Lately, there has been a lot of talk regarding the issue that there are too many stallions not of breeding quality that should be geldings. Gelding Incentives are becoming more prevalent in an attempt to address this issue-NRHA recently announced a $30,000 Pfizer/ NRHA Gelding Incentive that will be offered at the futurity.

Do you think it would be fair to require open or non-pro futurity riders showing 3 horses to have one of those 3 horses be a gelding?

 what do you think?
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to write in and voice your opinions
The gelding incentive is great. I hope it gets bigger - which I believe it will because of the amount of great breeding studs out there now. There is no need to keep a middle-class stud anymore. Plus, with the demand for good show horses, the cost of a good gelding is growing rapidly.

I would have no problem requiring one of my futurity horses to be a gelding.
Tim McQuay, Texas
I don't think there should be any requirements for futurity horses to be geldings. Owners will eventually geld the studs that aren't breeding many mares.
Jay Martine, Colorado
I would rather see futurity riders allowed to show 4 horses IF 1 of them is a gelding. This would increase entries, purse, and hopefully encourage gelding.
Heidi Arvidson, Oklahoma
There are days when I think they should all be geldings. One is a good idea to start with.
Craig Johnson, Texas
After having complained for years about too many stallions, I am thrilled to see that there are Gelding Incentives popping up. The best way they will work is if there are purses with enough money added to make it worthwhile for owners to want to cut their stallions. As far as requiring riders with 3 horses to show one gelding, I don't think it's fair to mandate that. If we make the worth of geldings rise by adding bigger purses, then there will be more people riding them in the larger futurities and shows.
Lisa Cover, Colorado
I think people would still keep too many horses as stallions but it is worth a shot. I know a woman with a parrot mouthed horse who insists on keeping him intact. People are stupid about this subject. I think it's not only an ego problem but also the lure of easy money. Let's try to educate horse owners about the production of quality horses.
Thanks for letting me vent,
Lana Vance
Not fair. The purpose of an incentive is to encourage behavior, very different from requiring it.
Reinincow@aol.com
Yes, I do feel if they are riding three horses one should be a gelding, plus I think there should be added money for the geldings, their own purse.
Kerry Cogburn
NO, I certainly do not think one of the 3 should be a gelding, for an open or non-pro top gun probably could be stallion material and if in fact a gelding is open or non-pro prospect, they will find that out in the training on the way up. A horse can always be cut after the futurity, if it happens to not make the finals or get in any money, but you can not make them studs again. The incentives to make geldings out of average studs or even good studs, will make people cut them more and their probably not going to be in the top 3, of the top trainers line anyway. And I personally, would or will cut anything I have, if I have the choice, unless I thought it was quality enough to be an open finalist. I would hope that with all the new incentives coming we will see a lot more geldings and agree that their should be a lot more of them, but I do not see a reason for making the rule for the top 3, to make one a gelding.
Kim Ferguson
I think the idea is super!
Gun-Britt Blomdahl-Lazy B Paint Ranch, Sweden
I do think there should be some incentive for geldings. I believe this would strengthen the market and put a lot more good horses out there for the am/ youth exhibitor. I also think it would slow down the desire to have a young horse pushed so hard to be shown to be a stallion prospect. This would allow more time to build a solid horse that can be shown several years.
Betsy Hardy, Colorado
NO!
Lani De Vincentis
I do not think that one of the 3 horses should have to be a gelding. It seems that the decision to geld a horse should be left up to the owner of the horse. Many rules are being put into the books in an effort to keep the playing field even for everyone. I do not agree that the association should be helping us decide if a trainer should be showing a gelding. The new incentives should be enough to attract an adequate number of geldings. As the incentive money for geldings becomes financially attractive, more and more geldings will be shown.
Michael Jeffcoat, Oklahoma
While I think that there are far too many marginal studs in the reining industry, I don't believe that forcing individuals to show geldings is the way to approach the problem. The end result would most likely be fewer horses shown in the futurity rather than better horses. A more productive approach would be to solicit a high dollar sponsorship from a feed or medical manufacturer and introduce a high payback "class within a class" at the premier reining events such as the futurity. This class would pay only to geldings and would encourage owners to decide whether their horse would be a better money earner as a gelding or as a stud. This approach could compliment the current trend toward gelding stakes at other shows .
Bob Herndon, Colorado
With the cost of getting a Futurity horse to the National Futurity at a conservative $20,000 for training, shoeing, and veterinary expenses, then adding the original purchase price of the prospect plus entry fees, there would be at least a $35,000 investment in every gelding that made it to the show. I don't think that the owners in the industry are ready to commit that much investment in 1/3rd of every trainer's 3 horse allowance to go to the Futurity. However, this may change over time if the gelding allowances themselves build the "value" of geldings. At this time, I feel it would simply reduce the number of entries in the National Futurity.
Denise Hill
What would be most fair would be to have the gelding incentives lucrative enough to make open riders WANT to show geldings - possibly 3 for 3! i.e. hunter jumpers and cutters. You can win a ton on a gelding.
Jeff Stoney, Colorado
Absolutely Not! You cannot legislate morality in the US nor can you "judge" what other folks think of their own stallions. That is NOT a gelding incentive - that is perhaps a detriment to the industry. Scenario below... What if YOU are the non-pro and you happen to have bred and raised and had trained THREE MARES - and each of them good enough to show at the futurity???? This rule would force you to market one of the mares to purchase someone elses breeding program result because of GELDING gender requirement..... to have 3 to show.... Would you like that? I feel the market will eventually deal with stallions that are not of your calibre of "breeding quality".... How many stallions that have not been shown extensively have also gone on to produce High Quality individuals that do..... I think this needs left alone in my humble humble opinion.
Dee, Oklahoma
No I don't think anyone should be told what to ride. I think if the incentives were made attractive enough that people would be more willing to geld some of these less than stud quality colts and still invest in their training. There certainly needs to be more programs were these geldings can be promoted.
Robert Banta Ohio
While I am in complete agreement that there are far too many stallions out there which should be gelded, I am not certain that this hypothetical requirement would be instrumental in helping to remedy this problem. However, I do believe that gelding incentives of some manner are a good idea, and might prove to be somewhat helpful as a place to start in improving the current situation.
C.M. Henry, Colorado
While I agree wholeheartedly with your basic premise re stallions who should be geldings, I don't beleieve that we should regulate what people want to ride. over-regulation will ruin the sport. as long as people put-up the entry fee, then what they show should be their 'freedom of choice'. I could go on and on, but I think you get the gist of what I am trying to say.Think you have a great forum. Keep it up.
Ron Wood, Gateways Ranch
Who is to judge which horses are not stud prospects. That type of evaluation should be made not only on appearance, but also on ability. If they had cut all stud prospects that didn't fit someone's standards......King P234 woulda been a gelding as would Hollywood Jac 86 and many others. A sire is proven by his offspring. If all horses were judged by halter horse standards, we'd be in trouble for reiners and cutters. The choice to cut a horse is and should be up to the owner and trainer. What is it that a gelding incentive actually does anyway? Which of the 3 best should be cut???? I say, cut the wash outs!!!!!!! So what, there are 100's of stallions out there, mare owners have more choices. I say it's up to the mare owner to choose not a show organization. Any limitation of entries is bad business in my book.
Maureen Christopher
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