Gelding at this time of year

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HelenRod

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Hi i am after advice about gelding, i have just bought a 4 year old welsh D stallion who i had no intention of keeping entire and was told i would have to wait till October to geld, when i viewed him he was quiet enough but the previous owner has let him run with a mare this weekend before i bought him.

I am now thinking i would like him gelded asap, I am surrounded by experienced breeders but would rather just get it done asap and be able to start our journey together as we mean to go on.

We are on a mixed yard, with stallions, geldings and mares all in close vicinity - i just think it would be better for all concerned if the procedure was done ASAP.

What are peoples opnions, experiences and thoughts.

I am interested in people's opinions
 
Wouldnt advise a standing castrate until the autumn but we used to do ga closed castrates in theatre all year round as no open surgical sites so no different to any other surgical wounds.
 
I'm based in north west of UK, i was all for waiting but today I'm having 2nd thoughts and just wanting him dome asap.

I am concerned about the flies, the risk of infection etc but want him to be happy and settled asap as well.

He is stabled in an airy open plan stable block & I can walk him out and exercise him everyday.
 
Chances are that he won't be able to have a standing castration at his stable anyway - he is that little bit older and the blood supply is more established to his bits so normally, to be on the safe side, vet will ask for him to be done in the practice.

We had our (then 5yo) entire done last year in the surgery and he didn't have to have GA (thankfully) but it meant he was still left with an open wound. We had him done fairly early in the year (March I think) and he still set up an infection.

I personally wouldn't have anything castrated at this time of year unless the site was going to be stitched as the risk of infection is just too high.
 
Terrible time of year for a standing castration due to the flies. Just too high a risk for me to be getting the three that need gelding here done. They will be waiting until the temps have changed and the flies are no longer a problem, whether that be October or November.

You'll be chatting to your vet about it anyway and at 4, there is a high likelihood he'll be done in theatre anyway.

Congrats on your new horse and I'm sure you'll be fine if you decide to wait for a bit.
 
Thanks everyone, I have spoken with my vet and he has advised we can discuss next week when he come vaccinate.

It is far from ideal but i want him to settled asap and think with him running with a mare the weekend before he came, it may just be the best thing to helphim settle - one less thing for him to stress about.

I think its worth a conversation with the vet at least seen as though he's coming anyway.
 
JillA said:
My former (very good) horse vet used to say don't worry about flies, the best fly swatter in the world is only a few inches away from the operation site :)
Click to expand...

I agree...but I've spent a good 20 minutes pulling hanging tail hairs out of that wound and I had to avoid a fair few kicks!! Poor little beggar, he was not amused!
 
I would make the decision based on your particular location tbh.

If the flies aren't bad where you are, and you have the facility to bring him into a stable at certain times then I would go ahead.

The few that I have had gelded have healed very quickly and I have had them done very late spring, when there were flies about and had no problems.
 
Thanks everyone, i would really like him done, rode for the first time since arriving (2nd day) & he was very well behaved bar a small incident when riding past a field of mares but I am still thinking i want him done sooner rather than later.

I have no inclination to keep him entire and other than occasionally handling the stallions on the yard (leading in & out to field) i have little to no experience with stallions and to be honest am quite happy to keep it that way.

You may ask why did i buy him; he's sweet natured, amazing breeding & bags of potential. But i am anxious that as he feels better over the next few weeks (he is quite poor now) i will not be able to handle him as a stallion & i will be much more relaxed & less apprehensive around him once cut.

For all concerned i think it is the best option.
 
DO NOT DO IT. My friend gelded her stallion last year at this time and he was dead two weeks later. She too had this obsessive thought of getting him done NOW. He will settle just fine as a stallion provided he is not kept with any mares, and will need to be treated like a stallion until his testosterone runs out anyway so it will not make any difference in his behaviour until then. It will make more stress for him to be moved then immediately operated on and god forbid the flies attack. Vets will do it whenever, its all money to them. I will never use the vet who gelded my friends stallion in summer.
 
Thanks for your advice, my vet is very straight down the line if he doesn't agree with something he won't do it, I do trust his opinion and judgement.

We are on a mixed livery yard & he has mares in his block, albeit at the opposite end and opposite his window, he is quite settled but to go out hacking we have to pass by fields with mares etc even the menage is opposite a field which homes a mixed herd.

And think that until I have had him gelded I am best just schooling and lunging rather than risk riding out.
 
if you are desperate to have it done, go down the GA route so its a closed site.

thats the only fair way to a horse between now and Oct, imagine standing around in the sun with sore bloody cuts near your bits and flies swarming you..................
 
Thanks, another quick question; how long before mares are no longer interested in him? He was fine yesterday till the mares showed an interest in him running to the fence.
 
It will last until the mares stop going into season, which could be October.

You just need to get a fast lesson in stallion handling. Be bold with him, focus him on you.
 
If he has been brought up properly he should be able to work with mares in the vicinity without acting loopy.

If he has run with a mare for one weekend, he isn't suddenly going to become a sex machine and jump on any available mare. Once his "working bridle" is on, he should work. If handled appropriately - and as your yard already has stallions on it, I would assume that there is some level of knowledge regarding stallion handling - then he will be fine for another couple of months until the weather cools, and the flies disappear.
 
Thanks everyone, yesterday was day 3, we walked past mares in the field to go to our menage he was quite vocal but all in all was very good, once on board he focused on me and work well for 10-15mins in the school and walked well with me on board back to the yard.

I am lucky I have got some amazing experience surrounding me with regards to handling stallions so am getting a fast lesson on handling etc it's a huge learning curve!

I think I am going wait till end of September /October as originally planned.
 
Hope it goes well til then. It's all good experience in general, once you handle a randy stallion a gelding is wee beans lol
 
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