First, let me congratulate you on finding this article. You were obviously looking up information on the care of your male miniature horse. Before I begin, let me give you the definition of gelding. Gelding is the procedure done to sexually mature male horses to make them sterile. The same procedure done in dogs and cats is called neutering.
Why is gelding a male miniature horse so important? The number one reason it that it is an often overlooked procedure in miniature horses because of the misconceptions of sexual habits in minis. I will list 5 major reasons to have your male mini horse gelded along with personal experiences I have had with miniature horse stallions and geldings.
Prevention of reproduction
Of course the major reason is to prevent the miniature stallion to become the father of your or your neighbors’ mare next offspring. Don’t you believe for one minute that just because your miniature horse is small that it could not breed with a full size mare. I have a friend who thought that way and left her miniature stallion as an entire male. The stallion was a pet and unregistered. She let the stallion run with her mares in pasture thinking the stallion could never mount one of her Quarter Horse mares and breed her. Then one day she happened to look out of her window and notice that one of her mares was laying down while the miniature stallion was mating her. It turns out that a mare can be very accommodating when her drive to reproduce is strong. My friend had to make an emergency trip to the vet with her mare to have her abort the possible results of the mating. It would have been cheaper to have the mini stallion gelded in the first place.
To prevent unwanted stallion behavior
As a male horse of any size attains sexual maturity, they develop habits that are part of their sex drive. Rearing, striking out and aggressive biting are just some of the unwanted behaviors that can develop without proper training and handling. Most people that own regular size horses are aware of those potential problems and take the appropriate action to nip those behaviors in the bud before they happen. Some miniature horse owners have a tendency to either ignore the potential problem or think it is cute when the 3 foot tall mini rears and strikes out with his front feet. The vet or the person that comes to trim the minis hoofs on the other hand view this as a dangerous vice and the owner might have a hard time finding a vet or farrier that will even come near the mini stallion. Neighbors might also find your miniature stallion on their property when the mini’s sex drive becomes strong enough for him to look for mares to breed. Miniature horses are noted for being great escape artists, now add to that a stallions sex drive and you have broken fences and damaged property.
For the mental health of the miniature
The miniature stallion that is not allowed to breed is a very frustrated animal. They will fight other male horses, either geldings or stallions in a pasture situation where mares are present. They can become mean and hard to handle when other horses are present. Since a horse is a social herd animal it would not be appropriate to the horse’s mental health to isolate the animal from others of it’s own kind. Miniature stallions that are kept for show and breeding are handled by experienced horse owners and trainers that are well educated in how to accommodate the mental well being of a stallion. They are often kept with a older sterile mare as a companion or are kept in full training and show schedule when it is not breeding season. I once knew of a miniature stallion that was donated to a horse therapy group. They were thrilled with the donation until the little stallion discovered the group’s only mare, a full size horse. The group now had a little menace on their hands. The stallion would get out and chase the mare during therapy sessions while children were present. The stallion was now a liability for the group. For some odd reason they never had the stallion gelded but decided to pass off their problem to someone else. If only someone had gelded the stallion long before he was donated to the therapy group he would not have gone from home to home.
Housing the miniature horse
Gelding a male mini horse will often insure a better home for the mini. Boarding stables don’t often take miniature horses as they can be easily stolen. The few boarding stables that do often have strict restrictions against boarding stallions of any breed or size. So unless you can assure that you will never have to place your miniature stallion in a boarding situation for the rest of his life then you should be OK. Before you say you will be OK on that matter you should ask yourself where will my miniature stallion go in case of an emergency? Should the place where you keep your stallion have a mandatory evacuation order could you move your stallion to just any large animal shelter? That is something you should consider before saying the stallion will never have to be moved.
For the future of the miniature horse
A male miniature horse will have a better chance of finding and keeping a home if he is gelded. Not everyone knows or even cares to handle a stallion. You may not think you will ever sell your miniature horse and he is with you for the duration of his life (life expectancy for miniature horses is 35+ years) but should something happen to you, you would want to insure that the chances of your mini horse finding another good home are high.
I hope that you take a realistic look at your miniature stallion and make the right decision for his well being in the decision to geld or not. One of the best questions to ask yourself is “is my miniature stallion worthy of siring horses that would enhance the miniature horse as a breed?” Only the best of a breed should be bred to enhance a breed, so if your answer was no then go ahead and geld. Enjoy your miniature horse as a pet, harness horse and companion without the worry of his sex drive.
