Horse Talk

[abigalerose]

I was always told that they drop and are that way for a short amount of time after birth but then -for lack of better terminology- get "sucked back up" and don't descend ALL the way down until closer to a year.
I'm going to call my vet on Monday though, if they can do it now then that works for me.
I was told there's risks though to do it at the age he is now because they will not be all the way descended

 

[Eggsoteric]

We put Bert and Lilly together since previously they were together for about 10 years. Sneaks was not making nice so she's on the other side of the fence.
I think Lilly's color is a red roan, but she's faded with age

Is Lilly an Appaloosa? She looks to be what they refer to as a Varnish Roan.

 

[Eggsoteric]

Can't get him gelded until he drops, as far as I know

What gives you the impression that he's not dropped? Best to have a vet palpate to make that determination. I agree with res in that, unless it's in your plan, you're taking the risk of him breeding June the longer you wait. I prefer to have a colt gelded during the cooler months vs. warmer when the flies are more prevalent.

 

[GingersHuman]

I was always told that they drop and are that way for a short amount of time after birth but then -for lack of better terminology- get "sucked back up" and don't descend ALL the way down until closer to a year.
I'm going to call my vet on Monday though, if they can do it now then that works for me.
I was told there's risks though to do it at the age he is now because they will not be all the way descended

Sometimes a colt will drop after the first few weeks, but generally of they're not dropped by then they won't. Then yes, an abdominal surgery is necessary. Be aware that an undropped colt can still breed.

 

[abigalerose]

I'm aware. I'm just not understanding why everyone here is saying they drop at a couple weeks of age and it can be done at anytime, but everyone I've talked to in person has said they drop at 2 different times- or two different stages, and can't be gelded in between those times. It's not just one person who's told me this either, and all of the people I've talked to about it have been really knowledgeable. So I guess I'm a bit confused now.
Regardless, I'm calling my vet tomorrow to find out how soon I can get it done.
I'm sure a baby from him and June would be nice and all, but it's not what I want.

 

[Bunnylady]

Me and my cousin went on a trail ride yesterday, me on June and her on her stud horse, and they were both so quiet you'd think we were riding two geldings. She got him as an unhandled 6 year in February, and she works hard with him everyday and that's how he is now.

You can't assume that every stallion will be just like the only stallion that you have been around. The old guy that I used to work with told me he beat the crap out of his stallion when it was younger, and that's why it's so quiet now (his very words). I haven't seen his stud, but I've seen some of his progeny; they are so 'quiet' they are almost brain-dead (even as unhandled 2-year-olds). Since some temperament is inheritable, I suspect his horse is quiet because he's naturally quiet natured, regardless of the brutality of his owner. I've been around geldings and mares that you couldn't safely turn your back on, and one fairly senior stallion (15 yrs or so) that was a perfect gentleman to handle, but which paced his paddock continuously and constantly challenged every gelding he could see. I've handled quite a few "studly" geldings that weren't a problem for any of us to handle, but which played herd stallion with the mares and squabbled for dominance with other geldings when turned out (I think you've had one of those yourself). Some of the boys had been geldings for many years; though their earliest histories aren't known, no reasonable person would have allowed some of them breeding privileges - I think that's just what their temperaments were like. A miniature horse breeder with decades of experience offered the opinion that the only real difference between stallions and geldings is that stallions can settle mares. That may be a bit simplistic, but barring the extra 'edge' that testosterone creates, I think to a certain extent, it's true.

Some people manage to keep their stallions and geldings in bachelor herds during the non-breeding times of year, though the boys may get dinged up a bit, they don't always kill each other on sight.

(Interesting side note - a guy that had been involved in the science side of horse breeding for many years said that stallions kept in bachelor groups have significantly lower amounts of testosterone in their blood than those kept alone or with mares, which probably helps keep them more civil with each other).

 

[I Love Layers]

Is Lilly an Appaloosa?  She looks to be what they refer to as a Varnish Roan.

She's a Quarter Horse I'm positively sure.
Some kind of red roan. She was a "full red roan" when they got her but she's faded through the years.

 

[I Love Layers]

From our ride on Friday

The only problem with bad knees when riding is when I stop, I usually do this^^

 

[abigalerose]

I wasnt saying that all stud horses are like my cousins, I was just pointing it out. I've been around other quiet studs as well. And I know there's also really stud acting studs out there, I was just using it for an example, because if a stallion can be trained to be quiet, I don't think I'll have any problems with Jack if he's gelded within the next few months. Because she said gelding too late will cuase him to act like a stud even after he's gelded, but I don't think that'll be the case. Maybe if I was waiting until he was 2 or 3, but I'm not

 

[I Love Layers]

I am so proud of myself, and most importantly Sneaks today!
As some of you may know Sneaks has a wolf tooth, she has a bit, so she often acts up with a little to much pressure, so I have to make sure nothing sets her off so I don't have to apply to much pressure.
Another thing, when I was 10 I was bucked of a gelding I was training, twice within 2 hours, the second time I could've died after hitting my head against a corral panel. After that I had a fear of riding horses I didn't trust, or having a horse start acting up. Sometimes when Sneaks would act up real bad I would immediately dismount scared that something would happen. The bit caused some of these problems but also helped control her too. But today I decided to take a big step, no bit. For some of you this may be a whatever kind of thing but for someone who was almost killed because the horse couldn't be controlled it's pretty scary. I took the lead rope off and put the reins on the halter, I was trying to be positive. I got on, and she was the same maybe better, then I worked on turning, it was amazing! No head bobbing or acting up! I took her through her paces, and she did amazing. She wanted to run though so when I was loping her we almost ran into a fence cause she was stopping slow

. We also have to work on backing up and side passing