From: Tiffini
HI, I am so happy that I stumbled onto your website! I know you hear it a lot but THANKS!! I have learned so much already:)
I have a 5 !/2 year old Paint stallion and I am wondering your thoughts on the matter. I know your advice to everyone is to geld them ASAP - but everyone so far has been refering to younger horses with vices. I bought him from a man who was just getting too old and was getting out of the breeding business after 40+ years. So he wanted his breedingstock to go to good homes. Well I fell in love with this pure white (due to being an extreme white sabino - nothing to do with the lethal white syndrome) stallion with blue eyes and awsome conformation down to the flawless shape of his babydoll head.
After careful consideration, I decided I really couln't do all it takes to offer him for stud service. A shame, but his owner (I'm still making payments) doesn't care either way - he is just happy we are so perfect together. He is on a private pasture 24/7 and has two old mares to keep him happy. He practically catches himself - if I hold out his halter he will walk right over and stick his nose through the caveson. I can ride him all over bareback with just a loose hacamore and he is a perfect gentlman. He is even starting to steer with just a shift in weight and light leg pressure. He doesn't rear, buck, kick or do any other "stallion" behavior (however he is anything but placid).
Is there really any reason I should geld him? Don't humans basically do that for safety and the economy of keeping a gelding. Don't let my description fool you - he has this charisma that I have never seen in a gelding in my 11 years with horses. Stallions just have a certain flare and bold neck carriage that I don't want to lose in him. He fears NOTHING and I treasure everything about him - I just don't want anything about him to change. You even said they lose some curves which is something I love about him (that arched - not cresty - neck) because he knows he is a STUD and shows it off ;-)
I am really curious about your opinion. I think everyone just has this fear of stallions (with good reason in many cases) because so many are dangerous and not handled properly.
Thank you very much Tiffini
Most stallions aren't lucky enough to have the sort of safe setup that you can offer your horse. If you were keeping your horse at a boarding stable, or even at home but without the big field, the stallion fence, and the mares, I would probably advise you to geld him just so that he could enjoy a more normal life. Far too many stallions are kept as stallions ONLY because they are some warped projection of their owners' egos. Stallions locked in stalls, or kept in tiny runs, isolated from other horses, unable to do anything at all that would be normal for ANY horse, have a very unhappy life. The "economy" of keeping a gelding usually means that horse-owners can allow their geldings to go out with the other geldings, in a group, to play and walk and eat in the field. It means that the horse can go to shows and clinics and competitions without any special arrangements having to be made, and it means that the owner doesn't have to put up special fencing at home or elsewhere.
It sounds to me as though you have a lovely stallion with a great personality - and I'll bet that he would make a wonderful gelding. ;-) The physical muscling that you like so much is muscling that can be developed in geldings - and to some extent in mares as well - through correct work - upper level dressage horses, for example, can look very stallion-like in their contours, even if they are geldings or mares, simply because of their muscular development.
As for the "showing off" - this can last a lifetime, even if a stallion is gelded. In my paddock, I can see a gelding who is 25 and blind - and still "strutting his stuff", arching his neck, dancing in place, and basically telling all the other horses just how wonderful and important he is.
If you DO keep him entire, be aware that his behaviour in spring and summer - prime breeding season - may be less controllable if there are mares in heat anywhere near - and for a stallion, with a super-keen sense of smell, "near" may mean "a mile or two from home". When the hormones take over, even the kindest, gentlest, sweetest stallion will still be a stallion, and you will need to be alert at all times. Liability may be another concern - it may be worthwhile consulting your farm insurer about this, and perhaps an equine law specialist as well. Be sure that your insurance coverage is still in force even if you're keeping a stallion - and be sure that you understand the terms and conditions, and that you meet any special requirements your insurer may have in terms of fencing and/or management.
From your description, I'd say that the qualities you like most in your stallion are there not because he is a stallion, but because he is a healthy, energetic young horse. There's a certain mystique to owning a stallion, but it's a mystique that causes far more harm than good, both to the stallions and to their owners. If you own a stallion that is not part of a well-thought-out breeding program, you need to ask yourself WHY this horse is still a stallion, and whether keeping it entire is really to the advantage of the horse. In almost all cases, the honest answers to those questions would be "because I think owning a stallion is COOL", and "no".
The vices that young stallions develop are usually the result of mishandling, and the mishandling is often done by very kind, loving owners who simply don't understand what it means for a stallion to BE a stallion. Gelding a stallion isn't a punishment, it's usually a good decision made by a knowledgeable, caring owner whose priority is the good of the horse. Gelding is usually done for the horse's convenience, so that it can be physically comfortable and mentally stable, and have a better life and more freedom of movement.
There's a difference between fear of stallions and RESPECT for stallions. Don't confuse one with the other. If someone says to you "stallions are unpredictable", that doesn't mean that you're talking to a fearful, ignorant person who just doesn't understand how sweet stallions can be. A carefully-managed, well- trained breeding stallion can be a gentleman at most times, but the best stud grooms will tell you that it is never safe to sit back and take those nice manners for granted.
Talk to your veterinarian, explain that you are NOT going to be using the stallion for breeding, and ask his advice. Better yet, sit down with your vet and make two lists: one of "advantages of gelding", one of "advantages of not gelding". The length of the first list may surprise you.
Jessica
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