Curious how much a horse changes once gelded? I’m considering gelding my 8 year old stud. He’s professionally trained barrel’s and is very well trained. He’s competed and also been used as a stud prior to me getting him. He’s done live cover and dummy mount. I was planning to compete and possibly stand to stud down the road. But starting to feel that will be a pain and also don’t want my horse hurt with live cover and the cost to send to a breeding station may be more than it’s worth. So my question is if I geld him when is he no longer going to act “study”? He is very well behaved around mares and geldings at shows. But he drives at my other geldings when it’s feed time in his pasture. He’s not with them but he tries to drive at them on his side of the fence when I first throw his feed out. After the intial feeding he’s over it and eats peacefully and barely flicks an ear at them. Is this just going to be a part of who he is or do you think eventually after being gelded he might be able to pasture with them? Other than the feedtime he doesn’t act like a stud. He’s very chill, behaved, and sensible. But apparently food aggressive, at least initially.

Also how long does it take to recover from the procedure? I’d like to be able to compete this spring so if it’ll be a long recovery we’ll wait till fall.

Thanks in advance. 

It's going to be different for each horse as far as behavior. For recovery I started breaking mine to ride after 2 weeks. I cut mine when I bought him at 7 years old. He's 20 now and still hasn't totally figured it out. He was an A***H**** stud, but mostly I think because they let him get away with it and he wasn't broke so never had much taught to him. He double barreled me the day the shipper dropped him off to me and bucked me off constantly for 2 years. He's quiet as can be to be around now and I trust even toddlers around him, kids can ride him. But he has to be by himself turnout wise because he will still mount mares and he'll fight to the death with any gelding. And he has to have a solid stall wall or he'll try to go over the top if a mare is next to him. 

I’ve never had one, but recently heard a vet say on a podcast that if they aren’t cut before 4-5-6 ish (I can’t remember the exact age they said, but it was younger than I expected) they will not lose the studly behavior, it will stay. It may lessen over time, but they won’t ever believe they can’t make babies anymore, and they won’t ever lose the desire to try. 

I've had two done. One was a 13 year old stallion that I purchased as a 10 year old who had live covered and was pretty well behaved until one day he tried rubbing me off on the pipe fence... He was gelded a few days later and he NEVER acted like a stallion from the day I walked him out of that vet clinic. He could pasture with anything, haul, never batted an eye, talked etc. 

The newest one was only done about 45 days ago as a 3 year old. He had never bred. He still acts study when it comes to being with other horses. Drops, nibbles, has half way tried to mount... still very young minded and acting so hoping he matures out of it.