~ Our View on Castration ~

Desi & Fuego as two yr. old colts

Unfortunately, in this modern day of convienences, the castration or gelding of young colts is neccessary in most cases. Unless you are planning to breed or are an experienced in dealing with stallions needs and sex drive, it is kinder to geld colts.

Colts and stallions of all ages need proper socialization, exercise and handling. Many stallions lead a life of isolation and develop many perversions, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally too. In the hands of an inexperienced handler, they spend much of their life getting in trouble, usually in the form of a chain, whip or other harsh treatment...all for just being what he is - a horse with hormones and no outlet!

Desi & Quest as three yr. old colts

While there are many views and opinions on what age is best to geld a young colt, we have found a program that works for both us and the boys here at Rancho Bayo.

First, consider that a colt is driven to run, play and engage himself with other horses due to his hormone levels. Though there are many exceptions, in general, a young, gelded colt would rather eat and stand under a tree as opposed to the hours of play and exercise with other horses that happens more naturally.

Physically, the testicles of a stallion are not fully developed until they are five to six years of age. The idea of gelding a young colt at the age of nine days old or even a few months old is ludacris at best and simply done for convience. Early castration can also lead to tissue growing back over the years and causing a gelding that can have very "studdy" behavior.

We have experienced a few cases in which only one testicle or both have not decended at an early age (typically called a cryptorchid). Each time, by waiting until the horse was more mature, the testicles did decend, fully formed and ready for easy castration, in lue of a risky surgery. One young colt that was bought at an auction, did not drop either testicle until he was three and a half years of age.

It is also generally belived that there is no physical difference between gelding a horse early as opposed to waiting until the horse was older. This is a false belief for many reasons. First, I would suppose if you raised a stallion and a gelding in a barn and very controlled environment, they may develop similarly. However, seeing as stud colts play more vigerous and exert themselves on a much higher level, it goes without saying that they develop better muscling, more coordination and stronger bones than a gelding who spends the day grazing and hanging out at the fence waiting for his next meal.

Typical day for this ten month old gelding

Young stud colts are busy boys and enjoy hours of play and interaction. They are more curious and interested in life in general. This only lends to a gelding that is easier to train. When they are gelded later in life, much of thier horse-sonality is set and they transfer thier interests over into the training pen easily. They are much more engaged in the training process and definately are more physically prepared to take on the rigors of getting under saddle. They exhibit better balance, coordination and are generally much more confident.

At Rancho Bayo, we have both gelded early and later in life. We have found that gelding them in February of thier upcoming third year has the best advantages. In stud colts, it seems that when they are coming into thier third year as a stallion, they have much more dramatic changes than the previous springs. By gelding before the warmer weather starts and the mares start coming into heavier heats, we head off the mental and emotional changes that comes with that age group. We also beat fly season, so the risk of infection is lessened.

While we realize that gelding them later can be harder on them, as the testicle cords are larger, we feel after careful evaluation of all aspects, that this is still the best option for us and the boys. Consider the mental and emotional effects of a foal going through something like that at such an impressionable age; not to mention the stress on the young body trying to heal itself while still developing thier own anti-bodies and immunities.

There are many old wives tales and myths on the differences between gelding early or later. We have experience with many different breeds and ages of gelding male horses. We have gelded 3 yr. olds that loose thier neck almost instantly, then some at that age that keep the neck through their lives. Since testosterone can inhibit long bone growth, some belive that gelding them early can make them taller. While this may be true, evidence has shown that this can mean as little an eighth or two of an inch, nothing very significant.

Some of the boys of a certain bloodline that were gelded at two year olds, seemed to appear leggier and had lighter muscle than their full brothers who were gelded at three yr. olds. I have also experienced gelding older studs (over 10) and some are acting like a gelding in a few short months and some retain the same behavior (only slightly more frustrated!) as they had before they were gelded. Each horse has his own genetics and experiences that cause him to act and develop accordingly.

As always, we recommend you follow your vets' advice on how you should go about handling your own castration. It is of the utmost importance that you give your young horse the best advantages in life. If you are neither experienced in raising young horses or do not have the proper facilities and social groups to raise a stud colt in, it would be kindest to geld your colt early on.

Email the Ranch