As soon as you know that you are not going to keep your colt to breed, there is no reason to wait until he demonstrates stallion-like behavior or becomes aggressive or hard to manage. That’s one reason why the most popular age range for gelding horses is between six and twelve months or before one year of age.
Q. Does gelding a horse stunt growth?
What I found out was that the breeder that says it will stunt his growth is all wrong. The studies show that after you geld them all the growth hormones that go into making one a good stud are free to make them grow bigger and he will probably be larger than he would have been if you had left him a stud.
Q. Can you geld a horse at any age?
It is acceptable to geld horses of all ages, according to Deirdre B. Biles of Bloodhorse.com. However, many veterinary experts note that early gelding may lead to optimal results. If a colt has not even reached one full year in age, the procedure may prove to be more effective in the long run.
Q. Can you geld a 3 year old horse?
Regarding the colt’s maturity, there is an upper and a lower limit. Sometimes, people like to wait until a colt is 3 or 4 years old before gelding, but I think that often even that is too late – although it does allow the colt to develop more muscle, he’ll also be developing stallion traits.
Q. How do you take care of a newly gelded horse?
Your new gelding should be bedded on STRAW or HAY until the castration site has healed. Shavings tend to sneak in to the castration site and can lead to infection. If your new gelding is bedded on straw, make sure to keep plenty of hay available so that he doesn’t eat the straw and get a belly ache.
Q. How long does swelling last after gelding?
My vet told me it’s normal for the scrotum area to be swollen for up to around 5 days and for blood/clear fluid to drip out over those 5 days. The more the horse can move about, the better as the massage of moving helps to drain it and reduce any swelling.
