Castration this Friday...what do i need to know/do??!!!

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My 9 month old coloured colt is being gelded this Friday and the vet has said to me i need to have a clean thick bed and that he will need to stay in for 48 hours but other than that hasn't really said i need to do anything else.

Is there anything else i should be aware of or do? This is the first horse i have had gelded!
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Thanks
 
My boy didn't stay in after being gelded, and it was done at this time of year, the idea was to keep him moving so the 'hole' they leave could drain and heal comfortably. We just kept him in until he was completlely awake and eating.

My only advice would be to wear some good grippy boots... orion kept leaning against me... sleepy horse and riding boots don't work that well together, I kept sliding away from him...

Good luck, I hope it goes ok
EC
 
Ok, you have a unique vet. If the horse is staying stabled your biggest issue is swelling, so this should be checked as often as possible other the 48 hours that he is stabled. My vet once told me, that the first sign of an infection will usually be the horse going off his feed, so keep an eye on that. Apart from the act of generally keeping an eye on your boy, particularly for the first 48 hours, but I would pop your head under and check daily for a couple of weeks, there isnt really alot to do.
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One thing you definitely should NOT do.....

When my horse was castrated the vet said did I want him to dispose of the 'bits'. I said no don't worry I was literally just lighting a large bonfire and I'd just burn them on that. So onto the fire they went. Many hours later after the bonfire had gone out I was raking the ashes and found 2 rather cooked testicles still completely intact, but rather erm burnt!!!!
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So if your vet asks if you would like him to dispose of them say yes!!!
 
i've always been told to keep mine out after gelding. the only time i kept one in he ended up with an infection and 10 days of antibotics.
 
When we had our colt gelded he was allowed in the field straight away, the procedure was performed outside, in a dry paddock. ??????? Vet said that the best place to be is outdoors, the confined space and bed can actually encourage infection and best to let it open to the air and draining. He was healed very quickly.
Ps I am no expert, thats just what happened with us.
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Oh, so maybe i should leave him out to walk off swelling etc.

He is also castrating him by knocking him right out i.e. he will be laying down. He said that this way he can make sure he does a much better job.

Is this best practice?
 
When my friend's welsh A was gelded last year he was heavily sedated so we could flop him onto his back because he was so small, how big is your colt? He was kept in the stable for a couple of days and didn't have any problem with infection.
 
All our colts have been gelded standing up and then let out so they can walk round to reduce swelling.. some vets will knock them out completely and do them lying down as they believe it is better and less likely to cause a hernia
 
He is about 13hh at the moment, only a little chap
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I hope all will go well. At least with him being knocked right out he will know nothing about it poor boy!
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I will ask vets opinion on turnout...maybe he is meaning to leave him in as he will have a full anasthetic (not sure how to spell that) instead of a sedation.

Am quite nervous for him!
 
My boy was knocked down on to the ground in the middle of the field... It usually depends on their size as to whether they will be standing or not, vets like to get a proper look (understandably) and so therefore if its a small horse its easier to have them on the floor. Stabling after wast something that came in for a short period of time as they believed it reduced the risk of infection, however further reasearch showed that actually it increased swelling, and therefore introduced other problems, but also as bedding usually carries its own bacteria, it didnt reduce the risk of infection. These days it completly depends on the vet in question as to whether they want the horse stabled or not. If your horse has adviced stabling, then I would do that.
 
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When we had our colt gelded he was allowed in the field straight away, the procedure was performed outside, in a dry paddock. ??????? Vet said that the best place to be is outdoors, the confined space and bed can actually encourage infection and best to let it open to the air and draining. He was healed very quickly.
Ps I am no expert, thats just what happened with us.
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ditto with both of mine & each one was done within 40 mins. I'd definitely advise them being out, our were absolutely fine & the vet said it was the best thing for them as infection in stables etc is higher risk than if they were in the paddock letting the air circulate
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My boy was only 13.2ish at time of castration and was done standing... I suppose it makes sense if they are very small (or maybe its because the vet suffers from a bad back? lol) I don't suppose standing over lying down is a large problem, I'd be more concerned about staying in 48hrs as it seems uneccasary and if the youngster isn't used to being in it would surely cause stress? But like I said my boy was done standing so maybe staying in has something to do with full sedation?
 
Out of the three that we've had done, only one was done out in the feild (he was done by a different practice to the other two)and that was a horrific experience, he was knocked out and was lying down, but when the clamps went on for the first time, he got up, then ran round the feild with the clamps between his legs! The other two were done inside and where again on the floor and they were absolutely fine. They were all about 13hh. But they were all allowed out in the feild as soon as they'd come round properly.
 
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I will let him take the erm extra items with him!! Thanks for the warning!
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Don't leave them on the yard, even for a minute...the dogs love them!!
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My NF colt was gelded at the beginning of March and despite my best efforts, one side became infected after 10 days (swelled up to the size of a grapefruit and he's only 11.3hh!) so had a week of ABs. It's still leaking a little bit now although it's perfectly OK. A friend had a similar problem with her WB - 10 days seems to be the time to watch for.
 
Have had several done, the bigger ones were all done standing, one very stressy 13.2 was fully anaesthetised also a little chap of 10.2. All went back out in the field within a few hours. I also understood it was better for them to keep moving.

My youngster was sedated yesterday (wolf teeth) and he took ages to come round properly (he's so laid back he's almost horizontal at the best of times!) so I'd recommend having a good supply of coffee and sandwiches if you're not at home!

Hope all goes well.
 
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