About

Really, what I have to say about that is pretty short and sweet… Your stud colt probably isn’t good enough to stay a stud and reproduce. ‘Ouch, that hurts!’ you say?? You’re right, truth really hurts.
I’ve bought prospects and when they turned a yearling, off to the vet they went and got their attitudes adjusted. That’s my favorite time to geld a colt but I’ve known of people who geld when the colt is really young (still a suckling or weanling) or wait till he’s filled out a bit, like maybe 2 or 3 or even 4 years old. Yearling is my preference, that’s all.

If your colt cost in the upper four figures, minimum, MAYBE he’s good enough to enjoy the fruits of life, so to speak. If his dam AND sire actually won something of great importance that when you mention the prize, other horsemen gasp in awe, then yep, you can probably leave him altogether. If his grandsire/dam did something of great importance also, the awe factor included, then yep, he MIGHT be good enough. I’d say that’s a case by case basis. If his great grandsire/dam did something uber fantastic, then I’m getting into iffy territory. There are 8 horses on the great-grandsire/dam line and that’s a lot of blood going on and it starts to get mixed pretty good. As I said somewhere else, I know a lot of knowledgeable horsemen/women who really pay attention to blood from decades ago and use that to help judge. Fine by me! It’s good to know but you have to deal with the here and now. Part of being a good horseman is knowing the bloodlines, no two ways about it.

Actually, there are studs out there whose claim to fame is producing really nice geldings/mares and the stud owner/manager isn’t aiming for a breeding animal to hit the ground. That’s where you have to research and know your blood and what it’s good for. Another reason is to keep the market sort of cornered on certain blood and not too many horses out there to cheapen the stud fee. The AI phenom going on about ruined some breeds…

Look at the National or World shows for your particular breed. Be honest, does your halter prospect really hold up against the top 5 colts in what-would-have-been his class if he’d been there?? Does your colt hold up against a reining champ in blood and confo?? Use any class you like and BE HONEST.