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Re: [RC] Questiions about Gelding a Colt - SandyDSA

Hi Beth,
    Wow, just a thought - when my husband and I had that very same issue with the first colt we produced (not us PERSONALLY!) afetr getting married, I explained to him that, far from being a cruel act, it was the act of comapssion and reason. When I explained to him that being a stallion meant being forever separated to some degree from the frolics and relationships enjoyed by all of our other animals, he saw reason and said ok go ahead, but understand that I an satisfied with AL of myy relationships.
    Aside frmo that :), the reality is that one MUST have proper faciilities for a stallion, as well as the means and desire to have the stallion trained PROPERLY at some point in time, and that is not always as easy as it might seem. You CAN geld at most any age; however, I think most vets will tell you that 7-12 months is generally a good time. It is also VERY expensive to campaign correctly, and even then, financial success is not by ANY means a given, since the very nature of horse showing and indeed most competition is VERY subjective and can be had by the highest bidder in far too many cases. To campaign as a sport horse, he must be of an age where you would have laready supported and trained him for several years to prove himself. A lot of time and money goes into that. Sometimes some very nice stallions end up making astounding geldings, simply because there is not realistic way to keep them entire. That is not  the wrong or right decision, it is simply what is. I can't imagine keeping a colt entire without the genuine desire and plan to breed him with focus and direction, and it sounds like you prefer to have a great ridign companion.
    Our senior stallion is now 19 years old, and has produced just a few foals over the years, but every one of them has been sensible, kind, correct, athletic and of good lines. That wouldn't stop me from gelding him tomorrow if I felt it was an imperative. But no matter what else, when we go to a ride, it is simply more trouble to try to compensate for the populace who don't mind their OWN horses of ANYgender very well, and so I need to manage my stallion in a way that keeps him otu of trouble pretty much the whole time. Another horse might kick at the vet and other riders hardly notice. But if a stallion does the same thing, it is because he is a stallion. Unless you are prepared to deal with all of the ramifications of having  aboy, who then is a bit of a target at events of any kind, geld, geld, geld. It just seems that the financial investment and the special considerations are nto wirth it for what you want thsi youngster for.
s