Please Geld Your Adopted Colt Mustang

Why Should I Geld My Colt?

Gelding horses has taken place since time immemorial. There are many reasons to geld your horse. At the 6W Ranch, we advocate the gelding of all colts that are adopted through the BLM or the wild estrays offered by the Nevada Department of Agriculture.

We are proponents of gelding for several reasons. When we received the rescued orphan colt known as, "Miracle (LittleBit)," we explored both sides of the issues. It would be fun to have a stallion for the reasons of the fire that a stallion has in performing. However, breeding was not an issue. To breed mustangs in captivity, completely defeats the adoption program. We came to reason that by gelding the mustangs that are adopted, it helps promote the adoption program. If we want another colt at some point, we will just go to the corrals and adopt one. To breed adopted mustangs in captivity and call the offsprings, "mustangs," is hypocritical of the adoption program that was utilized by the breeder in the first place. What makes a mustang is the knowledge and mentality gained from those months or years living wild and free, or by being impregnated from the wild and taught by the first wild mare. These are traits that are inherently gained from those experiences that cannot be obtained by being a product of captive breeding.

If you are not experienced in working with a stallion, gelding is a more than suggested choice. Stallions, by nature, can be extremely difficult to handle. Gelding helps to calm the horse by removing the level of hormones that make a stallion do what he has the drive to do, compete for the mares and breed. This can be dangerous for the handler as well as other riders when your stallion decides to mount a mare that is carrying a rider on a trail ride or compete with the other horses for his harem.

A recent criticism which we have encountered by those opposed to our position, is that of why we don't support the spaying of the mustang mares. The answer is simple mathematics in breeding concepts. These concepts can be hypothetically real and we will present what our opinion is of how even a small number can impact the horse populations and future adoptions.

Mare Breeding Example:

If I have a mare and decide to breed her, started her at age 2 (an unrealistic age to breed a mare), and bred her until age 20, the maximum amount of foals she would produce in 18 years would be approximately 14 (if she was bred upon her first cycle after each foaling). Now, keep 14 foals in 18 years in mind.

Stallion example:

Above Source re-printed by permission: Gary Heusner, Extension Animal Scientist
The University of Georgia College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences
Cooperative Extension Service

Now using the above chart and using the minimum numbers (all numbers are low according to those who breed), if I breed a stallion from age 2 through 20 at the minimum listed capabilities, his impact on the horse (adoption ratio) is 845 breedings! Now consider that if I use artificial insemination, I could easily impact that figure by 3-4 times by dividing the sperm collection. At 3 times, I have just defeated the adoption program by another whopping 2535 horses. O.K., maybe we're not talking about breeding a stallion that many times a year. Let's use 10 times per year as our figure. At a ten time per year breeding, within 18 years (staying with the above example), I will have still bred and defeated the adoption program by 180 horses. 180 horses, because those that breed refuse to look at the mathematics or care about the wild horses and the adoption program. Now multiply that basic 180 horse figure by whatever the count may be of those breeding. Let us use 100 people breeding their mustang within the United States: At 100 breeders, that's 18,000 horses that were not adopted in 18 years through the BLM or NV Dept. of Agriculture. 18,000 additional horses that starved to death or might be considered for slaughter because of 100 hypocritical breeders using their mustang stock instead of the adoption programs.

Even if I did breed my mare, her impact on the adoption ratio would not have the impact that the stallion does, even if you are breeding him to non-mustang stock. Why would you do that anyway? The math clearly shows that those in favor of keeping their mustang a stallion don't believe in the adoption process. If the horses can't be adopted out, there is already enough talk of euthanasia and slaughter houses. Let's do our part and support adoption, gelding, and non-breeding. If you want a foal, go and adopt a weanling.

Do the math

Please support and encourage the gelding of the adopted mustangs. We ask that you don't support those who breed adopted wild horses and sell the foals as "mustangs" or "half mustang." They're not. We urge that you continue to support the adoption program by drawing the excess horses from the wild for the health of the herds as well as being able to truly say that you have a "Living Legend" from the Bureau of Land Management.

If you have a comment on the gelding issue, please respond in a professional manner. We are interested in talking about the issues at hand and welcome the interaction to view all opinions. However, personal attacks from any person(s) that are not accurate, will be responded to in a professional manner, if responded to at all. A verbatim example is the note received below on 10-08-03 from, "Whmentormo," a self-proclaimed, "Wild Horse Mentor":

"You people are idiots. I am a wild horse mentor and breeding has nothing to do with the adoption process or the success or failure of the BLM's program. Its a choice of the horse owner and only there choice. I am so sick of pios know it alls like you who think you are Mustang experts because you have gentled and trained (if you did) 8 horses. Try 129 and a very good home for adopted Mustangs who love me and love where they are at. As for your comments that captive bred Mustangs dont have the same instincts you are wrong again. Even foals born in holding facilities have exhibited the same instincts that there mothers have. Another example of know it all horse people who adopt a mustang then become an expert. I wouldnt buy any of your training crap."

It appears that this, "wild horse mentor," has missed the major points altogether in addition to the other erroneous writings within their loss of objectivity and professionalism. Maybe the writer is involved in some sort of bizarre and obscure training seminar where concepts of classical horsemanship and behavior are laughed upon due to the ignorance and arrogance of those involved?

One additional side note: if the foal was born at the holding facility....it was bred in the wild.

It must be noted that this writer refused to identify his or herself. However, please understand that we encourage discussion on this issue. Please keep it professional, factually accurate, and we will discuss any wild horse issue with anyone who has the professionalism to act accordingly. We can agree to disagree and discuss the issues at hand with passion.

We are not totally anti-breeding, however if you choose to do so, don't refer to your foal as a mustang. Mustang is not a breed, it is an ideology. "Mustang" is American slang for the Spanish, Musten~o (feral horse). It is an ideology more than a breed. The original Spanish barb (later referred to as, Mustang) was a bastardized breed and not a pure bred of anything. The horse was an African barb (some Arab influence), some Andulusian, and a standard Spanish, grade, horse. It is the lore of the west, the natural instincts, the intelligence, and traits of the wild horse that makes it a mustang of whatever it's original gene pool. If it was dumb, it wouldn't survive and to pass the stupidity genes along. When humans get involved in breeding, we will mess things up just like what was done to the Quarter Horses and other breeds of animals.

We take this point of view from the near extinction brought to the quarter horse breed from well meaning breeders, breeding 1200lb horses upon feet of tea-cups in the 1950's and 1960's. Thoroughbred lineage had to be reintroduced to the quarter horse lines to get the feet back under this animal to prevent the foundering that was occurring. We do not want to see well meaning but stupid humans interfere with nature's natural selection that eliminates our stupidity from breeding bad feet or un-intelligent horses together because, "they're pretty."

Have a comment for us regarding our position on gelding vs. breeding? Click on Geld or not to Geld. We would like to hear your comments.

Any comments received become the property of and utilized at the discretion of the 6W Ranch.

Thank you from, the 6W Ranch!

Received Comments:

Sun, April 17, 2005 19:58
From: Athena

I agree with the gelding of all colts unless you wish to use them for breeding. Mustangs & domestic horses should be gelded to help gentle them and make them safer for people to be around and enjoy. We adopted our first mustang from Sheldon Mountain Refuge through Strawberrymountainmustangsinc.com We gelded him and it was done standing up by a local vet. I wasn't aware a vet would do this procedure laying down. I have heard of cowboys cutting them while having them roped and tied. I have also heard of them loosing the horse due to complications. That is why I opted to pay the vet. We have really enjoyed "snort" he is teaching us the difference in working with wild and domestic horses. We have a Stallion and two broodmares. We have had foals and have broke our own stallion as well as mare we work cows and trail ride, it is our hope that we can learn as much from our overo paint mustang as he will learn from us. Gelding is a good thing in the long run. I think with the population of the horse world being as high as it is we should think about population monitoring. Mustangs do need homes and there is a lot of them out there. CAUTION is advised they are very dangerous when they are first captured and should be worked with carefully... not for kids first horse... or if so a lot of supervision is needed. Sincerely A. Roseburg,OR

I think depriving wild animals of their freedom is morally dubious and depriving them of their sexuality as well is wicked.

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