# Gelding an older stallion



## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

There's a 12 year old Appaloosa at my barn that I worked with a little over the past few months, and he was gelded pretty late. Like, within the past couple of years. Can't give any insight about how the procedure affected him physically, but he is a very sane horse with a good temperament.


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## dbarabians (May 21, 2011)

Duckdodgers he was probably a sane horse with a good temperament as a stallion.
I have owned 2 geldings that were stallions for several years. Both still acted like stallions occasionally but they were safe around other horses while under saddle or being handled.
Both would still mount mares when they were in heat and pastured together and they herded the mares like stallions.
Shalom


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## frlsgirl (Aug 6, 2013)

dbarabians said:


> Duckdodgers he was probably a sane horse with a good temperament as a stallion.
> I have owned 2 geldings that were stallions for several years. Both still acted like stallions occasionally but they were safe around other horses while under saddle or being handled.
> Both would still mount mares when they were in heat and pastured together and they herded the mares like stallions.
> Shalom


Interesting; I guess this is where nurture vs nature comes into play


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

dbarabians said:


> Duckdodgers he was probably a sane horse with a good temperament as a stallion.
> I have owned 2 geldings that were stallions for several years. Both still acted like stallions occasionally but they were safe around other horses while under saddle or being handled.
> Both would still mount mares when they were in heat and pastured together and they herded the mares like stallions.
> Shalom


Well, yeah, I don't think I was implying that he wasn't :wink:


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## TessaMay (Jul 26, 2013)

The rescue I work with has a horse that was gelded as a 17 year old who has adjusted well. Other than his situation at his last owners barn, they don't know his history, so who knows what kind of stallion he was. I believe it has a lot to do with their previous training and temperament. At that age, they are fairly set in their ways and while gelding them will take their hormones away, they still have mating behavior ingrained in them.


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## rookie (May 14, 2012)

Gelding an older stallion won't change his personalty much. After a certain age a huge amount of behavior is training and practice. It can be a bit harder/riskier to geld an older stallion. They tend to have better blood flow to the area which increases the bleeding risk. They can have a tougher spermatic cord which can be a challenge to crush/cut. Recovery can be a bit longer. This is generally more true of stallions in their late teens and twenties. I know someone who wanted to geld her 25 year old stallion and the vet said it was not worth the risk. I would speak to a veterinarian who you would want to perform the procedure to see if it would be something they thought should be done on the farm or if it is something that is better done at a speciality hospital. Taking a horse to a speciality hospital for a procedure is something that really can affect purchase price.


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## frlsgirl (Aug 6, 2013)

rookie said:


> Gelding an older stallion won't change his personalty much. After a certain age a huge amount of behavior is training and practice. It can be a bit harder/riskier to geld an older stallion. They tend to have better blood flow to the area which increases the bleeding risk. They can have a tougher spermatic cord which can be a challenge to crush/cut. Recovery can be a bit longer. This is generally more true of stallions in their late teens and twenties. I know someone who wanted to geld her 25 year old stallion and the vet said it was not worth the risk. I would speak to a veterinarian who you would want to perform the procedure to see if it would be something they thought should be done on the farm or if it is something that is better done at a speciality hospital. Taking a horse to a speciality hospital for a procedure is something that really can affect purchase price.


Ouch. Thanks for all the info :-o.


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## SueNH (Nov 7, 2011)

dbarabians said:


> Duckdodgers he was probably a sane horse with a good temperament as a stallion.
> I have owned 2 geldings that were stallions for several years. Both still acted like stallions occasionally but they were safe around other horses while under saddle or being handled.
> Both would still mount mares when they were in heat and pastured together and they herded the mares like stallions.
> Shalom


Same here. My old QH was gelded at 6 or 7. He never completely forgot the feeling. He was near 30 when he finally quit trying to mount mares in heat. Other studly behaviors like herding the mares never stopped. He was incorrigible PITA as a gelding. I couldn't imagine him as a stud.

I always feel so awful, I can say little nice about that old horse. I couldn't ride him, he bucked like a fiend. I couldn't trust him on the ground unless I was just grooming him. He pestered and worried the mares. He tried to kill me several times and meant it. He did everything his way to the moment he died. Made everything so hard. Why I kept him for the rest of his life I'll never know. But I so honestly miss the big jerk. Doesn't seem right to go out there and not have a horse launch himself over your head in a suppertime dance. 

Something like Snoopy only in a 1200 lb version.






My jack donkey did become a nice gelding. He was around 12 when he was gelded. Ladies could still turn his head but he more often than not decided it wasn't worth the effort.


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## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

Gelding an older stallion is quite a dangerous procedure. It is not nearly as simple as gelding a young horse. Along with the bleeding risk and more complicated surgical procedures mentioned, there is a large risk of blood clots. A friend of mine purchased a middle aged stallion and had him gelded. He has a large blood clot in his lower neck which causes his head and neck in one side to swell. It needs to get drained often and he has almost died from sepsis. And if one day a piece of the clot breaks off and goes to his heart, it's bye bye pony. Instantly with no chance to save him.

Personally, after 6, I would not geld a stallion unless he was dangerous and it was a last chance deal before putting him down.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## HorseOfCourse (Jul 20, 2009)

I have a mini that was gelded at 11. He was nice as a stud personality wise, but I can say that gelding him definitely changed him for the better. While he did gain weight much more than when he was a stud, he only tried to mount one mare since then and he's been pastured with 3 different mares. He actually prefers geldings over mares to hang out with in the pasture and is the best foal-sitter.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## n2sporthorses (Dec 16, 2013)

It can be more involved with an older stallion. I rode a friend's 19 yo stallion--he was a perfect gentleman. Due to my friend's circumstances and nothing to do with the horse, she had to sell him. But it was hard to find someone to buy an older stallion. She looked into having him gelded, but was told he'd have to go into the vet clinic. It was going to be very expensive to do it that way. But I suppose it depends on the individual horse as to just how involved the procedure would be.


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## frlsgirl (Aug 6, 2013)

Thanks for all your input. I will pass on the stallion.


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## dbarabians (May 21, 2011)

Good luck with your search. Shalom


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## Rideordie112 (Dec 7, 2013)

My horse was gelded two years ago, and he doesn't act stud like at all when I am on his back or interacting with him. In the pasture he herds mares, but that's about it. He's a very well behaved gentleman.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## shellybean (Dec 28, 2012)

The old barn I rode at took in a few horses, one of them being a 10+ year old Arab/QH stallion. He was gelded shortly after arriving and I would have NEVER guessed he was a stallion. He has a wonderful personality and I don't see any "study" behaviors. But then again it could be different for every horse...he was the only one I was ever around though to be honest.

He is now used as a lesson horse for kids!


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

I guess ignorance is bliss.

I had the Vet geld a 20 year old stallion that was given to me. I had known the horse for years. The Vet did not want to do it but I told him it was geld him or shoot him and he was a VERY well trained horse. He had been owned by a wealthy Shriner businessman and had been in several Rose Parades and had been to Madison Square Garden twice. He was given to the Shrine barn stable boy in the man's will. He subsequntly got in trouble with the law and went to prison. This young man's mother told me I had 24 hours to come and get him. [His name was 'Lucky' by the way.]

I drove 400 miles to get him and the Vet gelded him the next day. I used him for a lesson horse for 12 years. He was wonderful. He was no where near the top of the pasture pecking order. I never saw him look at a mare, but even 45 years ago I did not pasture them together.

Since then, I have gelded several others over 10 years old and one that was 15. We gelded all of these others ourselves. [I have a very good set of emasculaters.] None bled excessively and none were staggy. I would not hesitate to buy any well trained or really nice prospect that was still a stallion. 

I can tell you one side effect that has been 100% on every one that had a big 'cresty neck'. That big crest will lose its 'starch' and will either flop over to one side or will flop back and forth as the horse trots. If the stud has a reasonably clean neck, whatever crest he has will get much softer without getting smaller. 

The last one we cut ourselves was a paint Breeding Stock 'solid' sired by Blue Max. He was big, stout and gorgeous. I bought him at auction for $200.00 to tease with. He had been bred extensively but sired too many solids out of colored mares. He was 9 or 10 -- 10 I believe. He was supposed to have been ridden some by a previous owner but not much. He was very kind and gentle natured. We teased with him for an entire breeding season. He was really noisey. That was why I bought him. You could hear him 'howl' all the way across the parking lot when I drove up to the auction. He could squall louder and better at mares than any horse I had ever had. He had neighbor mares break out and show up at our fence to try to get to him. He was a great teaser -- best one I ever had. At the end of the season we laid him down and cut him. He bled about 3 drops, never swelled and never got sore. We turned him out with a set of geldings the next day. It was really stra nge. I thought I would have a hard time making him be quiet. I do not guess I ever heard him whinny more than 2 or 3 times until I sold him that winter. He was a gelding from the next day on. We started riding him a few days later and he made a really nice horse. I sold him to a lady for a trail horse about 6 months later for $2500.00. We were going to make a roping horse out of him, but he was too lazy and too slow. Trail horse fit him best. I ran into the lady a few times that bought him. She said he never did act staggy. I had also warned her not to run him with mares for a good while, but she did and it still did not cause any problems. 

I have found over the years that most of the people that were afraid of gelding older studs had never gelded one and like my first Vet were just afraid of problems. Everyone I have known that actually gelded older studs never had a problem. Like us, they have always turned out EVERY freshly cut stud with a set of geldings. The very worst thing you can do with any stud is keep them up by themselves for a while after gelding them. Testosterone levels drop in a matter of hours if you put a stud or recently gelded stud in with a set of mature geldings no matter how old (or young) he is.

The safest thing to do with a very big old stud is to have the Vet tie off the artery (it will be as big as your finger) while the emasculators are still clamped on. If you use an absorbable suture, you never have to look at it again. If you don't do that, your Vet needs to leave the emasculators on a good while and make sure the cord is very well crushed.


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## rookie (May 14, 2012)

I respect Cherie's opinions and her wealth of views and I am glad that all older geldings have worked out well for her. I have seen/heard of older stallions having trouble with gelding. To the point where one was referred to an emergency clinic due to bleeding that would not stop even after tying and emasculator application. It was a mess. 

In the end, I think there are enough good, young gelded dressage prospect out there to keep looking.


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## Sharpie (May 24, 2009)

Gelding an older stallion is riskier than a youngster, no doubt. However, on the scale of 'risky surgeries' it still ranks far below just about everything else we typically knock a horse down to do (joint fusions, nerving, colic surgeries, etc).


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## rookie (May 14, 2012)

True and the benefits can immensely out weigh the risks.


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

Every older stallion we gelded had no future as stallions. They would have either been put down or shipped to Mexico. Just like my $200.00 teasing horse, if I had taken him back to the sale after I was done using him for a teaser, he would have been shipped. When I bought him, he was set in at $100.00 and I put the only bids on him other than the kill buyer's bids. 

This horse in question would have the same fate if his owner 'had' to sell him. So, I look at it like I have little to lose compared to what the horse has to lose. I would look at it as a strictly as a business decision. If the horse is priced low enough to be worth the risk, then it is a good business decision. If I were not gelding one myself, I would take one to a 'country Vet and not a big equine center. The ones around here would charge $100.00 to $150.00 to lay one down out in the open. 

If the sutures are put around the artery in the cord correctly, they are not going to come out. Someone did not know what they were doing if the suture did not work right and the horse bled that much.

I would say it all depends on how the horse is priced.

JMHO Cherie


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## ecasey (Oct 18, 2013)

I'm a beginner, so I'm passing on info given to me.

I ride for my lessons a 9 year old Pure Race Espagnol horse who was gelded at 7. He is a pain in the butt, behavior-wise sometimes. He's also called a "tyrant" by his owner because of how he treats other horses. He's also very proud and likes to prance around a lot, especially after he's gotten scared over something.

She told me a horse needs a few years to "get over" being a stallion.


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

Absolutely not true. What messes up mature stallions really badly when they are gelded is to keep them stalled or penned by themselves and not let them socialize in a herd of geldings. This can even be true of 2 and 3 year old stallions. Any mature stallion can take a long time and some never get over it unless they are bullied by geldings before they fully recover.

We do not turn mature stallions out with geldings until 1 or 2 days after gelding them. We do not want the geldings to chase one just cut and get him opened up and bleeding. But, one or two days later, turning them out serves 2 purposes: 

First, it keeps them moving so they do not swell up or heal on the outside first. This would require opening them up and letting them drain.

Second, it socializes them to be run around by other horses. It takes their Testosterone levels down immediately and most never get staggy or mean. 

I've had one stallion get really mean after gelding him and he was only 3 when we cut him. He was so mean that he chased horses into corners and kicked them over fences. We sold him to a man that was going to rope off of him and not run him with other horses. He had impeccable manners under saddle and on the ground. You just could not turn him out with other horses.


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## dbarabians (May 21, 2011)

The 2 geldings that I have owned that were cut later in life could be placed in herds with mares foals and other geldings.
the only stallion behavior I ever noticed was the herding and mounting the mares.
I do not know if I would do that with either of my two age stallions at 17 and 19. If I did it would only be in a herd of mares or a herd of geldings with the mares out of sight and smell. Shalom


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

Gelded my breeding stallion at 12 years old. It was harder on him than having a young colt gelded but he got through it with no complications. My vet did it here on the farm. 

After gelding turned him in with my most dominant gelding. He wanted to herd him around like a mare which the gelding did not like or understand so he suffered from some bites. Then turned ex-stallion out with a couple of mares and while he did mount one of them a few times he eventually figured out it did him no good. The other mare is his dam and I've never seen him mount her. She's also the only horse on this place he lets boss him around even though she's at the bottom of the pecking order with any other horse. Him and the 2 mares make a happy herd and the geldings are happy they don't have to deal with him.


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

The older stallions we have gelded did maintain one of their other characteristics -- They still pooped on a pile and urinated over other horses' spots. 

I am curious if the gelding mentioned above was turned out with the other gelding right after he was cut and was still sore or swollen? This seems to be a really big factor in how quickly horses get over being a stud.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

I've gelded 2 stallions who were between 7-10 years old. Neither had any complications, though I'd say they did swell more/longer than the youngsters I've had gelded. BOTH were very quiet and well behaved as stallions, they both stayed that way as geldings. Immediately after gelding, they were both kept in for 24 hours, then turned out into a round pen for 3-4 days. The round pen was in the pasture with all of the other horses, they weren't kept away from the herd. After that time, they went out in the "bachelor boy" herd with geldings and young colts. After 30 days or so with them, they went back out with bred mares, and 60 days or so after that, they went back out with the open mares. Both remained "herd chiefs" but neither ever tried to mount a mare or acted studly in any way at all except for being very firmly in charge. One I sold as a child's mount, the other I still own and will never sell because he's all that and a bag of chips for me.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

Cherie said:


> The older stallions we have gelded did maintain one of their other characteristics -- They still pooped on a pile and urinated over other horses' spots.
> 
> I am curious if the gelding mentioned above was turned out with the other gelding right after he was cut and was still sore or swollen? This seems to be a really big factor in how quickly horses get over being a stud.


 No, in retrospect I probably should have done it while he wasn't feeling so chipper but I waited about a month.


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