Caddo got gelded

[CaddoCinnamon]

Guys he is my first horse to ever have gelded. How long will it take for the swelling to go down? I am new to this so am unsure. I will get pics tomorrow but he is able to go pee and poo like he should. He was gelded on Tuesday so I am just wanting to know if it is still normal for him to have swelling still. He is also just 9 months old.

[natisha]

It will lessen if he is on turnout. How much swelling is there? What does your vet say? Does he have a fever? Lame?

[Gypsy Rose]

I've only been around a couple horses right after gelding, and that wsa many years ago, so I'm not much help. I do know Natisha's right about the exercise, though.

[CaddoCinnamon]

He was on stall rest for the last couple of days but not do to the gelding. He had a cut on his leg that has now healed. I completely turned him out yesterday with Dee and Maggie. He was hand walked before that. He hasn't got a fever so do you think with turnout it will go down?

[livaward]

When I got Tucker gelded I got home and turned him out in the pasture....he was a little sore for the first two days with minuet swelling and then after that he was just as normal as could be.

[CaddoCinnamon]

I have got some pics of him. Uploading them to photobucket. He is still pretty swollen.

[CaddoCinnamon]

Here is one pic that I got this morning to show how swollen he is.

http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad203/equus71779/DSC00132.jpg

Here is the other one.

http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad203/equus71779/DSC00131.jpg

[lacyloo]

ouchhh

[CaddoCinnamon]

Yeah I know but I am wondering if that is about the right amount os swelling. It has gone down since yesterday and normal pee and poo.

[alittleoffkey]

Legacy is the only horse I've ever had gelded. He never really had any swelling to mention (a little, but not nearly that much). I had him gelded late (he was 3 and a half), so I kept him up and handwalked him for about a week - which was the vet's suggestion, since he was cut so late. :)

Call your vet if you're worried, I really don't know how much swelling is normal.

[natisha]

I believe being that that is the most dependent of his anatomy the swelling would have to go there before it leaves. I have never heard of any horse being stall kept more than a few hours & that was to let him wake up & to check for abnormal bleeding. Turnout also helps with circulation & keeps his mind off pain. Best to ask your vet though.

[CaddoCinnamon]

Yeah I think that I will do that in the morning. She is out of town this weekend. He is eating and drinking so its not like a complete emergency but I will definitely call in the morning if it hasn't gone down some by then.

[CaddoCinnamon]

The reason why he was on stall rest is that he had gotten a pretty deep cut on his leg and my vet said as long as I handwalk him she wanted him on stall rest till yesterday because she had to put 3 stitches and didn't want him running around to reopen it. I am still not sure what he cut it on I couldn't find anything. That is why he was on stall rest.

[natisha]

The reason why he was on stall rest is that he had gotten a pretty deep cut on his leg and my vet said as long as I handwalk him she wanted him on stall rest till yesterday because she had to put 3 stitches and didn't want him running around to reopen it. I am still not sure what he cut it on I couldn't find anything. That is why he was on stall rest.Hmmm, too late now but maybe you should have held off on the gelding until his leg was healed. He should be fine though.

[miatapony]

lots more movement .. hand walking or turnout .. if he is calm enough for turnouts...

[CaddoCinnamon]

Yeah he is. I have turned him out now with dee and maggie. They don't bother him. My vet said it would be alright. To geld him even with the cut because she had sews it up 4 days prior to him being gelded. Will hosing it down help if I even hose it down?

[miatapony]

not really you need to keep the circulation moving there. it is much better just to walk him as much as you can. I gelded Runner at the age of 5 right before i went to Japan. and hot walkers were my moms best friends... she put him on it for like an hour at a time.

[gaited07]

I believe being that that is the most dependent of his anatomy the swelling would have to go there before it leaves. I have never heard of any horse being stall kept more than a few hours & that was to let him wake up & to check for abnormal bleeding. Turnout also helps with circulation & keeps his mind off pain. Best to ask your vet though.

Ditto^

Turnout, hand walking, cold washes. Keep em moving.
As for stall rest, um I don't know why the vet would do this or if the horse had an injury prior to the gelding process. Why would he (the vet) proceed with the gelding knowing the horse needed stall rest? Just a question?

[alittleoffkey]

Leggy was gelded late (three and a half), and my vet had me stall him and hand walk him for one to two hours, three to five times a day (walking him for about 5 hours a day), followed by a 10 minute cold hose. He also had a very small (like 30x20 foot) turnout area where he could walk himself, attached to his stall - which he did, because he gets rather bored being stalled.

After the first week, I turned him out on his own in our small pasture (3 acres) by himself, working up to all day (making sure he was moving about 8 hours a day, then 10 hours a day, then 12...). At the end of the second week I turned him back out with the other horses.

I was on summer break though, so I had the time to do that... which may be the reason the vet had me take so much time to transistion him back out to running with the others. :)

I hope Caddo's doing alright today!

[CaddoCinnamon]

Well guys thanks for all the help with Caddo when he got gelded. He is all healed up now. I still sometimes wonder if I did the right thing though because he was sweet and easy to handle. He didn't hold a grudge except for the first 2 days. He is happy and running and playing. Thanks so much for the help with him.

[zoel_222]

You did the right thing, trust me. Being sweet isn't the reason you should leave a horse intact. There are so many proven, purebred, registered studs out there with outstanding conformation.... Those are the kinds of horses that should be left stallions. I'm sure Caddo is going to make one helluva gelding. :)

[CaddoCinnamon]

Yeah I think he is. I know the biggest thing that has changed in him in the 2 weeks since being trained is that his mind stays on me more when I work with him. He concentrated harder on me and isn't as distracted now like he was.

[Gypsy Rose]

Glad Caddo's all healed up!

[CaddoCinnamon]

Thanks guys. I am even more excited now that he is gelded. I like him a lot when he was intact but he is so much sweeter. He isn't as jumpy either and I can move around him a lot better than before. His attitude never changed and his personality didn't either. Sky and him have been doing really well over the fence. Next year he will be put in with dad to be his companion. They will stay between fences this year and next year together.