month from being gelded he got turned out with my horse and then tried to mount my poor boy! :O he got the shock of his life! just as well the pony couldnt reach! but he was sold on and is now used on the cart to match another highland pony..all is fine as far as i know. However in a totally different situation a friend turns her stallion out who is in his teens with a gelding (who is the stallions grandson) and the pair love each other!
 
Ditto geld it. I'm really not one for keeping them entire unless they are world class and worth something to be honest! Plenty of what could have been nice geldings get confined to a life of a stallion and all the restrictions and problems that come with keeping their manhood. Especially peeves me off when people keep them entire just for the 'I ride/own a stallion' ego climb.

He'll be fine being gelded at 5.

I'd be inclined to change any vet who was ill in favour of gelding tbh.
 
One of mine was gelded at 7 (before I had him). He is the most unstallion-like gelding you are ever likely to meet. I'd definitely get your boy gelded.
 
My vet is not anti gelding, she is now booked to come out to do him next week.

I've chosen to have him done in the field as he hasn't been handled very much in the last couple of years and not certain that I could get him in a trailer yet. Also seems a bit too much stress if his first ride in a trailer since he was 6 months old ends up at a vet hospital having his important parts chopped off!

Thanks for all your input.
 
One of my horses wasn't gelded until he was 4 as he was a racehorse, and you wouldn't know it to look at him. The only thing i will say is that he is a bit more agressive to the other geldings if hes turned out next to mares, but only if they are in season, and he doesn't do anything except make sure he is nearer to the mares than the others!
 
Oh yes! May well be asking for some good vibes for him too next week.

I've taken some pics of him tonight so will see if I can get them up.
 
Lots of older stallions are gelded. In some cases they just weren't getting any mares and they were living quite a lonely life as stallions, so the owners had them gelded. Of course they didn't suddenly turn into quiet geldings but at least they were not being driven by hormones.
 
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