My little pony meets a vet with sharp surgical implements

[summer_jackel]

Well, the deed is done...little Equinox has been gelded. It was a brief and rather graphically low-tech operation, but the vet was skillful and 2 days later, the poor little guy is a bit swollen, but healing on schedule. Gentle readers of the male persuasion in particular, you may wish never to witness this procedure.

Incidentally, I guess my colt training doesn't completely suck this time 'round, at least by comparison to some. I thought I was in 'remedial fix-your-screw-up' land when I taught him to wear a halter, lead and tie only as a wild and crazy 6 month old (and I still do, but hey, I more or less fixed it). When I made the appointment, the receptionist asked me if "the colt was broke." After I blinked confusedly at the telephone and responded with something like, 'uh, he's not broke to ride since he's only a yearling, but he does tie, lead and stand still,' she decided that she only needed to send the one vet. He called half an hour later with the same question.

Eqx's behavior as I led him to the place where the vet wanted to operate was not what I'd call exemplary control of one's colt, but I thought he was pretty decent. Still, the vet told me he'd been really good and that "most yearlings are assholes." Go me, I may at least have semi-competently trained my horse.

Weirdly, the vet also told me to longue him (horse moves in circles around trainer on end of long lead) at day 4+ because moving helps the swelling go down. I don't plan to train Eqx to longue until he's 2 and I'm sure his knees are fused; I guess the QH/TB people who start colts so young must begin groundwork before 2? That just seems so risky. Anyway, vet said that leading him around the pasture is an acceptable alternative, so I'm doing that.

Comments

[troubleagain.livejournal.com]

Poor widdle pony! :D

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

Widdle pony is sad pony.

[smile-n-cuddle.livejournal.com]

He sounds so cute :)

Funny to hear yearlings referred to as "assholes" lol

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

He's an adorable little guy; I need to take more pics. Yearlings are often a PITA to work with...they have all those untempered prey animal instincts, plus the natural desire to figure out where in the herd hierarchy they stand, so they are often unruly and dangerous. It's still a fun challenge, though, and much better for everyone involved to slowly and consistently work with a baby from its youngest days all along, rather than just let them be wild and then start them at 2 1/2-3.

[ironbadger.livejournal.com]

I grew up rural.
While the procedure is not one I can remember being present at in my youth, it does not bother me.

Good to hear he is showing promise in training.
Good luck with him in later years.

-Badger-

[jamijo.livejournal.com]

Awww... Poor Equinox, but at the same time, yay for bratty colts that grow up into nice, handleable, reasonable geldings. :)

Trainers that start their young horses too early really make me upset... I haven't ridden in a LONG time, but the last place I rode at regularly had a young Belgian Warmblood colt (maybe 8-10 mos old?). Beautiful mover in the field, great natural stride - and then they started doing some kind of crazy training with him before his yearling appearance at the keuring, to get him to put more muscle on and look like he had better sport-horse potential. I don't think they were longing him, but they led and jogged him all over the place all weekend when I was there, and it sounded like he was being 'worked out' during the week the same. That's about the time I stopped riding there, although it was for other reasons than overdoing it with the colt.

[saigh-allaidh.livejournal.com]

Glad he got through the procedure fine and I hope he continues to heal well and without event.

As for longeing, we've often started young, just not HARD...no need to run them if they'll walk the circle and it's, usually, easier to ease them to walk if they are started young. Um, Saorsa was not so cooperative, she had two speeds stand-and-stare-at-you (or the sky, she's weird, she looks up at clouds, birds, butterflies...) and run-madly-around so we quit for awhile.

I don't believe in pushing babies and am annoyed that it's so common. But I also have to say that I've never heard of horse's knees finishing up at 2, I've always been told that it's between 4 and 7 depending on the breed. Sadly, QHs, one of the typically earliest to be started undersadde doing things like reining and cutting which torque the joints a LOT, are among the earliest started. Saorsa would have been ridden at no more than 18 months if she had not gone to rescue and had managed to avoid the slaughter pens and instead ended up with some North Dakota "cowboy." So, yeah, forget "ground work" before 2, because AQHA has them SHOWING at 2, they are started undersaddle at about 18 months!!!!! And at 4 they are retired as "aged." Which considering that they're knees are still not developed, they rather are aged before they should even start.

If he leads, then I'd probably walk him instead, anyway. He needs to move, he doesn't need to move fast. They may be under the impression that he needs to be longed because he doesn't lead up yet.

I find this a LOT, too, people think that if you're not rushing through the training that the colt or filly is totally wild and unmanageable. My trainer thinks like this. We've still not gotten a regular schedule, so when she comes over to work Saorsa she's always surprised to be reminded that she's being handled. A lot. Most of her clients who don't want to push from haltering to saddle in 6 weeks (which she sort of does want to do...but no! Saorsa is not going to be backed until four or five at least, and then that will be slow...no real riding until at least six, she's a QH, she'll grow until then...but I want a lot of ground work on her before then which, of course, should make backing less of a big deal) must not touch their horses at all except when she's there. Of course, it seems that other clients have given her good reason to believe this because that's what she's facing most of the time. But then I'm only hiring her because I find my energy isn't completely up to working Saorsa on my own, due to my work schedule, so I want someone "fresh" and awake to be there so that she and I have issues that need a lot of time to work out, I'm not stuck alone dealing with them while getting too exhausted to do so. And, yeah, Saorsa is, indeed, willful. But most are hiring her because they don't do any training themselves and these are probably their first horses (and many others are PMUs as well..most drafts).

Of course, there is the brain thing too. I think that's something that the start young people don't get. At 3 Saorsa's personality is so much different than it was just a year ago, she's calmed down (still willful, still prefers to confront fears than to run...she'll always be like that and while it might make training a bit harder, it's going to make her an awesome trail horse) a lot, she's is far more concerned with getting affection than with having her own way now. I suppose people who see them as machines to use up as fast as possible don't give them credit for having brains...and those people don't have them themselves. Training them when they get older and get a bit of "horse sense" is just so much smoother and lasting, imnsho.

[tailypo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I wouldn't longe a baby at that age. Circles can be really hard on joints and their balance isn't up to snuff. At one barn I was at they started them young. A filly DIED free longeing. Slipped and broke her neck and had to be put down in the round pen. She was only a year old. We didn't stay at that barn long. I have seen so many horses with permanent lameness from being pushed as babies.

Some groups of horse people start their horses stupidly young. Racers retire at three or four, spent and ruined for life. Quarter horses are ancient at seven. Really depressing. -_- Dressage usually starts later, but in America people even start their dressage horses younger than they do in other countries (that kick our butt at competitions, so you know they're doing something right). Instant gratification culture and all that.

We don't do any of that stuff until we've had the knees verified as fused by the vet through x-ray. I've never personally known a horse ready at two though. Although the knees' growth plates may be *mostly* closed at two, the hocks won't close until at least three, and a lot of the ones in the vertebrae won't be finished up either (until four to six). We don't start longeing until three.

I've helped with several castrations. No one else seems to want to. Hmm. *lol* But yeah, just walking him will do the job. Time to go on a walk. XD