Colt (horse)

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A colt is a young male horse, under the age of four. An older male horse is called either a "stallion" if left fertile, or a "gelding" if neutered. A young male horse is considered a colt even if he is gelded. The verb 'to geld' refers to the process of neutering a stallion.

A young female horse is called a filly until age five, and a mare thereafter. As late as the 1930s, "colt" meant "a horse under the age of four," and so could also be used to refer to a filly.

A group of colts is called a "rag".

In the wild, colts are kicked out of their herds when they become stallions by the stallion of the herd. When they are kicked out, they usually will be able to find a herd made of other young stallions or yearlings. They stay with this band until they are mature enough to form their own herd of mares and take care of them, however some stay in their "bachelor" herd and try to steal from other stallions.