Yet another gelding question...need opinions

[susanne]

We will be having Flash gelded here at our place shortly. When we had Mingus gelded, the vet had a gelding program and he spent the night there, so this will be a first here at the faux farm.

We're in Oregon, which means mud season runs right into fly season. Flash's "dry lot" is anything but. It is very muddy and I worry about the mud with his incision, but at least he has a run-in shelter.

We've considered running a temporary hot tape fence and limiting him to the run-in and a 10X75' stretch of his corral, putting down geo-textile and then 5-6 inches of gravel to cover the mud.

Or I suppose I could keep him in his barn/shelter (10x10) and just bring him out to exercise a few times each day, but he's always had free choice 24/7 and we'd have to put up half doors or a web stall gate (solid, not the open kind).

Another option would be to fence the lawn with hot tape and step-in stakes. He does well with and respects electric fencing, but the grass is still too lush and he has not built up any time on it. We could put a grazing muzzle on him, as unfair as that sounds on top of dejewelling him, LOL. We'd need to set up a temporary shelter to keep him out of the elements. Depending on how long he would need to be there, the lawn could develop muddy areas before long and end up just as muddy as his corral.

Or -- would it be better to wait for dry weather and deal with the flies?

I'm sure our vet will have an opinion on this, but I'd like to get some other thoughts first.

 

[Marty]

That's not a fair choice lol!

I think I'd chance it with the flies instead of the mud balls that may shoot up in the incision. Gravel hasn't failed me yet.

 

[susanne]

We've had great success with a gravel area in our other corral, but the gravel we've used also has grit, and I'm thinking that could get up into the incision. Of course, I could let him sleep in our bedroom and I'd still find something to worry about!

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

My vet always advises to geld in the spring or in the fall, once the flies die off because you don't want them pestering around the incision and possible causing infection. No matter how much fly preventive you put on it's still possible for it to wear off and then hear come those nasty things again.

I'd MUCH rather deal with mud than flies. JMO. For such reasons, I'm waiting to geld my boy until this October when it'll be nice and cool, no flies, and he will be more comfortable.

 

[shorthorsemom]

Everybody knows how much I LOVE my pea gravel loafing area for my boys. I buy my pea gravel from mr. Mulch I use the "salmon".. 1/4 inch stone. I get 7 tons at a time and refil when it sinks into the ground. I have between 4 and 6 inches of pea gravel in my horses loafing paddocks. They have access to the run in shed and loafing area and go out on grass and pasture limited time or in a muzzle. I have gelded a couple of my guys using this system and have had no mud issues or dirt in the incision whatsoever. LOVE it. Pea gravel makes for really nice strong feet too. I did put in a couple of rubber mats from TSC around my feeder. I use a small tined fork and scoop the poos off the pea gravel every day. I don't have much in the way of flies at all, I use fly spray when they go out to graze. In my run in shed I put down a layer of pine pellets and over top of that I use pine flakes (not dust) for bedding. This system keeps them dry and clean and even in the dead of winter we have decent footing. Gravel makes it nice and clean for surgery recovery.

 

[Jill]

The more they move around, the better, unless their are complications which can happen with mature stallions (we experienced this with my sweet Derby).

Is waiting until the Fall an option? Just throwing it out there "in case".

Good luck to you and Mr. Flash

 

[Mareish Mom]

Don't wait, better mud than flies. Why not save your money for now and just plan on keeping him in his nice clean barn for a day or two? It shouldn't take long for the incisions to heal up enough for him to go out.

 

[Mona]

I would go ahead and leave him where he normally "lives" as he'll be most comfortable there, moving, yet not feeling the need to pace and fret because he's somewhere out of the ordinary. Don't forget, the incision itself is made a fair way back so is kept fairly well out of harm's way from mud. I would do the test and go out there and feel/look in the scrotal area to see how much mud (if any) is actually there, then if there is some, clean it off, check again in a few days to see again how much, if any, has accumulated there, and make a further decision based on that. BUT, if at all possible, I would keep things as natural to him as possible.

 

[Minimor]

I agree with what Mona said. We always seem to have mud in the spring when we get our geldings done and we've had no problem with mud getting up into the incisions. The sheath may get mud spattered but up behind it, not so much.

Flies are a much bigger problem; they WILL get up in there and find the incision!

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

Several years ago I had a stallion gelded that lived in a dirt paddock, I can't remember if it was spring or fall, but we have mud both of those seasons! Anyway, he was fine for awhile, but at one point when I checked, there was dirt caked in, enough that it wasn't draining, so I just had to pick it out and then hose him off more often. He had no problems with infection, but did have some swelling from the lack of draining. My vet does put them on a week or two of antibiotic (SMZ or Uniprim powder) just in case.

I would do it now and not in fly season, and just check daily and hose off as needed. The flies and the heat would make him pretty miserable.