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.
