I have a stallion that will never probably be stud quality. I want to geld him but is there a chance that it could do more harm than good to his racing career. Hes doing really well now, I dont want to do anything to ruin it.
Gelding usually makes a horse more competitive, rather than less. He’s no longer dreaming about pretty fillies and fighting off the other boys for the right to date said pretty filly in post position #6, rather all he wants to do is run.
If there’s no hope for your boy, I’d geld him and watch him go.
I’ve been on a gelding binge the last couple of days, so I’m hoping Cat has it right!
Gelding is the best thing for allowance level and lower and even lower stakes calibur horses. It takes a lot to qualify for stud (10 stakes wins including a GI) and even if your boy did make it to stud qualification competition for mares is fierce and studs very very rarely pay off (you can ask pretty much any stud owner, most will tell you they spend more on their studs in taxes and nominations then the stud bring in in fees!) This isn’t to say owning a stud is a bad thing…if you can a afford the possible loss. I love my boys although with nominations fees only one is paying for himself this year so far with another possibly paying for himself…either way there isn’t much of a profit if any.
PLUS-gelding is a great way to get just a little more, sometimes it makes a bigger difference, from your colt. My shining example is my often mentioned(by me) colt Worth The Risk. He was qualifed for stud, before the new rules, but because of the intense stud competition and the fact that he’s yet another Worth son(so many standing right now!) I decided to geld him. He was always a good stakes winner, but if you look at early in his 2009 year you can pretty much tell when I gelded him…he pretty much was one of the most consistent stakes winner in the game after that! I’m a big fan of gelding! It makes the most reliable colts!