should i geld or not? starting my 3 year old colt

Is he a registered horse? If the answer is no, then he should be gelded. If you choose not geld, you will have your work cut out for you. Being a young stud horse, you'll have to work twice as hard with him on minding you and manners. You must not give an inch with him on minding his manners. If he thinks he can get away with anything, he will definitely try and will only get worse. An out of control stallion is a danger to himself and to people. We used to have a stallion. When it was breeding time, he had a special halter for that and a special routine. He knew he could be a stud horse, but I still expected him to mind his manners. When it was time to go riding or get his feet trimmed, etc he was expected to be a horse and mind his manners then too. Period. No exceptions. We had a colt several years ago we considered leaving a stallion, but after much thought decided to geld. I'm glad we did. His bloodlines were not outstanding and he just did not strike me as a stallion prospect. He was much happier as a gelding and we definitely made the right decision.

Melanie's given you some really good advice. I've had 2 stallions; one I raised from a yearling, one I got as an adult. Really, unless the horse is an outstanding individual with valuable bloodlines, it's best to geld them. The horse will be far happier and less stressed, and so will you. A stallion is an enormous responsibility. You can never for one second let your guard down. (and my stallions were lovely horses! yet constant vigilance) There's no difference in "breaking" a stallion or a gelding. The process is the same. But fencing and handling are vastly different. You must have a fence that he absolutely cannot get out of. You could be legally liable for any damage he does. One of my stallions snapped a fence post with a kick. He also broke 2 inch thick oak boards in his stall. They are incredibly strong, and once aroused can be a real handful. I'd sure geld him if he were my horse, so I just have a wonderful buddy to enjoy and be proud of, rather than a constant worry.

I would say geld. We have a 4 year old stud that has good blood and has been so easy to handle that my 17 yo daughter has started last year and he is a good boy so he still has his jewels. He is QH registered and also reg palamino.We have 2 mares Standardbred off the track and my daughters jumper Morgan that my sweet QH boy and his jewels visited both girls and we are expecting 2 foals .Moms and dad are both reg just not same reg. So especially if you have mares(I don't care how good your fences are)get rid of the family jewels. Good luck with him Raydene