Gelding young colts

[MeganH]

My colt will be a year in May and I had the vet come out to give him his check up and schedule his gelding surgery. She said he hadn't dropped yet.. but I told her I had felt both for sure and after she felt around she said she felt them but they were very small. She said to keep checking him and get her back when they are a little more dropped. It was cold that day- so it was harder to find them.

I was really hoping to get him gelded this spring. I have a mare who is pregnant (due in April) and I don't want to have to separated them all the time after she foals and she allowed him near her foal. (At night they stay in separate pens and in the afternoon the are let out a few hours to graze in a larger pasture together) I don't want to chance an 'accident' at all though.

My questions: How early can colts be gelded? Ricky's dropped enough to feel them and they are about the size of small grapes. Is that typical for a mini around 10 months old? Is it possible to geld him when they are this small?

 

[Songcatcher]

I had one gelded at about 3 months (because he was so obnoxious). There was not trouble finding them at all. Of course many are not as easy to find at that age.

Mine was much better behaved and socially acceptable after the gelding.

 

[Carolyn R]

I have had them gelded as young as 9-10 months old and as old as 16-17 years old. I am sure your guy will fill out a little come summer. Grape to super ball size is about normal for a yearling, foal to several months old they are usually marble size and have them tucked up tight to their body. I have had them gelded at grape size before. One of the vets at the clinic I use rotates with small animal when they schedule vacations and such. They have several equine vets, I love them all, but she is my favorite. She has no problem gelding them at "grape" size, as long as they are there and she can hold/manipulate sac and testicle to inject it and do the procedure.

If they are there she will do the procedure and does not get intimidated by the fact that they are not completely filled out or as large as a full size colt or older mini. It does make for a little bit more difficult procedure for the simple fact that the mini's are short to begin with, and a young colt is even smaller, and working with the small size of the testicles .....and doing this on a farm call......for some large equine vets, it may not be ideal. Now I could bet that the male vet at the clinic, also an excellent vet, but over 6 ft and a big guy, large hands, well he wouldn't have been thrilled gelding a 8-10 month old that wasn't very "filled out".

 

[KanoasDestiny]

When I had Gideon done at 12 months, he kept sucking them up. I had my aunt come out and do several 'feels' to see if he had dropped. She was experienced with big horses and said she couldn't feel a darn thing. She thought he had either already been gelded or we were going to have issues with him dropping. Of course I paniced because I already had him scheduled for his gelding. The vet was one of those old timers. He came out, reached WAY 'up there', and told his assistant to get the tools. Once Gideon was out, the vet rolled him over, and he was done in less then four minutes. Lol. If you have a experienced vet, I don't think size or location matters.

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

Stallions can be gelded at a very young age. I suppose one day wouldn't be impossible, but I don't know of that happening. I've gelded horses younger than 4 months before.

Small horses are difficult because the teste can be hard to impossible to feel and sometimes what we believe is the teste is just a fat deposit. Testes do not normally descend into the scrotum, they are supposed to be there at birth. Some will show up later in life, but they are not normal. Normal is both down at birth. But, in the scrotum is not the same as palpable. As stallions age and go through puberty the testes will increase in size thus making it more likely to be palpable.

I am comfortable with doing castrations on minis that I do not feel both testes. I am usually able to find them both. But, it is reasonable for a Surgeon to never do a castration unless they feel both. That Surgeon is just being careful and that's never bad.

Dr Taylor

 

[rabbitsfizz]

A very old (12 Century) book says "The time to gelde the stoned colt is two days".......

I have had colts routinely gelded at eight weeks old, with very good results.

My Vet would not dream of telling me when they should be gelded- so long as it is safe , ie the colt is in good condition and health-she will geld them when I ask her to, and even took my word that a colt she could not palpate was dropped, and went ahead and anaesthetised him! He was fine.

So there is no way your colt is too young, and, IMO, there is no way the size of the testicles has anything to do with whether you can geld or not ( my Vet has commented that she has got more out of a rabbit )

Any chance you could use another Vet??

 

[MeganH]

Thank you all so much!

I was just outside with him and I could feel both of them easily. One was harder to hold onto then the other, but they are both there and down.

The doctor said she was afraid of one getting away from her which is understandable. She kept saying they where so tiny.. so I think she may not be used to minis this young? They have grown in size since she came and saw him. I just don't want to call her over again and have to pay for the barn call but her say she won't geld him again. I might call around and explain to see if another doctor around here is more comfortable.

 

[MeganH]

Am I wrong that they are visible too? They aren't big and not dropped very low but is that what I am seeing?