# When to Geld?



## beaminewbie (Sep 8, 2005)

What age do you geld your foals? I have decided to keep one of our boys for my daughter to show next year and I am wondering when do you geld? We have always gelded our QH & paint horses around 1-2 yrs old. What about jacks also? Thank you


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## Mona (Sep 8, 2005)

I have no experience with jacks, but as for my minis, I always "thought" they had to be at least a year old, so waiting until the Spring of their yearling year if I still had them. Then as time went by, I had a coup[le gelded at about 3-4 months.

This year, I really went wild, and since I had the vet coming to geld a mature stallion(8 years), I had him geld my 2 suckling colts while he was here. These colts were VERY young...one was about 3 weeks old, and the other I think was about 6 or 7 weeks. They came out of it with flying colors!


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## Anne (Sep 8, 2005)

Mona, I am very interested in gelding early, but was told that I couldn't because they weren't both 'hanging there", LOL. How does that work were both of your young boys descended?

I've got a colt I would love to geld early, the plan is to geld when we can, he's going to be a super show gelding!

Anne


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## Mona (Sep 8, 2005)

Anne said:


> Mona, I am very interested in gelding early, but was told that I couldn't because they weren't both 'hanging there", LOL. How does that work were both of your young boys descended?I've got a colt I would love to geld early, the plan is to geld when we can, he's going to be a super show gelding!
> 
> Anne
> 
> ...


Anne...this is a very common misconception. The testicles do not have to be "hanging" to be descended. As long as both can be felt, they are "there" and they can be castrated.


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## rabbitsfizz (Sep 8, 2005)

Mona that is a very good point- I bang on about testicles being descended at birth- as all mine always are- but of course I mean that they can be manipulated- they come and go like a Russian Juggling Act!! I would have them done as soon as the foals body weight is enough to take the anaesthetic. The colt I was going to geld this year never made the body weight so he will have to wait until he is a yearling .


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## RAPfrosty (Sep 8, 2005)

Fever was gelded six days after his first birthday. I guess that was a lousy birthday present



!


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## chandab (Sep 8, 2005)

rabbitsfizz said:


> Mona that is a very good point- I bang on about testicles being descended at birth- as all mine always are- but of course I mean that they can be manipulated- they come and go like a Russian Juggling Act!!  I would have them done as soon as the foals body weight is enough to take the anaesthetic.  The colt I was going to geld this year never made the body weight so he will have to wait until he is a yearling .
> 463793[/snapback]
> ​



Rabbit, thanks for clarifying that point. I have misunderstood your meaning in the past, but this has cleared it up for me. My yearling stallion is pretty good at that "Russian Juggling Act".


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## Kendra (Sep 9, 2005)

Stallions growth plates close around the age of three. A gelding can easily grow until they're six. Whether this makes any difference in their final height is difficult to say, however, if we have a horse that's close the height limit we will wait until they are a full three years of age before gelding. On the opposite side, if we have a teeny tiny that we want to grow a little more (we like driving horses!) we'll geld sooner rather than later.


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## sls (Oct 4, 2005)

How long after being Castrated does it take for the hormone levels to drop (go from stud to gelding in attitude)? My 2 year old took 2 months after being gelded. With the two new 5 y/o that were recently gelded I was wondering if it would be the same. Can anyone help me with this?


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## Marty (Oct 4, 2005)

Hey I'm going to geld Timmy the minute I see those shinny little meatballs coming in for parmesian...........


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## JennyB (Oct 4, 2005)

We always used to wait until they were yearlings at least to geld so that they would have more muscle and size, but the more I read about this, the more I am not sure. I think you should geld when you can feel both testicles are there. At birth or years old. I would geld though when the flies weren't around and that means in the fall.

Maybe like puppies tails, the younger the better?





We had a 29" stallion who was not gelded until 3-years, because his one teste was slow in coming down. When they get that old you have to worry about how large the testicle is and will it fit through the ring to even come down. Thankfully his did go on down.

As for gelding older stallions...I think it can take qiute a few months to a year for their testestrone levels to go down depending on their testerterone levels to begin with. If they bred mares or not maybe too? I have gelded 1 at 4 years and he was level headed in 2 months. Gelded another at 3 and he was level headed at 1-2 months and gelded a 2-year-old and he wasn't level headed for at least 6 months...There ya go





Good Luck,

Jenny


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## rabbitsfizz (Oct 4, 2005)

I had the chance to read a _very_ old (like 15th Century) book on Vet care- they were saying then that the best time to geld a colt was FOUR DAYS old!!! Marty- if Timmy's jewels are not there, you are in trouble!! Have a good old rummage around and you will find them. Once found, off with them!! ALL colts have their testicles descended through the linguinal ring by two days old OR YOU ARE IN TROUBLE!! Once the ring has closed the testicles _cannot_ descend and the horse must be surgically castrated.


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## Jill (Oct 4, 2005)

I have had some horses gelded at varying ages.

Sundance, Eclipse, and Skipper all gelded at 11 mos and no studdish behavior had been established.

Jack, gelded at 6mos and a yearling now but he mounts and appears to be really breeding mares if he gets the chance, but other than that does not act studdish.

Derby and Lonesome, gelded as 5yo and 4yo stallions, it took about 4 months to see all their studdish behavior leave, but the majority of that was gone in about 2 mos. The vet told me to wait 1 month to put them in with mares, but I have yet to put them in with mares (could, but no reason to).

And, for the record, I have not ever regretted having a horse gelded. After Derby was gelded, he had some temporary complications (bleeding and had to be packed and on stall rest), but even then, I knew once that was behind "us", he'd be a happier and probably even healthier horse for the rest of his life.


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## Laura (Oct 4, 2005)

We geld at different ages but the youngest was 3 weeks old. He had an injury that need a vet to stich up. Since he would be out, we just did both at the same time.

This spring, I bought our first stallion back. I wanted him to have a good home and not be passed around at auctions.] I had him gelded. He is 17 years old. He stayed at the vet a week to make sure he alright. He will got to a child as a friend.

He has settled down and how is a much more enjoyable horse to be around. He had been spoiled rotten and had no manners when I got him back.


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## lyn_j (Oct 4, 2005)

[SIZE=14pt]The oldest I had gelded ws hershee at 5 after he had been used as a stud. The youngest was Lucky at 8 weeks.....he healed the fastest![/SIZE]

Lyn


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## Just Us N Texas (Oct 4, 2005)

We usually geld the boys as soon as the weather is cool enough. That usually means fall. One year, the girls gelded a 5 week old, and he was always a joy! Never got the studdish behaviour, and went through it as though it had never been done. It seems the testicles are there at a young age, then seem to disappear and then come back again later. Anyway, I think the younger the better! They never know that they are supposed to be "studdish".


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## tuffsmom (Oct 4, 2005)

Tuff is nearly 7 months old now, and his jewels are no where to be found. He probably thinks I'm a pervert because I'll feel down there every couple of days to see what's going on...but nothing. Not even bumps.

It's still really hot here though, so we'll wait a month or so, then take him in and have him cut.


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## New_Image (Oct 4, 2005)

> Hey I'm going to geld Timmy the minute I see those shinny little meatballs coming in for parmesian...........


Marty!





What a lovley way of putting it, and while Im eating spagetti too!

Any how after spitting pop all over my key board and looking at my spagetti in a whole new way.... I plan to geld Image and Rodeo spring of there yearling year if I geld Image that is.


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