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Post by prizmbluekigers on Aug 11, 2009 16:24:45 GMT -5
My vet said she would come out and geld Fit at our place so I wondered what folks think of field gelding as opposed to taking him to the animal hospital. I trust her and she does know mustangs, we discussed anesthesia and reactions of mustangs already. If we do it at our place then he doesn't have to travel - vet is about 15 miles from us.
The last horse I had gelded was in 1966, so things have changed somewhat. She said to plan on about two weeks to take care of him for recovery and I know that includes hosing and walking him and antibiotics.
Dianne said Chinny didn't change much and he was a pretty mellow stallion. Fit is pretty laid back, except around mares in heat, so I don't want or expect big personality changes. If he were a dull horse I wouldn't like him as much, but my new mantra is "safety, safety, safety" or "I am getting older and slower and my reaction times are not as quick", but that is another story in itself.
Thanks!
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Post by kimk on Aug 11, 2009 18:10:57 GMT -5
Bobbe,
I've not ever really had to hose or walk them, and have tended to use thier gelding time to teach my boys to lunge. My vet had always recommended controlled excersise, at the trot for 20 minutes twice a day for a week. this keeps it open and draining. I've gelded lots of colts here, and not once have I had any problems if I just do that. I've never transported to a vet hospital for gelding.
Kim
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Post by JoanMRK on Aug 11, 2009 19:38:08 GMT -5
Bobbe--
I had colts done about an hour and a half away from me and they've travelled in the trailer afterward with no problem. The vet normally keeps them for a couple hours after the surgery to make sure things are okay and that the horse woke up fine. Just drive slowly and safely...
I also had a colt done here at the ranch out in the grass. He was out like a light with little dosage and woke up calmly and just fine. Never had a problem. I haven't had to hose either, except a couple times on one colt just to make sure it was clean -- he took a little longer than most to heal. Sunnie was 5 when he was done and I think was the easiest to do and take care of... not a problem at all! He did great, healed quickly, and I kept him in a large paddock so he could exercise himself, which he did.
Sunnie did mellow more though he was a mellow stallion -- I guess he respects me more rather than having those "challenging moments." The only time since his gelding (he's 7 now) that we've had a stud moment was at our local arena in May when a champagne colored mare showed up and he thought she was hot stuff. I had to keep his feet moving so he'd think about me on his back rather than the pretty new girl.
Fit will do just fine and you'll enjoy his newer, calmer self. Remember to give him some time before expecting the testosterone levels to be down.
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Post by DianneC on Aug 11, 2009 21:43:32 GMT -5
Chinny did have some trouble, its a big procedure for a nine year old. He was done standing at the barn. The vet had to come back out and reopen the wound and more antibiotics etc. And that was with good attention, hosing and work. Expect at least a month before they are back to full abilities as the change in hormone levels made him really lethargic.
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Post by fantasykiger on Aug 12, 2009 11:55:30 GMT -5
I have done all my colts out in my feild of grass, once there was bad weather and it had to be done on a brand new tarp in the barn. Of course, I have NO experience gelding older studs.
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Post by kigercat on Aug 12, 2009 14:53:02 GMT -5
Our vet does them in a nice grassy area....from youngins to the oldest I think was around 14. usually a sedative to lay them out then snip snip and it's all done.
On the youngins we kept them in "clean" pasture with exercise daily and they healed up pretty good. The older ones (that had been used for breeding) got 2 weeks of SMZ's during their recovery. Because they had been breeding they were stalled and had daily exercise. None of ours ever required any cold hosing.
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Post by kigercat on Aug 12, 2009 14:56:18 GMT -5
Chinny did have some trouble, its a big procedure for a nine year old. He was done standing at the barn. The vet had to come back out and reopen the wound and more antibiotics etc. And that was with good attention, hosing and work. Expect at least a month before they are back to full abilities as the change in hormone levels made him really lethargic. Does he always do standing or was it just Chinney was older and had been used for breeding that he prefered to do standing? I've never seen a standing castration before. That would be interesting!! How differrent is it from laying the colt down? |
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Post by stormyranch on Aug 12, 2009 19:21:08 GMT -5
We have always done our gelding in the grass. Excercise is THE most important part. This last time we had two geldings done the vet had us give Bute for the pain and man it really made a dfference in the swelling. Plus they weren't as sore and move around more.
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Post by DianneC on Aug 12, 2009 20:47:50 GMT -5
It was interesting, although I can't watch blood being spilled unless I have something to do. So I stood at his head for moral support. I think that it can be dangerous when the horse gets up, they can fall. I know the vet hospitals have special contraptions to lay the horses down and stand them up.
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Post by kigerfan on Aug 12, 2009 22:31:36 GMT -5
When I was a young girl, I watched a gelding that was done without any anything, it was the most traumatic thing I've seen. I'm so glad they don't do that anymore
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Post by kigercat on Aug 13, 2009 9:51:26 GMT -5
It was interesting, although I can't watch blood being spilled unless I have something to do. So I stood at his head for moral support. I think that it can be dangerous when the horse gets up, they can fall. I know the vet hospitals have special contraptions to lay the horses down and stand them up. Our vet has always let them stay down quite a while after the procedure...till they are awake and showing signs of getting up on their own. The 4 yr stayed down for the longest time...we finally caught him just laying there eating...to lazy to get up. In that instance the vet didn't wait for him to make the move...if he was awake to eat he was awake to get up. I would think that a standing castration would be more dangerous for the vet...well placed kick and big time hurt for the vet. I mean you gotta be pretty up close and personal to get the job done, and some horses no matter if they can feel anything or not would just let fly. |
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Post by Michelle Clarke on Aug 13, 2009 14:38:31 GMT -5
Personally, when they are over a year old, my vet wants to keep them over night and I prefer that. There can be many more complications, especially when they are older as the cords are much larger and they bleed quite a bit. I've done it both ways over the years - been through about 40 castrations.
I certainly make sure they are hosed daily for 15-20 minutes and clean out the incisions each time they are hosed to keep draining going (I use lavendar and lemon grass essential oil on my fingers and make sure the cords are not adhering to the skin). If they begin to granulate too early, then swelling is worse along with longer healing time. If they do not self exercise, then they are hand walked three times per day.
One of the biggest thing that happens when they are laid down to geld is that one cord (usually on the left because of the side they are laid on) will adhere to the muscle wall on the inside of the left leg. This can cause a shortness in the stride forever. I have worked on alot of older geldings and when they have that scar tissue, I have to stick my arm halfway up thier sheath to work hard to break it up - however, the relief is immediate. After about two weeks after castration, you can start massaging the cords way up so this does not happen.
I have had ones done standing up - usually a race track vet does it this way - and I think it is better, but hard to find where I am right now...
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Post by DianneC on Aug 13, 2009 23:01:16 GMT -5
Chinny had so much med on board that I don't think he could have kicked. Then the vet gave him several big shots of novocaine before starting. He's fine now and I'm glad to have him be able to hang out with the herd.
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Post by prizmbluekigers on Aug 17, 2009 17:50:41 GMT -5
Thanks all for sharing advice and experiences. I asked questions but forgot to ask the vet if she does them standing or lying down. I prefer to have it done here and not have to ask him to travel and we have a small grass pasture with a run in and minimal dirt so he can exercise and be under out watchful eyes. I've noticed his mood swings are bigger now that he 6; some days he is his usual mostly mellow self and other days he has an attitude as though he is looking for a confrontation with anything or anyone. Our Lab always goes out into the pastures with us to move sprinkler lines and she loves to go in the big pasture to hunt rock chucks, but the other day when she went under the fence and started by Fit, he turned, laid back his ears and charged her. He stopped when I hollered at him and I called her out of there, but something tells me he was not playing. I think I will be glad when the hormones are quieter. I'll tell on myself in another post and you can read about the mistake I made,(not him), but of course I got hurt, not him.
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