GELDING OLDER STALLIONS

[DunPainted]

We have the most wonderful stallion who's getting on in years. Forgive me, as I wish to be delicate, but he seems to be "going through the motions" without the usual enthusiasm of his younger years. He actually chooses to be "away" from the gals....hanging around the immediate house/barn area during the day. Only at dusk does he wish to return to the pasture to "keep his quiet space".

Sure would like to hear your opinion(s) and/or experience(s). Our vets have varying opinions.

Somewhat like taking a child to a doctor, each has their own idea based on experience or book knowledge.

Thank you.

 

[Margo_C-T]

The oldest I've had one done was age 6. I did take him in to my 'in-town' vet, who has full surgical facilities, instead of having him laid down here on the grass, as every other 'standard' gelding I've had done. He had a totally uncomplicated recovery, with normal aftercare.

I have always heard that there is a slightly higher risk of complications afterward, the older the horse-but as I'm sure you know, that would likely depend on a number of variables-the horse's health history and constitution, optimum proper conditions for the surgery, skill and knowledge of the vet. surgeon--etc., etc. You know your horse-with that in mind, I'd suggest a consultation with your trusted vet, then go from there. (It WAS more costly to have it done under full surgical conditions, but IMO, that was a given, for the safest situation for my horse, whom I dearly love-he's the one in my avatar.)

Best wishes,

Margo

 

[ThreeCFarm]

Besides young colts still nursing their dams', we've gelded a three year old, 6 year old and 15 year old. I've found the older ones seem to get more sore, but other than that we haven't had any problems.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

How old was Winners Circle Adonis???

I have had a 7 year old done on my field and was contemplating having a 20 year old riding pony done- my Vet had no problem with it as he was fit and well.

Thing is, it is not likely to change anything at that age.

I was only doing it so I could turn him out without the chance of unwanted foals.

 

[Jill]

When you say "up in years" how old do you mean? Different people here would call 12 years old "up there" and others would say 25 is "up there"...

The oldest I had gelded was 5yo. He is much happier now as a gelding. He did have some complications w/ bleeding and had to be packed and on stall rest so as not to re-start the bleeding. HOWEVER, someone let her dogs run down the hill to where he was laid out with the clamps still on and my horse jumped up WAY sooner than he should because the dogs surrounded him barking. To this day, I feel like that was the cause of the bleeding and he'd have been a normal recovery if he'd been allowed to stay down as long as he should have.

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

We have the most wonderful stallion who's getting on in years. Forgive me, as I wish to be delicate, but he seems to be "going through the motions" without the usual enthusiasm of his younger years. He actually chooses to be "away" from the gals....hanging around the immediate house/barn area during the day. Only at dusk does he wish to return to the pasture to "keep his quiet space".

Sure would like to hear your opinion(s) and/or experience(s). Our vets have varying opinions.

Somewhat like taking a child to a doctor, each has their own idea based on experience or book knowledge.

Thank you.

So what's the problem?

Sounds to me like he's just less interested in his job and more interested in enjoying his privacy. That doesn't mean he needs to be castrated. Gelding older horses is risky for several reasons. First and foremost, they have much better developed blood vessels that are harder to crimp off. Secondly, they have larger ingunal canal, where the spermatic cord goes through. That increases the risk of a hernia. And lastly, its more risky to keep a horse down longer to do the job as they get older. All together, those risks get to the point that most vets won't do it on the farm, and require the transport to a clinic. Plenty of vets do them in the field as well, but the risks are higher, for his health and for the surgery itself.

 

[Pandora]

After losing a mare to anesthesia in surgery, I would be hesitant to risk it, Cindy. Older animals have problems with anesthesia. I have a 14 year old cat that needs dental work but I wont' let her get anesthesia for fear she'll die. I would leave him be.

Melissa

 

[virginia]

I'll let you know. Just had a 26 year old gelded today. No problem with the surgery, so far, no other problems. I wanted to retire him and let him live out his life with the mares. I'll see how that goes. He now lives with one mare that is getting up there too. He's in great shape and I hope he stays that way.

Ginny StP

 

[Marnie]

I had

 

[DunPainted]

I'll let you know. Just had a 26 year old gelded today. No problem with the surgery, so far, no other problems. I wanted to retire him and let him live out his life with the mares. I'll see how that goes. He now lives with one mare that is getting up there too. He's in great shape and I hope he stays that way.

Ginny StP

Thanks, Ginny, for sharing your positive experience. Will you keep me posted on his recovery? Call Dunpainted a Rose-Color Glass Queen. It was with trepidation I opted to post this thread. Frankly, I appreciate your line of thinking...especially because it comes from your tender heart. Not many folks have an opportunity to enjoy geriatric minis. I'm sure it was a difficult decision to make: balance medical risk vs. a potential of honoring an old friend with an opportunity to live out his years in peace/calm. Thank you, so very much, Ginny!

:

 

[SilverRidgeMinis]

I had a 14 old stallion gelded about a month ago and he is doing fine. He still acts like a stallion but the vet said it would take awhile before he settles down. One of the reasons I had my stallion done was I have a new stallion and a colt who will be the junior stallion. I did not want to sell my original stallion as I am very attacted to him. It was a hard decision to geld him in some ways because I was really worried about the health risk. The operation went pretty well even though the vet did say that he bled more than a younger horse.

I did make sure my stallion walked twice a day for a week for 15 minutes and a half to make sure no infection setup. I took a week's vacation so I could be at home with him the first week. He was allowed out in the pasture by himself after 4 days. My vet said it was very important to make sure the horse moves around after the first 24 hours. The vet wanted to make sure he didn't get too sore by just standing around too much.

I noticed you said your stallion seems to be slowing down. Perhaps, it would be a wise idea to just have a general checkup before you make the decision to geld him to make sure it is just "old age" slowing him down.

Freida

 

[Michelle@wescofarms]

When we had the vets out from UCD last spring gelding the younger horses (5 yrs and under), I asked about gelding a 20 year old. They told me 'generally' it's straight forward, but there is always a risk of complications, etc., The main problem is the bleeding/soreness as Nathan pointed out. We have never confined our boys after gelding for more than a few days to small 16x32 space, after that we start allowing them access to a bigger paddock. The younger ones are usually back to speed fairly quickly.

We were going to geld our older guy so he could live with his ladies full time, but he's instead gone to stay with a friend that is going to still use him for breeding - happy days for him! He has a guaranteed home with her or I.

 

[Leeana]

My shetland was gelded at 5yrs old and was never used as a breeding stallion that i know of. I think that is kind of young but even after being gelded ..today i feel he still acts like a stallion even after being gelded at 5yrs old which is to me a bit to old to geld, i think its best to geld younger. Im just saying after they have been a stallion for so many years and are then gelded i've seen that they can act like a stallion. I do think its best to geld but after so many years of stallion horomones they can still have the stallion in them.

 

[Joyce]

The oldest I've had one done was a breeding stallion at 9 years old. Everything went well but it took 18 months for him to realize his stallion days were over. I've since read when you geld a stallion who is bred it takes 2 months times his age for him to realize he's not a stallion and it sure work out that way with my Tiger.

Joyce L

 

[anita]

We gelded a 20 year old and the next day he was as good as new. It needs ca 6 weeks until he firgures out he is not a stallion anymore.

Now he runs with fillies and is the happiest horse in Texas.

Best wishes

Anita

 

[Miniv]

We gelded our very first stallion that we bought as a yearling. He was 12 when gelded -- with NO PROBLEM. He's 15 now.

His main concern is -- no one is to invade his pile of hay! :lol:

MA

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

Behavior becomes ingrained... if he's old enough, and used to it, he may NEVER stop being a stallion, even after removing the testosterone. Just something to keep in mind...

 

[Stacy Score]

I gelded my 24 year old stallion, Debonaire, this past summer. He took it well and recovered easily. He is with his 2 year old colt/buddy,Sovereign, and it is my hope that they can live together for all time and hopefully he will still be dominant enough to keep Sovereign from being a complete stinker and give them both a lifetime friendship. If not, he will go out with the mares - I expect that he will still be a bit studdy, but he doesn't seem to have the same kind of "purpose" to his threats that he did when he was still a stallion.

I fully expect that with continued good care that he will live a long and healthy life well into his late 20's and maybe even early 30's.

Good luck with your boy,

Stacy

 

[Joyce]

My friend just gelded a 17 year old breeding stallions and that was about 6 weeks ago and he is doing just fine.

Joyce L

 

[joylee123]

Hi ther,

I gelded my 15year old show stallion several years ago and he was just fine. Normal recovery time and turned into a "gelding" with in 4 weeks. Although I do agree it depends on the animal. He was and is very healthy and was used as a breeding and show stallion from the age of three.

I recently gelded my nine year old appy stallion(in the avatar) He also had no problems, fast healing and turned into a "gelding" within three weeks. He was also used as a breeding stallion for many years. Again he is very healthy and well taken care of and observed. What a lot of folks neglect is making sure they are walked to help them drain, heal and keep the swelling down. A friend of mine just gelded a two year old large horse and the poor little guy's whole back end got swollen. He was on antibiotics and really had a rough time.