Opinions on summer gelding

[TuffyLynn]

Hi all... i have a yearling(may 08) that i really would love to get gelded now(july).... i know that i should wait till september here in the northeast due to fly season... but has anyone had any problems if they did it now...

i really would like to not wait till september...any thoughts would be appreciated!! thank you

 

[disneyhorse]

I think it really depends on your situation. If it's necessary to geld, then sometimes you have to do things for the horses' heath that may be a bit more opportune.

If you have a barn/box stalls, and/or an automatic flyspray system that dramatically reduces flies, then it may not matter when you geld. Here, where I live, we have flies year-round because of our warm weather.

If you only have pasture, or have bad fly problems in the summer, I'd try to wait.

Andrea

 

[iowa]

Our vet says that because of the location of the cuts that after the first day, the movement of the horse will keep the flies away. He recommends that they get out on pasture to keep moving. We have gelded over 50 yearlings and older over the years in the summer with no problems at all due to flies. If I were in some of the southern states, I problably wouldn't due to screw worms, but up here and in Mass. (same latitude) I don't think screw worms are a problem. What does your vet say?

Here in Iowa, flies are as bad in September as now, but after a few freezes, usually in October, flies go away.

 

[TuffyLynn]

i have a dry lot that i pick out everyday and they are in a 11x12 box at night... so flies arent bad in my opinion

 

[Sue_C.]

You are lucky to be able to do it whan you want. My vet refuses to geld after the first flys of spring, and before the third frost of fall.

 

[JWC sr.]

If you will pack the wound area with cayenne powder it will kill the nerve endings ( thereby causing less discomfort for the horse) and also keep filies competely away from the incision. (Chili Powder will work also in a pinch, but not as well)

If after a few days you notice that it has drained off, simply replace it with a cupped handful.

Our vet that does our gelding for us uses this extensively and being in Texas we have flies year round. So far after about 45 she has done for us no problems with flies whatsoever and the little boys are up/moving around well the next day. Robin is awesome and this trick really works for us.

Hope that helps,

 

[Sue_C.]

If you will pack the wound area with cayenne powder it will kill the nerve endings ( thereby causing less discomfort for the horse) and also keep filies competely away from the incision. (Chili Powder will work also in a pinch, but not as well)

I imagine there is a bit of an initial "Blast-off" effect to this until the nerve endings are dead?

VERY interesting idea...I will run it by my vet, and will definately get me some of that cayenne powder for when I get my aged stallion gelded this fall.

 

[Sue_C.]

Well, I guess I won't be getting that cayanne pepper. Here is what my vet has to say about it.

I have heard of it from the humane side, apparently "killing "the nerve endings is painful and inhumane.

I have to say that I agree with him. I have gotten cayanne pepper into a tiny paper-cut on my hand by mistake...hence my comment, "I imagine there is a bit of an initial "Blast-off" effect to this", and cannot imagine doing this when there is no reason for it. I will just wait for the cooler weather. We have that "luxury".

 

[Horse Feathers]

A old farmer told me when you cut a goat, bull, or pig for meat, to pack the incesion with axle grease to keep flys down.

 

[Sue_C.]

A old farmer told me when you cut a goat, bull, or pig for meat, to pack the incesion with axle grease to keep flys down.

But you don't have to cut any of them...they are "pinched", and there is no incision.

 

[Getitia]

We geld throughout the year and have done so for years without any problems at all - and in fact last Monday we gelded three weanlings - ages 2 - 4 months. Except for being a little sore the first day - they are doing great - very little swelling, minimal drainage and within another 10 days they should be totally healed. I use a good quality fly spray,(maintain very clean stalls), clean the wounds with a low pressure cool water hose beginning on the 2nd day and provide plenty of exercise.

 

[Bess Kelly]

I have "discovered" that the gold Listerine is not something that flies seem to like. I've been using it as a rinse/bracer for an injury on one of my stallions and they really do not go there.

Flies have not been bad here this year but, this does not explain the distance they keep from the open wound that is being hosed daily, then Listerine applied all around. It's a great cooling bracer, plus has anti-fungal and anti bacterial properties. The injury is above and below the hock on one leg, so I actually apply this to both legs and the scrotal area (fly favorites

) and am amazed!

Anyone else ever used/noticed this? We use Listerine for other things on our horses but, fly control?

OH, when we did the baby pigs we slit them with a razor and pulled the little testes out, which contracts the cords. Yes, they were then packed with pine pitch. Wooooweeee.......can't believe I did that!

 

[shorthorsemom]

I have "discovered" that the gold Listerine is not something that flies seem to like. I've been using it as a rinse/bracer for an injury on one of my stallions and they really do not go there.

Flies have not been bad here this year but, this does not explain the distance they keep from the open wound that is being hosed daily, then Listerine applied all around. It's a great cooling bracer, plus has anti-fungal and anti bacterial properties. The injury is above and below the hock on one leg, so I actually apply this to both legs and the scrotal area (fly favorites

) and am amazed!

Anyone else ever used/noticed this? We use Listerine for other things on our horses but, fly control?

OH, when we did the baby pigs we slit them with a razor and pulled the little testes out, which contracts the cords. Yes, they were then packed with pine pitch. Wooooweeee.......can't believe I did that!

Do you use the listerine straight or diluted?

 

[JWC sr.]

Robin, the vet. we use to do our gelding has done over 60 of our little guys for us over the years and we have never had any negative effect whatsoever from her practices.

In fact when she was busy once three years ago and we had another Vet. do the deeds on 4 colts. He used the typical medications, salve etc and we had a lot more swelling and discomfort for the little guys it seemed for a longer period of time with no changes in our exercise and management routine.

Upon talking to my Dad he said this was common practice back in the days of the screw worm problem and he had used it a lot on all types of livestock (particularly cattle done by the ranchers in the pastures) when he was ranching.

Which makes sense as Robin is a proponent of less medications in managing livestock and more use of homeopathic remedies if the same results can be gotten from them. Which is an approach we like. Sometimes less is better to us.

I am sure either approach will work, but for us we will continue to use what has worked for us in the past. We have been happy with her approach and methods for a lot of years.

 

[Bess Kelly]

In reply:

I use the Listerine straight. Generally I wipe it on by hand but could be sprayed. Haven't sprayed due to getting it in wound which would burn a little.

If you use it, let me know if you see a difference in flies on them. I see almost none and it's been that way all week. We've had few flies, but the attraction is there. He's been on antibiotics, too. That may have some effect....don't know.

Hundreds of those darned June bugs thought!

My whole farm has been under attack.

 

[Humhill]

We prefer not to geld in summer if we can help it. BUT, the one thing we don't skimp on is reading the farmer's almanac. My dad knows how to read it and tell when to geld. The vet thinks we're crazy, but it works. We've tried not going by it and had problems every time.

When the vet did our colt this year, he sprayed some aerosol fly repellent/wound dressing on there and it worked pretty good. The biggest thing is that you're going to need to be attentive and keep ahead of the flies.

As for the cayenne pepper, it makes sense to me. I would think it would have a numbing effect. It shouldn't hurt initially - I would hope the vet would have the area anesthetized.

No, you don't typically do an incision on goats, bulls - it depends on which method you use, swine - yes, you do. You gotta go in and fish them things out.

 

[klydesmom]

A old farmer told me when you cut a goat, bull, or pig for meat, to pack the incesion with axle grease to keep flys down.

Thats what they did when I was growing up for severe barb wire cuts and it worked.

 

[Reijel's Mom]

A old farmer told me when you cut a goat, bull, or pig for meat, to pack the incesion with axle grease to keep flys down.

But you don't have to cut any of them...they are "pinched", and there is no incision.

We always cut our hogs on the farm - an actual incision.

I would recommend the OP to definitely talk with a vet or 2 in their area for the best, most sanitary, and humane method!

 

[SaddleTrail]

When my daughter was in college she had to castrate the pigs, the instructor had them use their teeth!! My daughter is the only one who did it and got extra credit for doing it that way. They make a slit and shave the cords, says it helps keep the blood loss down.

What is the going rate for a mini being gelded? I was told 300 to 500 for my mini, but that seems a bit spendy to me.

 

[JWC sr.]

Not sure about other areas of the country, but we typically pay 70 - 125.00 depending on how many we have done at one time. The farm call is what drives the cost up or down for us being divided among the different colts.

With her teeth, that is wild. Normally it is done with a dull knife or something like that here to rub the cord in half as versus cutting it with a sharp knife on hogs. Your daughter is committed and serious, reminds me of my daughter when she took a welding class because they said girls shouldn't take that class.