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Re: [RC] To geld or not to geld - heidiI haven't totally decided to geld him and I think if I do geld him that I would want to wait until he is about 18 months. So the 2 things I am asking for opinions on are 1) what is typical (understanding they all vary) for a colt to discover girls and 2) what are the chances of anyone wanting to breed their mare to a half arab/half mustang stallion. This does assume 2 things - that his demeanor is always tractable and that I find no significant conformation flaws. So far what I am seeing in his development is that he will have big strong legs, a powerful rear end (not as big as his mom's though!), a very nice arab head and really exceptional behavior. If there is just no logic to anyone breeding to him (other than myself as 2 of my mares would potentially work well with him) then I won't bother with the issue and get him cut as soon as it becomes logical. The most important plan is that he is to become my husband's next endurance horse in a few years. Opinions please! Other than using him to breed a few foals for yourself, there really is no reason to keep him as a stallion--and a LOT of reasons not to! Many colts are fertile by 8-10 months AND interested in the mares. I can't begin to count the number of times I've seen mares in foal to a colt that age that was just running out with them. (And you may not see a lot of overt interest--one dark night one of the girls will just talk him into it.) And if you do plan to geld him, there is no reason to leave him to 18 months--and LOTS of reasons to geld him sooner! 1) Why would you ever WANT him to become interested in mares and learn some behaviors you'd just as soon he didn't learn? 2) Statistically, early-gelded colts grow as much as 1-2 inches taller than ungelded controls--so if you want a bit more height, the sooner the better. Personally, if he were mine, if you can feel both testicles (not necessary to see them hanging down--just feel them), I'd schedule the gelding as soon as your vet can work him in! Heidi ============================================================ REAL endurance is eating egg salad sandwiches for 3 days straight! ~ Heidi Sowards ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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