Why Gelding a Stallion is the Better Choice

I have worked around stallions, or unaltered male horses, for several years. I have seen some wonderful stallions and some bad stallions. There are both types out there, but that doesn't deviate from the fact that they are still stallions and their only purpose is to breed. They should not be kept for pets. Owning a stallion is serious business. It doesn't matter if you have raised them since they were babies or you say they act like a gelding, they are still a stallion. The ones that don't show the typical stallion tendencies are the ones I am most leery of because you never know what they might do or when.

Besides the fact that stallions can be very unpredictable, making that the greatest reason to geld them, there are other factors to think about. People often make excuses not the geld their stallion. They want to breed them is the most common. Well let me tell you something, unless you have a wonderfully bred horse that has perfect conformation and is well established in some type of show category, and very few horses meet all the necessary criteria, you are going to be spending more money than making it. There is such an overflow of unregistered horses out there, do we really need more?

A stallions life is not an easy one. He can not be with other horses for several reason so he is sentenced to a life of solitude, creating boredom and possibly dangerous hobbies. They are often punished for acting like what they are, a stallion. Wouldn't it be easier to let them out in a pasture with other horses, be able to go to a show or on a trail ride without worrying if there is a mare in heat around? Then geld them! The saying goes, if he is a nice stallion, he will make a fantastic gelding!

So now you think if I have a stallion I can breed my mares to him or breed my friends mare and get babies and sell them. Well that is just more potential slaughterhouse or abuse case material you are putting out there. If you want babies, look into the PMU program or the BLM mustangs. Instead of breeding why not save a horse?

Horses in general are not cheap, stallions can be even more expensive. You need bigger, sturdier fence and stalls that don't allow them contact with other horses. Geldings can go out with other horses and can be in regular stalls.

As I said before, I have known all types of stallions. If you still aren't convinced that gelding your stallion is the answer because he is so sweet and doesn't act like a stallion, let me tell you this story. I knew a women who had this gorgeous stallion. She has raised his mother and then him since birth. When I first met him, I didn't even know he was a stallion. He was so well behaved and laid back. He never acted out or showed any stallion habits. She could ride him anywhere. When he was 12 years old she was working with him in a round pen. A neighboring farm had some mares, they broke out and were running around. He got excited and his owner, who loved him and raised him for 12 years, was in between him and the mares. He killed her that day, grabbed her by the throat and broke her neck, He then viciously stomped her till she was hardly recognizable. She lay in the round pen till her husband came home hours later and found her. If that isn't a push enough to geld your stallion, I don't know what is.