Swelling....any ideas?

[Patches]

Obviously I'm calling a vet tomorrow. Just wanted some suggestions. Talis, 2 years old. He's supposed to be going on Sunday and his manhood is swollen. Any ideas?

Never had to have a vet to Talis since buying him in September 2005, apart from routine stuff and gelding.

Had one suggestion of a hernia which has panicked me. I know it sounds cruel, but he's not insured and I don't want to pay thousands for surgery when he's being sold for a couple of hundred. It's the farmer in me...sorry. If he was a cow he'd get the bullet.

Totally different when it's one I have a job for but not a companion (which is what he is currently basically)

(I know that makes me a cow).

 

[Patches]

Just to clarify.

Wouldn't have him shot...not really. Just annoyed at his timing!

If it's something that requires alot of money to treat, there will be no new ponio on Sunday as I won't be able to afford him.

 

[AmyMay]

Sold???? Have I missed something?

 

[Patches]

You may not have missed anything yet. If he requires surgery the sale of him is off and the buying of his replacement will be off sadly too, in order to fund his surgery

I have this feeling he's been kicked as there is a mark on the inside of his leg. You can see it on one of the pics. I'm thinking whether Tweenie (she's the only one that can be handy with their back feet) could have caught his "tinkle" when she kicked him?

Got to have the vet out and see what he says. Feel a complete cow but I just don't want to spend thousands on a pony that is going for a few hundred pounds.

 

[legend]

my boy gets a swollen sheath, partly from the flies biting and partly from him then rubbing it and sometimes getting bits of dirt and twigs stuck up there.... any chance it could be something simple like that? will he let you give it a good clean for him?

 

[SSM]

Is there any heat? could it be a bug bite??

 

[Patches]

He's let me prod at it but does lift a leg up when you mess. That's nothing unusual though as he's always done that if you touch him "down there" ooooo-eeeer!

There are alot of flies about and Talis does tend to choose to graze the banks to the pond. I know I get eaten alive by them. Must admit, he did seem angry with flies earlier......well they all did in fairness.

 

[Patches]

Didn't feel hot when I touched it.

 

[legend]

I could never clean my geldings, until last year when i got pretty worried about it being swollen and got the vet out. He cleaned it, pony decided he actually really enjoyed it (pervert

) and has been fine having it cleaned ever since! I'd be tempted to clean it if you can and give it a couple of days to settle, unless you're really worried, in which case i'm sure your vet will re-assure you.

 

[buzzles]

Might be the flies, I live in a very wooded area and at this time of the year we are infested with these little black flies which eat the poor horses alive, especially around the sheath and navel area, they come in covered in blood and bites and the areas can get quite swollen, in fact a bit like Talis. The grey pony, who seems particularly prone to getting bitten, gets really annoyed and kicks at them so much he has actually kicked himself in the sheath quite hard before!! The only way to keep the little buggers off them is to smear the underside of the horses with stockholm tar, which is very messy but is the only thing that works. Usually you can feel loads of little scabs under the area where they've been bitten. Just an idea, if thats all it is it shouldn't be too serious.

 

[Patches]

I might call the vet out anyway and see what he says. If I'm doing that I might as well let him give Talis a touch of sleepy juice to make sure I can do it thoroughly.

He's supposed to be off to a new home on Sunday so I don't just want to leave it to chance.

 

[legend]

No, thats fair enough, better to be safe, especially as he's off to new pastures on sun. I meant to add before, i use sudocreme to sooth it, and if it helps to stop you worrying about hernia's, they are usually much more defined rather than generalised swelling like that and if it was that you should be able to (for want of a better word, sorry!) 'poke' the actual hole it came through.
Let us know how he gets on tomorrow x

 

[Patches]

[ QUOTE ]
No, thats fair enough, better to be safe, especially as he's off to new pastures on sun. I meant to add before, i use sudocreme to sooth it, and if it helps to stop you worrying about hernia's, they are usually much more defined rather than generalised swelling like that and if it was that you should be able to (for want of a better word, sorry!) 'poke' the actual hole it came through.
Let us know how he gets on tomorrow x

[/ QUOTE ]

I didn't try and stick my finger in a hole, but when I messed with it, it definitely felt like it was just his skin that was swollen. Had it been something under it (is contents that had escaped through hole in muscle) surely the skin would have felt normal thickness and I'd have been grabbing at the contents underneath?

It's very generalised, you're right. Looks the same when viewed from both sides. Indeed, those pictures are taken from both sides of him.

 

[Weezy]

Deffo first idea of mine are flies.

 

[asbo]

most of the geldings on our yard are about 4 times more swollen than that with fly bites.

hope that's all it is

 

[Patches]

Thanks Asbo.

Vet is coming at lunch time tomorrow. When cleaning him up today he had a little dot of fresh blood on the skin. Certainly emphasises my feeling that it's fly bites.