"Anorexic" tiny pony - reassurance please

[Box_Of_Frogs]

Need a proxy hug for my tiny rescue pony. As he's got better and better and put on weight (at last) he started to show some staggeringly stallion-like behaviour, ie was mounting my 2 rescue shetlands morning, noon and night. Can't quite reach them but boy was he trying to! They'll both have the abort jabs asap. He came to me as a 3.5 yrs old gelding but just in case I had the rig blood test done and he came back negative! Last week or so though, I became convinced he was a stallion, booked vets to come to take bloods for a different test. Vet arrived, groped underneath just in case and lo and behold, 2 perfect testicles! And they must only have descended in the last 2 weeks or so! Anyway, 2nd test not done, obviously and pony booked in for castration. Castrated last Weds. Came home fine and immediately leapt on in-season mare. Same Thursday. But today he is one unhappy boy. I think pain control jab worn off. Vet been out, slight temp but no bleeding, just tiny bit of serum oozing. He's on 10 days Norodine and 5 days Finadyne (because the calibrations on the tube are better for his tiny weight) but as I drove off today, he was standing away from his girlfriends, not eating, miserable and unhappy. Earlier, all he wanted me to do was sit on the floor with him and hold the weight of his head in my hands. Is this normal? How long til he feels well again? Poor wee lad, only 26" tall. Feel awful for the pain he's clearly in. Can I do anything more to help?

 

[rhino]

You need to keep him away from mares for several weeks post castration! He may be tiny but it would be perfectly possible for him to cover Shetland mares. Poor little mite, not surprised he is sore after trying to mount mares the day he was castrated

He needs to be separated from the mares asap, either in with another gelding or on his own.

Gentle hugs coming his way

 

[Moomin1]

You've seriously kept him in with the girls straight after castration?!

 

[Ladydragon]

Poor little mite, not surprised he is sore after trying to mount mares the day he was castrated

Agree...poor blighter is probably well and truly feeling the effects of that post operative athleticism now it's not being masked with any pain relief...

A bit of time away from the mares would be absolutely top of my 'to do' list... There's a chance he'll retain fertility for a few weeks and it'll give his hormones chance to start settling...

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

Sorry guys, I know all the pitfalls about keeping him in with his best buddy 2 mares. I have no small geldings, safe to turn a 26 inch pony out with. Turned out without the mares he'll canter round and round desperately calling for them and make himself 10 x worse. Trust me, I know. He is so tiny I don't think he can reach the mares. I'm steamingly furiously mad that he was never a gelding at all and I've had to pick up the pieces. Mares not now in season. I know all about how long live sperm and testosterone will be rampaging through his tiny body. He's known such horrors after being found half dead at the side of the road. Taken me 8 weeks to get him from almost dead condition score 1 to score 2.5 and this was after the previous rescue yard had him for 3 months with no improvement whatsoever. He has no appetite and doesn't recognise most horsey delights as food. I'm managing him with top quality input from vets, rescue centre, experts, you name it. Of course I am. All I wanted to know was is this misery and obvious pain normal for post castration. He's so tiny that he has no reserves whatsoever. Anything that will upset his applecart has the power to be life threatening. Please, does anyone have any experience of post surgery in a tiny or weakened stallion?

 

[ameeyal]

One of my minis was "off " after castration he didnt want to do any thing, the vet gave him noradine antibiotics for a few days which cleared his virus up.

 

[Dolcé]

Not a mini but underweight when cut, and that had been after months in rehab care! He will be sore, can you get some bute or something into him, or another painkilling injection from vet. E was quiet for a week or so afterwards, the bruising will have come out after a couple of days. I would say his behaviour is completely normal for a newly cut boy, try some arnica to help any swelling and bruising. If you were going to have the girls jabbed anyway I would probably leave it a few weeks so that it will catch anything that may occur between him being cut and being clear of little taddies! Not ideal but sometimes there are just things you have to do to make it easier on the pony.

 

[putasocinit]

running around is better for him to get rid of the swelling and stop him getting stiff, than trying to mount a mare and hurting himself, give him some bute for a day or two poor wee thing and keep him seperate.

 

[Dolcé]

running around is better for him to get rid of the swelling and stop him getting stiff, than trying to mount a mare and hurting himself, give him some bute for a day or two poor wee thing and keep him seperate.

TBH it isn't any better at all, they are supposed to be kept quiet after gelding until the wound has settled down, being able to move around freely to help the swelling is one thing, racing up and down a fenceline, especially a pony that cannot afford to expend any unnecessary energy, is quite another! BoF knows it is not ideal him being with the mares, if they are not in season they will not be receptive to his attempts and will soon let him know (hopefully gently).

 

[Stinkbomb]

a mini could most certainly cover a shetland. ive known minis cover section a mares. there is no way i would be putting him with any mares right now. i understand your reasons but it will take time for him to understand he doesnt have those hormones anymore and in the meantime it will just stress him out even more and the likely hood is he will get hurt. sorry