To cut or not to cut.
That is the question.
As of right now, the miniature horse wee Winston is coming up to his second birthday: April 22, which is also Earth Day.
He still has his baby teeth!
He is considered a colt.
However his testicles have descended.
The pressure is on from many sides and people to have him gelded.
That is the technical term for castrating a male horse.
Just like neutering a male dog or cat.
But there are problems afoot with Winston.
A first gelding attempt, last April when he turned one, went awry.
A bad reaction to the general anaesthetic saw him stop breathing.
A quick reaction from the vets on hand administered a dose of epinephrine which restarted him breathing.
The gelding attempt was ceased.
He remains intact.
He did not go into the light that day.
He came back down to earth.
And so now, there is a worry, a concern, that it may happen again.
There is talk of a breathing tube being put down his airway so that he can breathe if he stops.
There are suggestions that he be taken to a surgical unit where they will be able to help moreso if it happens again.
But for now, he remains uncut.
A wee stallion, for all intents and purposes.
A little Lippizzaner wannabe, who often takes to rearing all the way up on his little hind legs as he plays with his fellow paddock-mates, Alistair the mini-donkey and Butterscotch the mini-horse.
He means them no harm, and no harm is done.
He has also been witnessed mounting them, not quite knowing why or what to do, merely an extension of play.
Because they are all so tiny in stature, it is fun to watch.
No offense seems to be taken by the mountee.
It's just all part of the fun.
And yet the questions continue: Have you gelded Winston yet?
No!
I have not.
And for now, everything seems to be fine with the barn owner, the farrier, the people who matter.
His manners and attitude are impeccable.
He is polite, willing to listen and to learn, stands and waits, gives his feet, is patient with grooming.
Sure, he nips now and then.
But so does Butterscotch.
And he is gelded.
I have seen my late gelding Cheyenne mount a mare who was in season, even though he wasn't quite sure what he was up there for. He slowly dismounted.
I have seen other geldings get excited in the paddock; something that is a typical part of horse behaviour. No big deal.
Just to be gelded does not mean that it will be a quick fix to perceived bad behaviours.
But the problem may lie in exposure to mares in the future.
It is unknown how wee Winston may react.
Stallions have reportedly run through fences to get to mares who are in season.
They can be extra mean to their paddock-mates, reportedly, when other mares are around.
All of these spectres of evil rearing their ugly heads, especially as spring time draws nearer.
Not all barns accept stallions as boarders.
Some barns keep stallions isolated as a preventive measure.
And I believe that creates many of the problems.
Who wouldn't run through a fence at a mare if one was alone all the time?
Or kept in a stall forever, isolated just in case.
Those horsekeeping management methods would drive any horse crazy, stallion or not.
But stallions kept with gelding-mates in a paddock may be alright.
For now, Winston seems to be so.
Studies have shown that stress and testosterone goes way down when stallions are kept with companions.
One trainer put a stallion in with her gelding so he would be easier to train!
Horse rules!
Horses tend to keep each other in place.
They learn boundaries, what behaviours are tolerated and which aren't.
Our female farrier told us there are some horses she refuses to deal with - and none of them are stallions!
There is an old wives-tale phrase among horse people and it goes: Ask a mare, tell a gelding, and consult with a stallion.
Winston seems open to consultation.
He seems willing and open to suggestion.
He does seem extra interested in a regular sized older mare that is the next paddock over.
If she ever comes into season again, what will he do?
Will he try to get over/under the fencing?
Will she chase him around the paddock as he chases her?
Will her fellow paddock-mate, a large gelding, chase Winston?
Will chaos ensue?
Is the fact that I am even thinking about all this now and perhaps even worrying about it a sign that I need to do something about it - proactively - pronto - toute suite?
I am not sure.
The word is to geld before fly season starts - which is who knows when these days.
It used to be the May long weekend.
Now it could be next week.
I may have missed the boat this year.
I am half interested to see how it plays out.
Winston did find himself a way into that old mare's paddock last September.
She seemed to just herd him around protectively.
Not sure if she was in season at that time, but he was certainly a stallion, albeit a young one at barely 18 months.
For now, I may wait for a bit, with the blessing of the barn owner who does not mind that he is a wee stallion.
She says he is fine to handle, she has done a good job with him.
When he is out with his paddock-mates, all hell sometimes breaks loose, as he is happy to see them again after a long night of solitary confinement in his stall.
But that is okay.
That is why they call it horseplay.
In my 21 years of horse ownership I have had a few encounters with stallions.
One was a well mannered black Arabian. He was kept in his own paddock, but often socialized with my old gelding Cheyenne over the fence. He was so well mannered, the owner could walk him while holding their baby.
Another stallion, at another barn, was kept in solitary in his own paddock. A pretty paint horse, he seemed gentle enough, and the barn manager there would often walk him past the Belgian mares to see if they were in season.
I had a classical horse riding lesson on the back of a beautiful white Lusitano stallion. I was lunged bareback at a canter and he didn't bat an eyelash.
And there was one time at a lesson barn when a Hanoverian stallion spooked and broke loose from his crossties in the aisle. He stood there, tall and scared, deciding whether to run or not. The barn manager there instructed everyone to go inside the empty stalls and close the doors. She did not want anyone getting run over should he decide to bolt. And so we did. We were hiding from a stallion. She managed to get him back into his stall - the poor thing did not want to go.
I think stallions have an unfortunate reputation that often precedes them because of human handling and management.
One particular barn manager used to tell me if a stallion can't mate with it, it will kill it!
And yet she had a stallion that was so well mannered she would use him as a lesson horse.
Stallions can be "rear-y", but who wouldn't want to rear up and stretch their legs if they were kept in solitary confinement in a stall all day, especially with all that testosterone coursing through them.
I would argue that mares can be worse in temperament; kicky and bitey and THE worst if it's that time of the month!
And yet we don't spay THEM!
Instead we just sew up their vulvas so they can't breed.
Horrific.
And I can't help but say that there is some mystery and magic and perhaps even prestige and honour in saying one has a stallion, even if it is a wee miniature one.
The assignment, should I choose to accept it, will be in training him to be a well mannered horse, polite and happy and gentle.
So, until the universe gives me a definite sign that things should be otherwise, Winston Thee Stallion it is!