# Should I geld him?



## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

How is he off the track? Has he been retrained in anything? Do you have a better conformation photo of him?


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## A knack for horses (Jun 17, 2010)

I can't tell anything from the photo other than he has a gorgeous coat color. Could you show us a conformation shot?

Anyway, If you are only going to breed him to your mare before you geld him, I really don't see any harm in that (providing he has good conformation and a nice temperment).


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## twogeldings (Aug 11, 2008)

He does look like a lovely boy. My opinion is two parts:

1. Are you going to show him, and what are his bloodlines?
If he has excellent/great/good bloodlines and will be aggressively shown (hunter/jumper/dressage, etc.) then YES. Keep him as a stallion, as his value will probably increase if he proves to be an excellent show horse. 
If someone where to walk up to me and say "I have a rescue (or) off the track stallion. He's papered with pretty nice lines, great tempermant, and shows great potential as a Dressage/Jumper/Hunter/Eventing horse. Should I geld him?"
I would tell them NO. TEST him first, and if he proves worthy, let him keep the family jewels. If he proves to be unworthy, stupid, completely harebrained...snip him. You'll have a fine little competition gelding. 

2. If you are NOT going to show him as his bloodlines are POOR. 
Then GELD. An unproven, unshown, OTTB stallion is pretty much worthless. To be perfectly honest, _any_ unproven, unshown stallion is worthless. I don't care how pretty, how nice the lines, how mellow the attitude, how beautiful the offspring, if he hasn't proven himself, he's not worth more then your average trail gelding. If your breeding for family and trail horses, then great! But if your breeding for competition or show....I suggest a little snipping. 
Better off a gelding then an unused stallion that can possibly cause a Whoopsie!


For the Appendix foal, if you think he compliments your mare nicely, go for it. I have two geldings out of unshown stock and they are EXCELLENT for what they are bred for-long, hard, trail rides. If your breeding for competition, and feel that the pairing would produce a competition minded foal, why not? :wink:


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## christabelle (Feb 13, 2011)

twogeldings said:


> He does look like a lovely boy. My opinion is two parts:
> 
> 1. Are you going to show him, and what are his bloodlines?
> If he has excellent/great/good bloodlines and will be aggressively shown (hunter/jumper/dressage, etc.) then YES. Keep him as a stallion, as his value will probably increase if he proves to be an excellent show horse.
> ...


_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Yoshi (Feb 6, 2011)

He's a lovely boy!! Is he 100% manageable?
How long have you had him for?

twogeldings has spoken some wise words there. Lots to think about!

I am sure that this isn't your case, but lots of people put their mare to a stallion without really thinking about it.
I don't know much about breeding personally, but I have a very good friend who breeds horses for a living.

The things I would think about are, as twogeldings says: bloodlines and conformation but also personality.
As you know, with a foal you won't get the best of both parents and you might end up with a foal who is far from your expectations.

Also, how old is your mare? Breeding a foal can be a fabulous experience but it can also turn into a nightmare. 
A friend of mine lost her mare in birth and the foal died a few days afterwards. Obviously I'm not trying to put you off or be pessimistic but you need to think about all aspects of it.

Even if you do decide to geld your boy, you could still put your mare in foal to another stallion at some point!


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## christabelle (Feb 13, 2011)

Thank you all for your opinions. I would have to go take a picture for a conformation shot. None of mine fit the bill. I guess I though that one showed him off well. His sire is skimming- dam, red hot girl. How he is off the track? Not sure what you mean by that, but his owners went bankrupt and could not afford the 100$ a day training/board... He had a quarter crack too. Not sure if that was your question though. The truth of the matter is I will never show him, and he will be gelded eventually. I think geldings are happier animals. I am not a horse breeder, I am an endurance rider. I guess I don't know what you mean by "compliment". Because they are different breeds. My goal for the foal would be a bigger horse for my boyfriend to ride on endurance rides, that can keep up with my Arabs. I will also admit that part of it is the color possibilities of said foal. I have always wanted a palomino or buckskin.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

By "how is he off the track", I meant, how is he in his off-track career? Has he excelled in, say, dressage, or English pleasure, since coming off the track? Do you have plans to train him in a new career?

A picture of him standing square, taken from the side with no saddle and on even ground will help us out a lot.


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## A knack for horses (Jun 17, 2010)

christabelle said:


> I guess I don't know what you mean by "compliment".


A "complemeting" breeding pair is the quality of the match.

Both horses should have good conformation ot begin with, but if the mare has a slightly long back, you would look for a stud with a short strong back to hopefully compensate for it in the foal. 

If you want a durable, energetic horse, and the stud has stamina, but is prone to injury, you would choose a mare who was very hardy.

Hope that clarifies.


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## apachiedragon (Apr 19, 2008)

christabelle said:


> I guess I don't know what you mean by "compliment". Because they are different breeds.


Compliment, meaning if he and the mare have any minor conformation flaws, will they cancel each other out, or for example, are you breeding a long back to a long back, knowing the result will be a long and possibly weak spot in the foal's conformation. Or breeding a long back to a short back, to essentially try to get something in the middle. If both horses have the same conformation faults, it is much more likely the foal will have these poor traits as well.

It would help if we had confo shots of both the mare and the stallion, then some of our more experienced breeders could tell you what you are looking at in terms of possible problems. But as long as there are no glaring problems in either of them, I see no problem with a one time breeding. Just keep in mind that the foal you get may or may not end up being the right one for what you need. You just have to be prepared for the possibility. 

From the picture you posted, he's a pretty boy. It's just hard to get a clear view.

ETA, knack for horses, you and I posted at the same time, lol.


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

There isn't much of a market for TB stallions unless they excel at a certain discipline. Most people who want a TB sporthorse will use a mare as the TB half, then breed her to the other half. If he excels at a certain discipline, then it's more reason to keep him a stud, but if he doesn't, then geldig him might be best for him. Other than that.. his hind end looks fairly weak in that photo, and he looks fairly sickle hocked. I personally would likely geld him. Unless he's something special, there's no reason to breed your mare to him rather than something that excels at their job.


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## Ladytrails (Jul 28, 2010)

Since he won't be shown and you want something to endurance/trail ride, I would vote for gelding him and either training him or selling him to get something for your boyfriend to ride. It will be 4-6 years between breeding and endurance riding if you want to "make your own." Plus the baby may not turn out to be what you want. Unless you have tons of time to wait on the foal to grow up and be trained, you would be ahead of the game to just buy a grown horse to use for the boyfriend's endurance riding horse, IMHO.


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## BeauReba (Jul 2, 2008)

4-2-6... how many races did he do in total? It's impossible to tell what his conformation is like from that photo. IMO, you should only keep stallions if they have perfect (near perfect) conformation AND have proven themselves as worthy - such as winning races or competitions.


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## christabelle (Feb 13, 2011)

He is a very good boy. I ride him bareback with nothing but a halter. I have heard that I may see his true colors in the springtime though. He has 60 days prof. dressage/english training off the track. He ran 6 races total... and won four of them... But they were claimers/allowances. He was not racing Zenyatta or anything  I probably won't sell him. He is a good riding horse, and might do good in endurance himself. Thank you all for your opinions. I will try and get better pictures.


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## christabelle (Feb 13, 2011)

*better?*

another shot


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

I vote geld, he is lovely looking but nothing special, looks like a great many TBs and his race record is not very impressive. If he were worth breeding, his owners from racing would have kept him and done that.


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## ShutUpJoe (Nov 10, 2009)

He's a pretty horse but I'd geld him.


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## 888vegas888 (Jun 23, 2010)

i also say geld. 

there seems to be nothing REALLY spectacular about him that will show in offspring. plus, im not saying he wont be a great, broke, easy to handle stallion, but if you geld him, there will be more likelihood he will be more easy going and laid back as a gelding.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

He is a very pretty horse, but he is a bit downhill, and with nothing to his name....unless a Thoroughbred really has a name in something, be it racing, dressage, or eventing, snip snip. Thoroughbreds are EVERYWHERE, and going for a dime a dozen.


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## dressagebelle (May 13, 2009)

I agree with Lady, if you really want something for your boyfriend to ride, I think it would be worth your while to save up your money, and buy something thats already at least 3, and can be started if you are interested in doing the training yourself, or something maybe 4 or 5 thats already got some miles on him/her, that you know would work with your husband. There are so many variables in breeding, and just because you cross the two does not mean that you'll be guaranteed a horse that would be big enough for your husband, or that the horse would be good at endurance, or that the horse will be born healthy with good conformation. Breeding is not all bad, and you may get a totally awesome foal, but if the only reason you are thinking of breeding is to have a horse that your husband can ride, I think buying is a much better choice. 
The stallion has decent conformation, but nothing screams out "awesome should be bred", and not knowing what your mare looks like, I can't really say whether or not it would be worth it to breed her to him. If you aren't ever planning on showing, or breeding him to anything else, then I'd just cut him, and let him be a happy gelding. Just one more thing to keep in mind when breeding, just because you may think that its a great cross, and love whatever the foal is, doesn't mean that anyone else will, and that he/she would be useful for anyone else, and as much as I know people love to say that they'll be keeping the baby forever, life happens, and sometimes things out of our control happen, and we need to downsize our animals. So keep that in mind when you are thinking about breeding. He's a very nice looking horse, and I hope that you continue to get along with him, and like him.


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## slc (Jan 30, 2011)

If you live breed a stallion, it changes their behavior - for good, whether they are gelded or not. Sure, there is the one in a million that doesn't change, but that's one in a million, and probably not a more active breed like a Thoroughbred.

That would be the biggest issue, really. A 'stallion that does not know he is a stallion' behaves very, very differently from one that has been used for live breeding.

You have to think about whether that is really worth it. You will, by all odds, have 'a stallion that knows he is a stallion' all of a sudden, and that carries certain disadvantages - it affects how the horse behaves both at a show and at home, how he can be stabled, turned out, etc. 

Unless you are very used to dealing very effectively with the absolute worst possible behavior, I'd say no.

Why 'used to dealing effectively with the absolute worst possible behavior'? Because there is no guarantee that it won't happen, or even, that what a stud manager would call 'a little studdy' is to you something horrific that gets you or anyone else hurt.

I'd geld him now and breed her to a stallion that is selected because he is a good match for her bloodlines and conformation, not one that just happened to show up at my barn.


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## .Delete. (Jan 7, 2008)

JustDressageIt said:


> There isn't much of a market for TB stallions unless they excel at a certain discipline. Most people who want a TB sporthorse will use a mare as the TB half, then breed her to the other half. If he excels at a certain discipline, then it's more reason to keep him a stud, but if he doesn't, then geldig him might be best for him. Other than that.. his hind end looks fairly weak in that photo, and he looks fairly sickle hocked. I personally would likely geld him. *Unless he's something special, there's no reason to breed your mare to him rather than something that excels at their job. *


Well said as usual  

The common "un-offical" rule of thumb is if the mare hasn't won anything big and the stallion hasn't won anything big, don't breed them. If its a baby you want then i would suggest going and buying one, thats one less foal off the market and you know what your getting. No to mention alot cheaper then breeding. Unless you have a specific goal for the foal (thats not just to turn around and sell it) then i would strongly suggest gelding him. He is lovely and IMO he would be even more lovely as a gelding.


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

I vote geld too. He is nice enough but his conformation isn't amazing, in fact he looks a little toed in looking at the second picture and he is much more downhill than you would like in a performance stallion. He looks like any other TB and there are a million of them out there like him.

Since he currently has a good temperament he will make a lovely gelding and will be easier to take out to competitions as a gelding, much less hassle for you. Additionally, if you keep him as a stud, you really need to have the right set up to house him separately from other horses which isn't always feasible for some (not saying this is you).

There are so many TB's around that there is no demand for TB sires unless they are well and truly race proven and even though your guy sneaked a few races here and there, it isn't enough to market him as a sire of racehorses.


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## MaggiStar (Mar 19, 2010)

you have the lines of a great gelding there IMO definitely not stallion potential he is handsome but so are thousands others he needs the wow factor


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## MN Tigerstripes (Feb 20, 2009)

I'm another one on the geld side. He's a very pretty boy, but not stallion quality.


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

Geld him. 

He'll make a spectacular gelding. As a stally, he leaves a lot to be desired.


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## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

When I started to breed horses years ago I was told "Just because you have a mare does not mean she shoud be bred." I was also told, "Just because a stallion is close by and available is not a reason to use him ON your mare." 

This horse, as a stud, needs to show conformation pluses that your mare lacks.. and your mare should show pluses this colt is not up to par on. 

What about this particular horse and your particular mare makes it seem worthwhile that either horse's genes should be carried by another generation?

Most mares should not be bred and most stallions should be gelded.. this one included. He is a very nice horse BTW.


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## christabelle (Feb 13, 2011)

I think those of you who have said you should not breed a horse just because you can are right on the money. I think that a breeding of convinience would be exactly what it would be. I never had any desire to breed my mare until I got him. I still think he is beautiful, but I have no desire to keep a stallion long enough to compete with him. It is worriesome. I just got him because I thought he was beautiful and the price was right. 
Thank you for all the kind words about Ferrandero. 

_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

All the best with him, he sounds like a sweetheart! Wish more owners were able to view their horses from such an honest and objective standpoint.


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## ButtInTheDirt (Jan 16, 2011)

To me he looks sort of bony. I'm not sure if that is a proper word to describe it, but that's just my opinion. I'm used to stockier horses so this is just more of a personal preference of mine to see more muscular horses. But if you are breeding him to a nice QH I'd say go for it! By your description he sounds like he has a great disposition, and it might be a bad judgement on my part because he's walking. With a shoulder and hip dropped it looks uneven.


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## christabelle (Feb 13, 2011)

Bony? Nah, he is B..E...A...utiful. However after reading these forums I think I want Gaurenteed Gold if I breed for an appendix foal. He is stunning, and his foals with QH's looked amazing.



ButtInTheDirt said:


> To me he looks sort of bony. I'm not sure if that is a proper word to describe it, but that's just my opinion. I'm used to stockier horses so this is just more of a personal preference of mine to see more muscular horses. But if you are breeding him to a nice QH I'd say go for it! By your description he sounds like he has a great disposition, and it might be a bad judgement on my part because he's walking. With a shoulder and hip dropped it looks uneven.


_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

He's a pretty boy but I'm glad to hear that you plan to geld instead of breed. He'll make a wonderful gelding for you and you can get another horse that is exactly what you want for your boyfriend without the long list of "what-if's" that come with having a foal. It will be cheaper, and you won't have to wait 4 years to ride it :wink:.


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## CJ82Sky (Dec 19, 2008)

smrobs said:


> He's a pretty boy but I'm glad to hear that you plan to geld instead of breed. He'll make a wonderful gelding for you and you can get another horse that is exactly what you want for your boyfriend without the long list of "what-if's" that come with having a foal. It will be cheaper, and you won't have to wait 4 years to ride it :wink:.


ditto


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

Guarenteed Gold is to die for! Glad you plan on gelding your boy


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## Nina (Feb 12, 2011)

Hi there,

Your stallion is beautiful. I have a colt which i am going to geld but that is because i dont have any intentions in using him as stud and I hack out mainly with mares. At the end of the day it depends really what your going to use him for, if you want to use him as stud which im sure people will use him as he is stunning then keep him intact but if you dont really feel youd use him as stud or not enough to warrent keeping him intact and hes around alot of mares then may be best to get him cut. In the end though hes your horse and you know him best and know what you intend to do with him in the future which will probably be the decider in the end.


Good luck with what ever option you choose, he really is beautiful


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## horseloverd2 (Jan 23, 2009)

equiniphile said:


> ....unless a Thoroughbred really has a name in something, be it racing, dressage, or eventing, snip snip. Thoroughbreds are EVERYWHERE, and going for a dime a dozen.


Agreed. I'd geld him. He's pretty with a gorgeous coat, but I don't see any reason to breed him.


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## DunOverIt (Dec 14, 2010)

*Everyone else pretty much covered everything. And I don't think I missed this point so..

How big is he? And can your other half ride him? Maybe put some time into endurance training on him if he fits the bill otherwise? *


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## christabelle (Feb 13, 2011)

DunOverIt said:


> *Everyone else pretty much covered everything. And I don't think I missed this point so..
> 
> How big is he? And can your other half ride him? Maybe put some time into endurance training on him if he fits the bill otherwise? *


He is my "other half's" horse. And yes, I will try and condition him for endurance. He might do well, but TB's don't notoriously have the feet for endurance. My thought with breeding him toy QH mare (she is accomplished by my standards, very well trained, hardy, and has 1,725 AERC miles. She finished the Tevis. She is not competitively fast, but does exceptionally well for a bulky QH... ). And I will breed her eventually. But not to my soon to the soo to be gelding. He is 16.1. Btw. Or so they told me.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## christabelle (Feb 13, 2011)

christabelle said:


> He is my "other half's" horse. And yes, I will try and condition him for endurance. He might do well, but TB's don't notoriously have the feet for endurance. My thought with breeding him to my QH mare (she is accomplished by my standards, very well trained, hardy, and has 1,725 AERC miles. She finished the Tevis. She is not competitively fast, but does exceptionally well for a bulky QH... ). And I will breed her eventually. But not to my soon to be gelding. He is 16.1. Btw. Or so they told me.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


_Posted via Mobile Device_


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