Questions about gelding

[Lil' Horse Lover]

I recently had my stallion gelded and have a few questions....

About how swelled up do they normally get? How much exercise did they get? How long did it take for them to completely heal up? How long did it take for them to stop acting like a stud?

Thanks!

 

[ruffian]

I had my 6 year old stallion gelded last fall, and didn't have much swelling at all. I left him out in his run so he could free exercise, and he did great.

More exercise is better than limiting it.

 

[backwoodsnanny]

We have not had tons of stallions gelded but here is what my vet told me First it often makes a difference on how old the stallion is when gelded. 2nd every one is different. As for swelling very little but we hose with cold water to help and turn the boy out fairly soon after. Completely healed in about 2 weeks and wasnt studly after about a month or so but have heard of some boys who had been used for breeding stallions that took far longer to lose the behavior. Hopefully others can help you more than I.

 

[lildrummer]

Did one at 10 months. Physically no problems. He was up and happy in no time. It took about 3 months to see a real change in behavior.

 

[ErikaS.]

I had my stud colt gelded at two and a half. Some swelling for a few days and I let him do what ever amount of exercise he felt up to. He wasn't keen on galloping aroung the pasture for a few days, but he was mostly healed in a week and almost not noticable in two weeks. In three weeks, he had stopped acting like a big studly turdhead. He's a whole lot more fun to be with!

 

[Lil' Horse Lover]

Thanks for the replies, I just got back in from exercising him and hes a bit swollen. By the way he is 3 yrs. old, never bred before. He's not acting like a stud at all, I ponied him off of one of our bigger horses and he wasn't the least bit like a stud

I'm so proud of my lil man

Anyways I'll try rinsing with some cold water and see if that takes the swelling down. Thanks again for the replies, any more will be appreciated

 

[minih]

Be sure when hosing off to not use strong pressure, just an easy open end of the hose and go from in front of the back leg from the side to hose. Be careful not to put the water up in the open wound. We had a two year old gelded this spring and he actually liked to be hosed off after the first time.

 

[susanne]

I know not every vet recommends this, but I tend to go with the most conservative approach.

The clinic where I had Mingus gelded had a special gelding program. They kept him overnight before and after, and gave a detailed sheet on aftercare. They did not charge any more than the others, but it was the perfect program for us.

They recommended 20 minutes per day trotting (in addition to a warm-up), plus freedom to move about on their own the rest of the time. They did not recommend hosing.

Each day, Mingus was obviously rather sore until he loosened up, so I can see where some horses might not exercise much if left to their own devices.

Perhaps this was excessive, but I'd rather err on the side of caution. Keep in mind that a vet's advice may vary depending on if the horse is considered "livestock" vs. a treasured pet.

 

[Maxi'sMinis]

I gelded a 7 year old a month ago. He was acting real studdy when I had him gelded. What a change in just 1 month, he is actually the luv bug now and really calmed down. I will start working him soon for cart. He didn't have much swelling at all and healed up in about 2 weeks without any problems. Did use cool water to rinse him also, he really likes the water anyway. Plays in the water bucket all the time. Good luck with you boy.

 

[The Simple Life Farm]

Mine was pretty healed after 2 weeks. I found it VERY important for him to excercise, I had to push him a little at first. Quit his stud behavior after 1 month. I put him with the mares after 6 weeks. He really didn't have much swelling.

 

[Magic]

They recommended 20 minutes per day trotting (in addition to a warm-up), plus freedom to move about on their own the rest of the time. They did not recommend hosing.

Each day, Mingus was obviously rather sore until he loosened up, so I can see where some horses might not exercise much if left to their own devices.

This is exactly the advice that my vets have always given.

 

[Warpony]

They recommended 20 minutes per day trotting (in addition to a warm-up), plus freedom to move about on their own the rest of the time. They did not recommend hosing.

This is what my vet had us do, though she said "more is better" when it came to trotting and she said after the second day I could return him to full work if I wished. She also had him on antibiotics and some mild pain relief for the first few days. She said that working him twice a day, morning and evening, was a good idea as well.

My boy was pretty swollen. His sheath was easily twice the normal size for about three days. It had me panicked but it didn't seem to bother him at all, and the vet said it was not unusual and not to worry unless it started to feel hot or developed more swelling.

My guy went to sleep a stud and by the time he came out of the sedative and got over being sore he had already lost all of his studdy behaviour, but he was only a year and a half old and his only studdy behaviour was screaming and teasing mares and large trucks. (Yes, you read that right, he used to try and talk a little romance with the UPS truck and the Propane delivery truck.

)

 

[Lil' Horse Lover]

Thanks for the replies guys! He doesnt' act like a stud at all anymore, no interest in mares whatsoever

He's doing pretty good and doesn't act very sore, just can't wait for him to get completely healed up. Thanks again for the replies guys! Anymore are welcome too......

 

[DrivinTime]

Glad to hear that your little guy is feeling better. Mine was around 2 when he was gelded, and he was very stiff the next morning. A little walking helped with that, but then he got REALLY swollen, scared the stuffing out of me (my first gelding, y'know) and the vet said to walk him until the swelling went down. Even though I had been doing the 20-minute walks, he was still pretty bad, so I finally walked him for 45 minutes down the road, easy pace but just kept going, and he was soooo much better after that.

And he started behaving much more nicely after only a couple weeks; sigh - such a nice change!