3 facts about ‘geldings’

Gelding. Image by filinecek from Pixabay .

Here are 3 facts about geldings; the word ‘gelding’ and the derivative ‘gelded’.

Meaning

The word “gelding” refers to a colt (a weaned male horse until he is four years old) who has been castrated i.e. neutered. When a colt is sexually mature he can become either a sexually active stallion or a gelding.

Origin of the word

The origin of the word is from an old Scandinavian term “geld” meaning “barren” and so a gelding is “one who is made barren”.

To geld

To geld means to castrate in the world of horses. Male horses are castrated to make them behave better and easier to control. It is also a method of culling i.e. removing from breeding stock, horses which are less good and reserving only the finest animals to breed. It is said that only a small percentage of all male horses should remain stallions in order to ensure that the breeding lines are of the highest quality.

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