Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Get creative...

***This post may not be for the faint of heart, those with weak stomachs or low gag reflexes.*** Don't say I didn't warn you...

Kat seems to have some swelling in his sheath area and his scrotum. The other night it was so swollen the skin was rather tight on it and he has started to develop a small lump of fluid under his belly. He is walking funny and that's putting it mildly, but he's getting turned out at night when time allows and worked, but the other night he was three legged lame. He did not want to use his right hind leg at all. He shuffled and hopped at the trot and there was no cantering at all. I was also worried that he is unable to pee. He kept stretching out like he has to go, but that was it.

So yesterday found me at the dollar store looking for something to flush the incision with to help ensure there is no infection going on in there. He's on antibiotics, but still you never know. I needed something to flush it with, but more importantly, I needed a way to get it up inside there. For less than $3 I bought a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, a package of straws- the flexible bendy kind and a package of those red and yellow bottles for ketchup and mustard for picnics. I grabbed a bucket of water and my stash of wash rags and got to work.

I rinsed and gently scrubbed the incision area, not wanting to hurt him. Instead little man was quite happy to have me scrubbing away the scabs and stood there still as could be with his nose in the air making faces that were clearly saying "Damn that feels good". The little perv! I gently scrubbed the scabs away and got my bottle of peroxide out.

It was either diluted peroxide or saline solution (salt water) to flush it out so I went with the peroxide. I figured if there is any infection going on in there, the peroxide would help take care of it. While the ketchup/mustard bottles have the small tip for squirting the rinse up in there, there's only so much that will go UP and OUT of the bottle. This is where the straws come in handy. The tip of the bottle fits in the straw. The part where the straw bends, allows the tip of the bottle to be aimed down, while the short part of the straw can be inserted up into the incision and allows things to be flushed out.

Kat stood like a champ as I squirted a little bit of the solution thru the straw to help ease the end of it up inside him. I was able to get it up in there, flushing out both sides and boy was he was a happy camper! The swelling has already diminished some, but I will be flushing it out some more to make sure it's all cleaned out and able to heal as it should. This is all followed up with a slather of nitrofurazone or fura-zone and some fly spray. Of course it's also back to work or him too. He has to keep moving to keep the swelling down, keep things opened up and draining. Poor kid. I feel bad for him, but we'll get thru this, like everything else. He's such a little trooper.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Maintenance

I haven't honestly done anything with Kat in regards to work, since the last ADT the beginning of May. No driving, no long line work, pretty much nothing. I have just been turning him out and free lunging him to keep him in shape.

The other night I put him in the lines with the older than dirt harness we started out with and the snaffle bit. He was amazing. Light, forward, slam on the brakes stops like before- He was just plain awesome. I will be taking him out for a drive in the neighborhood soon and will obviously report back on that when it happens but for now? I love my pony. :-) That's all!



Thursday, June 12, 2014

Done and gone

The vet was out on Saturday and gelded Kat. The job was done and his nuts are gone, along with a few of those dreams I had of competing and promoting him, breeding ponies for the girls... yeah, ummmm. So long to that. Thanks dear

But along with his nuts, here are the other things that are gone or on their way out the door too. His posturing, the calling to the mares, the creeping is diminishing, him challenging me on the lead rope, blasting thru the gate to the round pen. Simply put, the bullshit behavior that has started and continued to escalate recently for whatever reasons... He is quickly becoming the quiet horse he used to be before. I don't have to get after him much for anything and although it can/will take up to 6 weeks for the testosterone levels to recede, he is becoming more and more subdued by the day.

While it sucks that I will never get to see the promise of a foal from him and my mare, now the girls will be able to ride, drive and show HIM if they choose to. Of course riding him means I will need to acquire the tack and he will need to have some wet saddle blanket therapy. The girls will need boots and proper helmets for starters and when they progress far enough along, I will call in a trainer to help them proceed. Teaching friends, family and S/O's to ride is always a challenge and often doesn't end well.

He's healing nicely and is getting turned out overnight. So far it's going well for both of us.

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Pro's and Con's

Well the votes are in and the decision has been made. The vet is coming out this weekend and Kat is going to be gelded. This has been on my mind a lot since back in April when we went to Sonoita for the ADT. It was revisited again in Prescott last month at the last ADT and has been mulled over, discussed, thought about, discussed some more and kicked around long enough.

The pro's of keeping him intact- well he's pretty, well built, has a great mind, was easy to train and his two fillies out in the world both were well put together, have good minds,have great coloring and if his genes are to be passed on, it's their job now. Their owners can make that call. I could breed some nice Welsh/TB crosses with my mare, that the girls could ride and show as hunter ponies or drive as singles or a pair.

The con's- finding stabling for a stallion is a challenge. Not many boarding facilities will take a stallion at all and those that do, may charge more, limit your options and can rightfully kick you out at any time. Many of the schooling shows and also the driving events, state liability reasons for not allowing anyone under the age of 18 to handle or exhibit stallions. Stabling arrangements for him at the driving events gives the organizers a challenge... The screaming, the posturing and the issue of him always being on edge, looking for and at the other horses. He was next to a gelding in the stall in Prescott, yet he couldn't enjoy the outside run on it because he kept challenging the gelding next to him. It wasn't the other pony's fault so Kat was shut in the stall. He isn't currently and hasn't bred anything lately. There's nothing on the horizon of that happening... so why not?

And we all know- good stallions often make GREAT geldings.