When to Geld

[bunni1900]

I recently purchased a weanling stud colt I plan to show. He is a stunning and feisty little begger but very sweet. I was wondering what people's thoughts are on when to geld him. Any input would be appreciated!

 

[targetsmom]

We are planning to geld our weanling colt next month, once the files are gone. I think (others may disagree) that any time the testicles have dropped and files are not going to be a problem is a good time to geld. If you wait until the next spring (which we have done in the past) then you are likely going to have to separate the colt from any mares before he is gelded. For us, gelding Clyde now means we can use him for 4-Hers who in our state aren't allowed to work with stallions.

 

[muffntuf]

I second that - if they are descended and you aren't going to keep him a stud - go ahead. (I generally wait until fall when its cooler and flies are minimal, that is most comfortable around here).

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

I also agree. Why mess with the teenager behaviour of a young stallion if you can geld them before those hormones make them a handful. The only time I waited (until he was fully grown) was on a colt that I new was going to be pushing the 34" height. Because some studies suggest that stallions do not mature as tall as geldings I decided to err on the side of caution, even saving him a 1/4" might make the difference in his papers being good or not. He measures right on 34" but I don't have any way of knowing if he would have gone over gelded younger. If there was no question about final height being okay, I would do it sooner rather than later. In fact I know some people who are opting to geld before weaning and the foals seem to bounce back very quickly with momma there for comfort and to encourage them to move about.

 

[bunni1900]

He is going to be tiny. Maybe 28 or 29". He is at the breeders currently. I am bringing him home the end of this month and plan to have him assessed soon after. I usually don't work with geldings so am inexperienced (having only gelded a horse/mule twice). They do not have to be completely descended to geld correct?

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

I've never known a vet willing to geld unless they are both there and easily manipulated (might be a poor choice of words but they must be able to clasp those jewels ) except in cases where they are dealing with a failure of one testicle to decend. If your baby is still on mom why not discuss it with the vet and breeder and see if it can be done now. Less stress than shortly after weaning and less likely to result in loss of condition (Not that I have noticed too many new geldings that struggle, most are just a bit stiff for a day or two then they are mostly back to normal) Your best course of action really would be to talk to your vet about what he/she thinks is best in this particular case.

 

[mydaddysjag]

This isnt the ideal time of year to geld (the flies are bad) but my colt wasnt descended when we wanted to geld him in feb and march, and he's one who would suck them up and drop them back down. He's been being a complete snot, and I havent been able to keep weight on him even feeding him 5lbs of a 14% protein 10% fat feed and high quality third cutting timothy/alfalfa hay, because although I dont have mares, the new neighbor does, and he had been pacing the fence all day. IMO the best time to geld is between october and the end of march.

I decided that as soon as I found them again on my colt, despite the flies, that he was getting gelded. Guess who got gelded yesterday?

 

[fastrack]

I have not had good luck gelding miniatures as weanlings. They're never descended. If I don't catch them shortly after birth, they don't descend again until 2 year olds...sometimes even older. Just had the vet out to geld a long yearling...and only 1 descended. And I'm positive I felt both the week before! Errrrr.

 

[Lizzie]

Certainly geld any horse/colt, which isn't or should not, be breeding quality. We try to geld when flies are not a problem and geld all colts before sale, unless being run on as possible breeding quality. Way too many whole colts and stallions out there, being sold whole, when there is a huge possibility they will be bred in the future and not offer anything to the breed.

It is true, that colts (and male dogs) gelded/neutered very early, might grow a wee bit taller than those left and gelded at maturity. Tis was proven by Mastiff breeders some year ago. If you don't want a Mini to go over-size, but intend to geld in the future, then it is up to the owner to make sure he is kept within stallion fencing until the 'event' and not breed any mares.

Lizzie

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Well, as far as I know Lizzie there is still some debate about this issue in horses but since I initially bought my guy to be a stallion and breed him I was already prepared to house him when he arrived as a weanling. He grew much taller earlier than expected but he was only gelded because I decided I was done with breeding. I did however make that decision when he was not yet a mature horse so I did wait a few years before having him done.

 

[Lizzie]

I think its been 'fairly' well proven in dogs anyway, RM. I have sort of proven it also in my own dogs. Those neutered very early, grew a little narrower and taller, (higher on the leg) than their whole siblings and sires and dams.

Lizzie

 

[dutchhollow]

I agree on the dog part, I see it all the time. When someone brings a dog to me and I ask is they neutered early they always are shocked I could tell, when the dog looks like a girrafe (as stated above long leggs, narrow through entrie body, usually a too small looking head). Testoseron kicking in is what closes the growth plates is what I was told.When I sell a male on a limited registration (spay/nueter contract) I tell them to wait until they are two years old, I don't want them looking like that with my kennel name on them!

 

[targetsmom]

Well, I keep checking our 4 month old colt and last I checked both testicles could be easily seen, but with my luck they will disappear just when the files do! Clyde is already over 32" so will certainly outgrow his A papers, and I believe he is already too tall to be shown in R as a weanling (not that we would). We are hoping he stays under 38" and with 8.5" cannon bones at birth, he should. But he can't outgrow his pinto papers and we see driving in his future, so he may become a pony not a VSE at ADS shows, If he keeps growing, maybe I will able to ride him - I only weigh 100 pounds!

 

[jandjmc]

Geld anytime. The sooner the better. Especially with a mini who doesn't have height concerns, your gelding will be more refined with a thinner neck if you geld early. If your baby is still with his mother and has testes dropped, he should be easy to geld and will go back in with mom, who will be his "security blanket". My last foal I had gelded at 3 months, was on mom til 6 months, he is 4 now and has the sweetest disposition and a great neck. Good luck.

 

[MrsCaptain]

interesting topic seeing as though I just bought to weanlings. One is 4 months the other 6, The vet is coming today to give them their first check up and shots etc. I had intended on Gelding the younger one right of since he will indeed be too tall for mini standards but was considering keeping the smaller guy intact until he grows a bit to see if he is breeding quality, I do intend to show him ( if I can find a local who can trailer us !) The breeders stud was calm and sweet and this little guy is ..well right now...not sure if I am making a mistake thinking about doing this or if I should just geld them both. Their Sire was shown successfully .

 

[MindyLee]

I currently have a 6 month old colt who is breed quality and is still being gelded! I like him, but anyone who buys him locally has not the greatest mares. So no matter how nice the colt is, remember! A lot of mares are not breed quality around ya!

I want to geld asap, BUT I never see any testies. How do I know he can be gelded? I want to do it this fall and not wait till spring. Can ya geld without testies dropped? (1st colt, always had fillies)

Also, someone local keeps proudly advertising her stud as crypt? What dose that mean. Ive heard of it but not really sure what it is? (I figured not good)

 

[FurstPlaceMiniatures]

Crypt is when their testes do not drop. It is genetic, it is a PITA, and whe left in, can cause A LOT of problems to the stud himself. Shes CRAZY to stand him and crazier to advertise him as one nad think its a good thing!

My mother had an app colt that only had 1.5, even though they both dropped. That was a "fun" gelding. We almost had to send him donw to cornell. It depends on the colt itself, and the vet as to when to geld. THe vet we used was quite ok with gelding him, and she did a good job, got both of em out.

 

[MrsCaptain]

So true about the Mares but I am not selling my guys, soooo technically if he turns out nice I could find a really nice mare for him someday, thats a long way down the road though since for me to train him and show him would be first step.

My Vet was here today and said we'd wait until they were yearlings to geld since they are recently weaned and he didn't want to stress them out to much right now.