The Last Turnout Together: Growth, Testosterone, and What Comes Next
As we prepare for Paycasso and Caesar to leave for training tomorrow, we want to give fuller context to what you’re seeing in today’s video — and why this moment represents more than just two colts playing.
In the footage, you’ll see rearing, neck biting, leg hooking, and one slightly nerve-wracking moment where a leg drapes over the other’s back while they’re still moving. For two intact two-year-old colts, this is normal. They are practicing balance, coordination, strength, spatial awareness, and social communication.
Right now, it is still play.
But intact colts live on a hormonal timeline. As testosterone rises and maturity advances, behaviors that begin as play can shift toward true dominance. The shift is gradual at first. One stops yielding. One escalates instead of disengaging. And when large, athletic colts test each other at full strength, injuries can happen quickly.
This is where management begins to change.
Why Mares and Geldings Can Stay in Groups
Mares typically live in stable social groups for life. Their hierarchy tends to be linear and once established, relatively predictable.
Geldings often do well in groups too, particularly if they were castrated young and do not carry strong stud behaviors. While personalities always matter, the absence of breeding hormones significantly reduces the intensity of dominance competition.
Intact males are different.
In natural herd structures, you generally see one mature stallion per mare band. Younger males may live in bachelor groups for a time, but as they mature, dominance pressures increase and separation follows. This is not aggression in the human sense. It is biological programming tied to breeding rights and territory.
Two intact colts raised together can be safe — until the day they are not.
That is why this turnout feels bittersweet.
The Long-Term Plan for Caesar
Our long-term plan is to geld Caesar.
Conformationally, he is not a horse we would consider preserving as a breeding prospect. That is simply an honest assessment of how we evaluate stallion potential. But timing matters.
Testosterone plays a role in skeletal maturation and growth plate closure. Gelding very early can delay closure of growth plates, allowing a colt to grow taller and heavier for longer. In some horses, that may not matter. In a very large, rapidly developing colt like Caesar, accelerated growth could increase strain on joints that are still maturing.
We are balancing two things:
Hormonal behavior
Long-term structural development
Right now, both colts are respectful and manageable. Caesar is currently the more submissive of the two and tends to back down. As long as that remains true and he remains easy to handle, there is no urgency to rush the procedure.
If his behavior shifts or management becomes unsafe, that timeline changes. But at this stage, patience supports his physical development.
What About Paycasso?
Paycasso’s path is less predetermined.
He has stronger conformational qualities that could justify leaving him intact longer — but that does not automatically mean he will remain a stallion long term. A stallion prospect must meet multiple standards:
Physical durability
Performance on the track
Temperament
Soundness over time
Genetic value relative to the population
If he does not meet those standards, we would geld him as well.
It is entirely possible that Caesar becomes a gelding while Paycasso remains intact for a period of time. In that scenario, turnout dynamics could shift again. A gelding paired with an intact colt is often safer than two intact colts together because one is more likely to defer.
But even that is not guaranteed.
Dominance relationships can change. Maturity changes horses. Hormones change behavior. No decision is permanent until it is made — and each one will be based on performance, health, and long-term welfare.
When we say they are becoming stallions, we are describing the developmental phase they are entering. They are intact colts behaving like hormonally maturing males. That does not mean we have predetermined breeding careers for them. It means we are acknowledging biology.
The Next Phase Begins Tomorrow
Tomorrow they head to training. Yes, they will begin learning the fundamentals of life at a training center — routine, exposure, conditioning, structure. But they are also entering another developmental phase where management changes.
It is very likely that from this point forward, they will live with individual turnout. Even when they return home for breaks, we may not put them back out together. They may each have turnout time near one another, and potentially with Van individually if dynamics remain appropriate. But two maturing intact colts together long term is rarely a risk worth taking.
This decision is not reactive. It is proactive management aligned with how stallions are responsibly handled across breeds and disciplines.
Foal to Forever means you see the joyful parts — the wrestling and the freedom — and also the management decisions that protect them as they grow into powerful adult horses.
They are no longer just playful boys.
They are intact colts entering maturity.
And how we guide this phase will shape everything that comes next.
