My friend and I are having and argument about it. He thinks that it's just to stop the horse from breeding, and I think it also has to do with temperament of the horse. What are all the reasons for gelding a stallion?

There are many reasons for gelding

1. To stop them breeding
2. To keep their temperament more manageable and thinking of the rider and not of any other horses around.
3. Many horses become very top heavy when they are entire and this can stop them being so versatile and has less strain on their legs.
4. In jump racing the studs dislike their testicles dragging through the brush fences.
5. To give more horses a chance of living a normal life, being ridden anywhere any time , being turned pout with companions
6. Very few people are equipped to either keep or manage an entire.

1) To prevent breeding 2) Because people are too lazy or ignorant to teach a stallion to act like a gelding 3) Safety in case the stallion gets out or if he shows aggression towards other stallions.

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All stallions can be trained to act just like a gelding. Lots can learn pretty dang fast too . Most people just write off bad behavior as "stallion behavior" because they just never trained the stallion to behave. We have a 4 year old stallion off at another trainer right now (who I really don't like) and he keeps telling me we need to geld that stallion because he's all studdy and he has to work him twice as hard because of it. I say he needs to go work with a trainer familiar with training stallions proper behavior and shut the heck up. The reason we haven 't gelded him yet is because he is a show horse he's pretty good so he may end up a breeding stallion in a few years (yes he is registered with awesome bloodlines and yes he has grood conformation. No worries there we take breeding seriously and don't just breed "pretty horses").

But there are risks involved in keeping a stallion. Until they have a pecking order they will be aggressive to other stallions like all horses just a little more extreme especially if there are mares pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
around. You also have to worry about him getting out and finding a mare in heat.

So for some people it's just easier to have a gelding because then you don't have to train them to act like one. I personally will have either a gelding or a stallion but I know there's no such thing as "stallion behavior" and how to train them to be gentlemen.

Family breeds, trains, and shows cutting and barrel horses and I'm an equine science major at CSU with a concentration in breeding and foaling management. I've also worked with different stallions who were all perfect gentlemen.

Reasons to geld horses include:

1. Stopping breeding. Not all horses are suitable for breeding. Some have genetic or hereditary defects which should not be passed on to future generations. Others get disqualified for personality reasons.

2.Makes the horse calmer, quieter, and easier to ride and train.

3. Helps colts who may be predisposed to being short to grow taller. Growth plates tend to close later on a gelded horse than on an entire horse.

4.Stops horses from engaging in destructive or dangerous behavior in pursuit of mares. Examples of this include jumping fences, breaking through fences, or bolting after a mare while being ridden or led.

5. Helps prevent the development of secondary sexual characteristics, such as a cresty neck and a heavy front end.
6. Helps prevent cancer of the penis, testicles, and prostate gland in later life.
7. Keeps the horse's mind focused on work instead of sex.

8. Keeps male horses from turning into mankillers.

Known and worked with a lot of geldings (and a few stallions) in my life.

The first poster gave you a good list. I would add that few people have the knowledge and experience to handle stallions properly. That is related to both of your arguments. The stallion wants to breed and that temperament is mellowed by gelding him.

The expense and work of separate paddocks, stalls and dividers, and pastures with borders is needed for stallions. You can put multiple mares and geldings in the same space.

So instead of arguing about the reasons, just agree that both of you come from different directions and know that most colts should be gelded.

Really, a person needs reasons NOT to geld the horse. Temperament is the # 1 reason. Stallions are dangerous unless handled professionally and their hormones are ALWAYS "on." They usually wind up being kept in isolation from other animals except when being worked or when breeding and don't get to live like a horse.

Biologically, only about 3 to 5 percent of all male horses "need" to be kept stallions to provide genetic diversity and provide reproduction to maintain the horse population. So unless there is something truly exceptional about the horse that puts him in the 95th percentile, he doesn't need the bother of having his "hardware."