MovieChat Forums > Black Beauty (1994) Discussion > was black beauty a stallion/gelding?

was black beauty a stallion/gelding?

posted 17 years ago by pookybrain
29 replies | jump to latest

i've always wondered about that in the book. if he was a stallion or gelding. i'm thinking that he was a gelding, considering he went through alot of abuse and tolerated it..i don't think a normal stallion would take that. if he was he would have probably had a much worse temperment then ginger XD and since they put ginger and him out together also :P i'm kinda wondering why sewell didn't add his..being gelded in the book? unless beauty doesn't remember it XD
i saw some other "sequeal" books for black beauty written by other authors about his sons..seems kinda strange considering in the real book he never really fell for any mare like stallions due :)LOL

"hey howdy hey! thats me on a yoyo!"

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] pookybrain 17 years ago

here is a list of books i found on amazon :)

Black Beauty's Early Days in the Meadow
Son of Black Beauty
they even have an eyewitness book about facts and other cool stuff about the book :D

"hey howdy hey! thats me on a yoyo!"

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] toofatforyou 17 years ago

I'm guessing he's a stallion. He would have mentioned his experience of becomming a gelding if he was one. He mentions every cruel thing that happens in this book, so i doubt he would have not said something about it if it happened.

Not that I think gelding in general is cruel btw. Just the methods they used in the 1800's to do it.

~*~I smile because I have no idea what's going on.~*~

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[–] pookybrain 17 years ago

yes that is pyretta. i'd like to think he's a stallion but..i don't think he would remember being gelded though..because i dunno if you'd want to nueture a fully awake horse XD i think they would have sedated him though so he wouldn't remember..or whatever other method they used for sedating horses. i think he was a bit too gentle for being a part thoroughbred stallion..though i did know some gentle stallions even they wouldn't put up with beauties abuse..i think that's why treatment for stallions are abit different from geldings and mares. i also don't think they would have put him out with ginger or had him work with her considering stallions are usually seperated since they get a bit hyper..i remember when i was little i was always expecting ginger to have a foal for some reason XD :) poor guys :)

"hey howdy hey! thats me on a yoyo!"

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[–] lv_Ramsays 17 years ago

well, in the way that you say he'd have mentioned being gelded, wouldnt he have mentioned if he'd have bred some mares?

and a stud is still a horse. after enough abuse, they just break. they spirit and soul is gone.

'Happiness. It made the whole dying thing pretty bearable.'

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[–] pookybrain 17 years ago

maybe sewell didn't really care to explain black beauty's..neutering XD i think i would left it out..probably useless to explain that..i figured if he was a stallion he would have bred some mares..they let him loose out with ginger alot..but ginger never mentions ever having a baby or breeding with him..actually in the book he regards her as a friend rather then..a..girlfriend to screw LOL
i kinda figured that they kept stallions seperate from other horses but LOL i dunno what they did back then.

"hey howdy hey! thats me on a yoyo!"

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[–] toofatforyou 17 years ago

I'm sure she would have put it in there if it happened though. After all she did talk about the draft horse and puppies getting their ears and tails cut off, which was quite gruesome too.

And geldings take no interest in mares (they usually get bullied by mares too), so if Beauty was a gelding then he wouldn't have liked Ginger so much.

~*~I smile because I have no idea what's going on.~*~

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] pookybrain 17 years ago

your welcome :)

"hey howdy hey! thats me on a yoyo!"

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] sirk46 17 years ago

A gelding.
Doubt Sewell would have mentioned it as it was a routine part of raising a male horse, NOT done for vanity ( The puppies ears, docking a dogs tail ) . Don't forget horses were the CARS of the day and having a lot of stallions on the road would have been bloody dangerous.
a horse lover

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[–] pookybrain 17 years ago

they also have book sequeals to black beauty..about his sons..but then again..they were written by another author..what she thought doesn't necessarly mean Sewell's..i too think he was a gelding..

"hey howdy hey! thats me on a yoyo!"

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[–] OmegaWolf747 17 years ago

Let's remember that Black Beauty was written during the Victorian Era. If she'd mentioned anything remotely sexual, it probably wouldn't have been published.

--
Give me liberty, or give me death!

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[–] mistyjewel 16 years ago

"And geldings take no interest in mares (they usually get bullied by mares too), so if Beauty was a gelding then he wouldn't have liked Ginger so much"

They take no interest in mares as far as breeding, but they do make good buddies in the pasture. My two geldings and mare lived quite happily on our acreage for years. Many places mix mares and geldings up in pastures and most of the time they pair off in twos or threes. He had to be a gelding, because you would NEVER turn a stallion out with a mare other than for breeding purposes, plus remember that Merrylegs was with them, and a stallion would NOT have tolerated another male in his territory with a mare, even just a gelding.

Also as mentioned this was back in the Victorian Era when most colts were probably gelded without a second thought, because in those days they were primarily used as carriage horses and means of transportation...and stallions, even kind ones, can be very temperamental and unpredictable, thus not very desirable for that line of work. I'm sure only the very best looking, blue-blooded colts were kept intact for breeding, while the majority of them were gelded to make good riding and carriage horses.

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] mistyjewel 16 years ago

I've worked with too many stallions to be able to agree with you there. Give me a mare any day of the week. Or better, a gelding. :)

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] mistyjewel 16 years ago

Don't prejudge all mares based on your experience with one. I've worked on breeding and training farms for years, and would much rather be in the mare barn than the stallion barn, even when mares are in heat. I've never had one show the extreme behavior you've described.

"Geldings are just boring. They have no life in them at all"

Hopefully, based on more than one experience. But most geldings I've worked with have plenty of spirit and personality. They're only "boring and lifeless" if you prefer a difficult or out of control horse.

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] Morningstar_u2 15 years ago

Hi there, while I agree that some geldings can sometimes be pushovers, if you think all geldings are like that you are mistaken. I find especially thatmany Friesian geldings are simply wonderful horses---spirited with good personalities yet still calm and gentle.

I rather think that Black Beauty is a gelding as well.....just my opinion. :-)

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[–] OmegaWolf747 16 years ago

I think that aspect wasn't mentioned because the story was written in Victorian times when those things weren't discussed.

--
"House. My room. Can't walk. My father! My medal! Father, don't!"

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[–] johncnj 16 years ago

I'm thinking that too. Also, I think the forward to "Son of Black Beauty" mentions something to the effect of "This story was written to give Black Beauty something he was not capable of - a son " or similar. (Which makes it fanfic, I guess :-P)

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[–] buyorsell888 16 years ago

I'm sure he was a gelding. It was and is common to geld working horses. It would not be something Anna Sewell would have mentioned due to the time and her sex and that fact that it was common and not cruel like ear cropping and tail docking.

Many refer to all foals as colts rather than just intact males. Referring to himself as a colt means nothing.

Many geldings do become very attached to mares.

No one would turn a stallion out in mixed company as Beauty is, stallions are usually kept by themselves.

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[–] icarus77 15 years ago

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/271/271-h/271-h.htm#2H_4_0005

At the end of chapter eight it is possibly implied he was gelded after he arrived at Birtwick. Not what immediately springs to mind upon reading but the 'petting' could likely be a reference.

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[–] pookybrain 15 years ago

i still don't get out that implies lol. i guess i'm not reading clearly enough into it..

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[–] UnicornMaiden 14 years ago

I think "petting" just means actual petting, stroking the horse with your hand. He was already four years old when he arrived at Birtwick. If they waited that long to geld him he would still act just like a stallion.

He was certainly a gelding. He showed no interest in breeding and was stabled and turned out with a mare. I doubt Sewell would have mentioned it because it would have been considered extremely indelicate to write about castration in a
novel of that time period.

"The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone..." ~ The Last Unicorn

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[–] NothingButDVD 14 years ago

I'm sure he was a gelding. It was and is common to geld working horses...

Many refer to all foals as colts rather than just intact males. Referring to himself as a colt means nothing.

Many geldings do become very attached to mares.

No one would turn a stallion out in mixed company as Beauty is, stallions are usually kept by themselves.

^^This.

And he probably was gelded while asleep, so he wouldn't even know what happened to be able to comment on it. Re: Stallions v. Geldings v. Mares, nothing is 100%, but stallions are usually uppity and hormonal and harder to work with. I haven't seen any difference between "spirit" of geldings and mares. They are equally quirky and personable.

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[–] trixie-k-88 13 years ago

I don't think Sewell would have put that in the book, nor any real details of Beauty mating with Ginger. While the neutering/gelding of a horse may be considered cruel, the procedure is inherently sexual. The Victorian age was a very sexually repressed era and I don't think it would have been considered appropriate to mention that, ESPECIALLY for a female writer.

But I think that he must've been a gelding because aside from his gentle nature even if mating wouldn't be mentioned, he probably would have talked about fathering any foals.

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