Can anyone tell me if there is any kind of age limit on cutting a horse? I know you need to wait till their organs are developed to prevent urinary problems, but nothing on the upper age limit. Looking at a 4 yr old TB form the race track, which is still a stallion. Any advice? OOPS.......he has just suffered a bowed tendon on a foreleg and we want him for a riding horse, after some long TLC.
Posted 2006-03-03 7:43 AM (#38176 - in reply to #38154) Subject: RE: Horse Cutting
Veteran
Posts: 114 Location: Mobile, AL
Generally the earlier you geld them the better, there was an article in Horse and rider about a year ago that recommended age 3-4 months as they generally find it less traumatic, they tend to heal better, and they have not been given the opportunity to show stallionlike behavior. In your case, 4 may not be too old, but it can depend on several things. If he is already acting like a stallion (getting real agressive, or mounting mares) it will be a little more difficult. If you do get him gelded, it will be very important to get him very respectful from the start. I had a 4 y.o. that was gelded, he was in a situation where he couldn't act like a stud, once we got him gelded he did well and responded well, but he had problems, and tended to show aggressive behavior for any female that handled him. For me he didn't give me a lot of problems. There was also a thread on here shortly after we had him gelded that talked about having them gelded by the signs of the moon. You could find the info in a Farmer's Almanac. Some people swear by it. I may have tried it if I had known.
Posted 2006-03-03 8:54 AM (#38187 - in reply to #38154) Subject: RE: Horse Cutting
Elite Veteran
Posts: 824 Location: Kansas
Two vets I know also cut by the sign of the moon. Must be something to it. As far as gelding, one of the better show horses I have known was gelded at 14 and is the best kids horse you'd ever want to see. As you said, it's dependent a lot on the personality of the horse. I kind of like the quote by George Lucas after his last Kentucky Derby winner-he said if he'd gelded all the colts he'd trained, he'd only have made one mistake.
Posted 2006-03-03 2:47 PM (#38205 - in reply to #38154) Subject: RE: Horse Cutting
Expert
Posts: 1989 Location: South Central OK
That question can't be answered as each horse is different.
I've owned horses that were cut at three and were was fine (noone gets away with anything studly on my place, period). I've seen horses cut at two that needed Estrogen shots and still acted studly.
Posted 2006-03-08 3:42 PM (#38466 - in reply to #38154) Subject: RE: Horse Cutting
I've gelded a colt at 9 months, because he needed it, a four year old because he was going no where in the show pen, and a 11 year old stallion that had 23 foals on the ground because I didn't want to show a stud, and didn't have a place to keep a stud. They all turned out just fine. I would think it really depends on the horse. If you like the horse and want a gelding, go ahead and do it. He'll be fine.
Posted 2006-03-08 6:49 PM (#38480 - in reply to #38154) Subject: RE: Horse Cutting
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 362 Location: Allegan, Michigan
4 is not too old to be gelded. If he was over ten then I would start being concerned about healing complications. The older they get the more complications can arise. I would say go ahead and have him snipped. Just do it now before the flies start hitting hard!
Horse Cutting
REALLY ! !
