Weaning or Castration first????

TopTotty

TopTotty

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Hi,
I have a 6 1/2 month old colt who is still on his mother. They are turned out daily and in at night in a double size stable. He is very well behaved normally and a little on the shy side. We have started feeding them in seperate stables when we bring them in at night now. The mare is not bothered at all but he is getting very cross! He stamps and calls and swishes his tail round and sometimes gets so mad he thinks about throwing himself on the floor! He would try to climb out over the door if we did not stay there.
With this in mind I am not sure whether to have him cut before I wean him.
What does you think??
Last years foal was a filly and we did the same with them and they were fab from the start, neither of them bothered so I was able to wean them gradually which is what I would like to do with him. Maisey was about 8 months by the time she was completely seperated and it was all stress free. However I am thinking that I may just have to take the bull by the horns this time unless having him cut now may make a difference.
I just want to do what is best for him.
Please let me know what your experiences have been.
Many thanks
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I would castrate now before the weather gets too grim and leave them together for 2-3 weeks after while he recovers.

i did it the other way around with my colt, he had his own stable at night, settled to that, then castrated and then seperated completely but he was a quiet little chap
 
I'd say the getting cross, throwing himself on the floor and threatening to jump out is more a symptom of being seperated from mummy than anything to do with him still being entire and he'll still do it whether he has his balls or not!

I'd put him in the stable with his dinner, shut the top door and leave him to get on with his tantrum! he'll soon get over it and will be far less clingy a horse for it!
 
We always castrate and then wean.
Did two a couple of weeks ago and they have since been weaned with no problems at all.
Mind they obviously have to have everything present and correct to be able to castrate them so check that first
 
A very interesting question. You have been given answers which would be, just about, as one.

I will fly in the face of that advice, and tell you different. I would NEVER castrate until weaning is out of the way, and your foal is well adjusted and at peace with life, probably when he's a yearling, or even later.

Castration, has a major effect upon a foals life. Quite simply it nocks them about. Horses, sheep and cattle are basically the same as they grow. The EARLY castrated lamb, foal, or calf will be so far behind its sibling female sister, if you compare them after, perhaps four months. Castration is a massive upheavel for any YOUNG male.

It sounds to me as if your mare is trying to naturally wean her foal. LEAVE HER TO IT. Is she again in foal? What is her body condition? You could, perhaps consider that she is trying to prepare herself for winter, and is natually trying to preserve her body condition. Producing the milk which she has, for her foal, has been a far greater drain upon her than making the foal itself!

Pesumably your foal is sharing his mothers feed. When he knows what hard feed is, then perform the seperation. He is now old enough to leave his mare.

Everyone who I speak with on the subject has a different method which they employ. I tend to do it suddenly, remove the mare out of earshot, and then spend the next 24-48 hours with the foal, in his box with him if neccessary, and we bond, and I become a surrogate parent. I tend not to handle my foals much, before weaning, and as a result they can be a bit wild at first! It's what I find works best.

When you've weaned 20-30 foals then send me a contact, and let me know what's worked for you!! I hate weaning foals, lambs, or calves. It is a stressful time, and one which neither I, or they seem to enjoy, much!

I'm certain of very little, but I would tell you that the later castrated foal, will make for the better eventual horse.
 
That is a very interesting answer d4e5f6 - and much the same as my thoughts would be. I am increasingly concerned at the early castration of colt foals, and wonder whether it is because people assume they are going to be difficult to handle. My colts stay as colts until I have decided what their futures will be! They grow on better, and are no different in their behaviour (if handled properly) than they would be as geldings. It's personality, not hormones, that comes through
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As far as weaning goes, I actually have no hard and fast rule - sometimes the quick separation does the trick, but I often find that because I am running several horses together, the weaning process happens naturally and without undue stress to the foal. The mare is quite often only too pleased to have a bit of peace
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We always wean then castrate six months or more afterwards, none of ours get coltish because living in a herd they know their place.
It will of course depend on your circumstances, if you have no option but to have a gelding where you keep them, then perhaps do it the other way round, because it's tough enough for a foal being weaned without having a sore nether region too.
We add the mares and foals to the main herd (today there were 23 grazing together) then after a month remove the mares to one of the smaller herds half a mile distant. The foals by this time are well settled in the group and we have noticed an "Aunty" always protects and looks after them once the mares have gone. This year one mare slipped her foal so she will make an excellent if grouchy Aunt!
There is no set rule, but whatever you decide, make sure your colt is happily settled with his companions if you do it afterwards.
 
Well I have never had a problem castrating before weaning, in fact in my experience the colts recover so quicly you would barely know they had had anything done to them. Thats why most of the breeders I know, if they are not running the colt on, will geld before weaning.
Early castration can add a little extra height compared to gelded late, as the growth plates in colts close a little earlier.

I have sometimes run colts on till they are two, then decided they are not quite stallion material and gelded them. But often the cotl foals we sell are being purchased as ridden prospects and the new owners have no wish for a colt, and so ask for them to gelded when still on the mare. As I say in my experience this makes for a far less stressful experience for the foal.
 
I echo Volatis 100% - we have castrated at all ages, and our colts barely notice it has been done!
As far as weaning goes, we always do immediate seperation and the foals are in a group with their friends - it is a natural and healthy way for young horses to be, learning to be a horse out with a group. And as far as weaning goes - ours pay about as much attention to it as they do to their castration! Once in a stable with their friends and plenty of hay, they don't really notice their mothers have gone!
 
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