more baby questions

[gonekigercrazy]

Hi everyone. Been awhile, our computer hard drive crashed and we still dont have all of the bugs out. Getting on the internet and staying connected is hit or miss. Hope everybody is good.

I need to pick your wonderful collective brains about baby Nocona. First question has to do with growth/development. He is going through a funky growth phase right now(almost 9 months old now). He looks more like a baby mule, ears seem too big, head seems too big for his neck/chest, butt looks bigger, just everything seems out of proportion to everything else. The thing that has me concerned is he is starting to look cow hocked. Both back feet point out when he is standing, straighten some when he walks. Could this be just part of the gangly phase he seems to be in now or is this the way that condition developes? Is there anything I can do now during growth to prevent/correct/reduce it? As he gets more muscle will it correct?

Second question: gelding. When is the best age, how hard is it on the boys, standing vs. laying down procedure. I have neutered every male dog I have ever owned but for some reason the idea of doing it to Nocona puts my stomach in knots!

Third thing: my vet gave me a feed chart for him but according to it I should be giving him about 8 pounds of feed a day! I weighed it out and that just seems like a massive amount. Remember with the chronic diarrhea he was having I had went easy on the feed just oats for the longest time, slowly adding tablesthingys of foal feed as he tolerated it. He gets baby vitamins and is a chubby boy so I'm just not sure about giving him that much.

Thanks in advance. If the computer geeks ever figure out what has possessed this computer, I will get some pics posted. Even with this awkward stage he's in right now, he is so beautiful.

[Michelle Clarke]

Nice to have you back and that all is well...

Picts would be helpful, but most likely he is just a growing boy. We take our camera down to the barn daily, waiting for that ONE day that the young ones look "normal", so we can take updated picts!!

Considering the condition he was in when you got him, he may take awhile to "catch up". Sometimes that can take a year or more. As far as his hocks, that is usually a growing/balance thing from the hip. You can hold his leg above the hock and let the rest of the leg hang straight behind him and look at it from topside to see how straight it hangs. If he is straight through the feet also, then it is the hip. If you hold the rear cannon and let the foot hang, you can tell if it is the feet or not too.

8 pounds a day is ALOT! Our weanlings the same age get about 2lbs/day: oats, barley, BOSS, whole flax and herbs. It is a very calorie dense feed that their small stomachs can handle. Feeding such high amounts could led to overgrowth and many issues. Most of the JR. feeds are geared toward bulking young ones up for sales. If you see fluid around the joints, knees are easiest to see, that is way too much protein or amounts of it.

[DianneC]

Are his feet wearing evenly? sometimes that can cause hocks turning in. If his legs are straight when viewed from behind and only his feet turn out a bit that is normal. Up and down withers and butt, and pieces that are all nice but don't fit together is normal. Our vet lays them down at this age to castrate them. The problem is that they are so uncoordinated getting up that they can fall and get injured. Your vet will have their favorite way so stick with that as long as its a great vet. Gelding shoudl be done when there isn't any flies, and also no mud if you can plan that. I like for them to have another horse who will protect them right after too. You will need to move him out at a trot for about 20 minutes a couple time a day too so figure how to do that, it keeps the swelling down. We either lunge or free lunge - i.e. chase them round the pasture a bit. Then be sure to make friends again.
If he's a good weight don't add more grain, sounds like you have it just right with his vitamins and such.

[gonekigercrazy]

Thanks for the feedback. I checked his legs as suggested and it seems to be coming from the hips although Nocona wasnt the most cooperative little thing. I am leaving his feed as is. His gut still acts up but more normal days than bad and I just dont want to risk the diarrhea coming back.

I'm going to sound like a hopeless new mom now. He did the coolest thing this morning. He was ripping and racing around the pasture with the dog when he seen me come out of the barn. He came to a complete stop, looked at me, threw his head in the air and started doing this real high-stepping, neck up, head tucked slow motion canter. He took forever to get to me, he was hardly covering any ground but the moves he was making were so gorgeous. I swear I almost cried he looked so beautiful. I'm sure every baby on the planet does something like this but it was so awesome to see my little guy do it for the first time.

[juslyn]

I just had my Arab colt gelded at 20 months. My vet prefers to do it laying down. Her reasoning was that since they are knocked out, they don't associate people with pain in their nether region. My colt was very calm and relaxed as he was waking up and waited until he was more awake before fully getting up. We had no problem. I had to work him once a day for about a week and a hlf before swelling was a non-issue...never was bad though. Good luck!

[fantasykiger]

I just want to welcome you back
I always geld my boys young while they are still with thier dams. I have always done it laying down. I don't have any experience with the older colt. So I am not much help there, anyway I hope you keep coming back and updating us, on your experiences ;D

[lindad]

Glad to here that Nacona is doing better! You experienced one of those unforgetable moments that make our hearts sing when Nacona pranced for you. How precious, to have that once in a life time experience! I hope this extreme weather will let up soon so I can get over to meet you and Nacona.

I had a colt gelded at about nine months old, laying down, and he had no problems, nor did it appear to be a big deal to him. I would advise to get it done after the worst of the mud is gone and before the flies come out. With the record snowfall and cold we will likely have lots of mud this year.

My Bolero was a gonglomeration of parts at 5 months old and looked much better by 6 months old and I couldn't believe he was the same horse at a year old. If I had seen him for the first time at 5 months I wouldn't have bought him he looked so funny! He always had personality. It sounds as though your Nacona does too!

You can see pictures of Bolero in the Stallion category under Topic: Kiger Sundance and also under topic: What stallions are left. He is also in the Photo category under topic: Bolero Low Rider Kiger for a rather humerous shot as well as some others.

Linda D

[ctxkiger]

WE HAVE ALWAYS GELDED OURS AT 2 YEARS OF AGE (OR THERE AFTER) AND WE LAY THEM DOWN. MY DAD AND I HAVE DONE SEVERAL OURSELVES AND IT SEEMS TO GO FASTER/EASIER WHEN THEY ARE OLDER. PERSONALLY, I WOULD NOT EVEN THINK OF GELDING ONE AS A YEARLING.

[fantasykiger]

All my horses run in a herd, all my riding horses are mares. So if you are born a boy you get gelded ASAP.