Franklin Levinson's
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To Geld or Not to Geld, That is the question.
I have a 2 and a half year old black QH/Welsh STUD colt. A friend of mine had a stud colt and didn't get him gelded until the colt was a 1 and a half. Her horse hasn't changed. The horse is still very stallion-like. My stud colt is a whole other story however. He is very kind, gentle, and doesn't spook at much. When I first purchased him no one could get anywhere near him. It took me only a couple of hours for couple of days to get him used to people, and get him halter broke, and partially lead broke. He is very smart but I am afraid that once he gets older he might become aggressive. Is this true? What my real question is,.... Would it really be worth getting him gelded?? I really hope not because if he stays the way he is now (his behavior) then it would just be a waste of money getting him gelded. Also I have already 6 local people who wish to get their mares bred to him as soon as he's ready. What do you think about me getting him gelded?
Thanks a lot for any help at all, Brittni
P.S. I love your site so much!!!
Hi Brittni,
Thanks for the email and the kind words about the website. I sure do get a lot of questions from folks about their horses. Your question is quite interesting I think. To geld or not to geld, that is the question. Well, at 2 1/2 he is young but sexually mature. Generally speaking (something we should never do), if you do not breed a stallion who has a very gentle disposition, there is a chance he will stay calm with the right training, Once you breed him, it may become a whole other ball game. They like it and want to do more. If you do a lot of ground work and really get an extremely tight relationship with him, he may listen to you even if you breed him. It all depends on you really. How good your skills are and how much you really want to have a stallion around. They generally require a more secure living space and should only be handled by experienced people. It really does depend on your intentions and desires. Sounds like you are pretty sharp with training already. Stay with it and do a lot more. Put the time in now and be consistent. That will give you the best shot of having a fairly well diciplined and user friendly stallion. They are different and always require vigilance on the part of the handler. There is always more of an element of risk when working with stallions. Just some things to bear in mind. What do you want a pleasure horse or a breeding stallion? Having both wouild be rare and worth going for if this is the right horse. Thats my feeling on it. Keep me posted.
Sincerely, Franklin