colts

[lowbardon]

wondering if anyone can help, about 3 months ago i bought a 18 month old shetland colt to keep my fell pony company in the field, he is getting quite difficult to handle, spoke to the vet about getting him gelded and he said he will not do it now as they prefere to do it in the spring so there is less mud and they can go out which is ok,do all vets do this? i would prefere to have him done now as come the spring he will have to come off the grass for weight reasons(dont want him getting fat) also i will be selling him in a few months and want him gelded first. also could i intoduce a bit now to help with leading him as him has started to rear up when he doesnt want to walk on (he gets told off for this)i am going to start leading him about and doing some ground work but need more control, if any one has any suggestions.

 

[kimky]

where i work we only have colts n stallions, n when i colt gets gelded we stable them on a clean bed, so if you can get a stable for a couple of weeks i s'pose you could get him done , the vet also gives us a wash to clean the area. the leading issues just try an be presistent and make sure he knows who is boss.
good luck
xx

 

[hadfos]

Yes you can introduce a bit,the sooner he learns his manners the better,because he is entire he will try it on a tad more than most!!!I can see ya vets point of view as it is very easily infected,and with all this weather there would be high risk of infection!!My vet wanted my boy out when he was done to aid with drainage as they are not sewn up!I personally wouldnt want my horse on bedding as it will stick and i was told not to touch it in any way unless it looked infected,which if it did was to call vet back!!!You could always section a small paddock for him but it really does need to be drier!!They usually prefer to do it april or end september as risk of fly strike lower also!!!

 

[lowbardon]

thanks for the replys, i am going to wait till it drys up a bit for him to gelded, the vet did they prefere them to go straight out for the drainage and less likely to get infected so hopefully he will be done in a month or two.
what bit would be suitable? i thought a happy mouth and have a headcollar on as well and only use the bit if needed.this is the first youngster ive had so im learning, also he bites a lot and i try to push him away and say no every time, is this just a colt thing he will grow out of? i thiink with him being so small he can wriggle out of contact on his headcollar and rear up so i have started doing some ground work everyday and hopefully this will help