Questions on the time to geld.

[Mo.D]

I'd like to pick your brain a little.I would like your opinion on various daily dewormers and then also I would like some info on time to geld. I know if possible the cooler the weather the better but I am particularly interested in physical development in conjunction with gelding.I would like to geld Mijo as soon as he can be but at the same time his neck etc. is pretty puny IMO.I would like to know if there would really be any physical benefit by leaving him a colt only a few more months after he's ready to geld...or would only a few months not really do much?If only a few more months would make quite a difference in bulk then I need to ask,IYO is the bulk you get worth the possible studdy behavior you could end up with? Other than the weather and the colt being ready to be gelded,what do you take into account when deciding how soon to geld once you have decided to definitely go that route?He is an absolute doll and I would like him to stay that way.Thanks for the info.Your friend,Mo

[motorgypsy]

It's good to be informed but remember, his dad is still a stallion and very sweet and well behaved. Our older stallion is also very well behaved. If you don't have any mares you probably won't have any problem with him and your gelding. We have three stallions and a gelding who live together and are fine unless someone breaks fences and they get in with the mares and then the dominant stallion or gelding runs the others off. They do play rough and take small chunks out of each other on occasion but they have so much fun.

So you work with him a lot and you make sure he knows you ARE the "big kahuna, boss lady, etc." Lots of love but zero tolerance for nipping or any aggressive behavior. He is young enough so that you can establish yourself as "THE MAMA" quite easily and he may never nip. We hand feed all our boys, play with their mouths and Brilliant has never nipped in his life and he's 4 now. Our mini colt used to be terribly nippy and our gelding was terribly nippy and we finally just grabbed the nose and held as long as we could any time they threatened to lip/nip and they both stopped it. Nothing else worked for them. They will get lippy nippy when they teeth so don't confuse that with being studdy. It isn't. Their gums are just bothering them. We feed their grain as soup which does help when they are ouchy but you should keep a check on his teeth regularly and this means teach him to let you look at his mouth and play with his tongue and check his teeth and do some sheath cleaning on him as soon as you can. Take it slowly and just use warm water, no soap.

Now regarding the age - they are now gelding really young with what appears to be no problems. Horses gelded early tend to get taller than a twin who's gelded later for example but gelding later does allow for the increased muscling from the hormones. But do remember - a gelding is just a stallion who can't procreate. There are plenty of really studdy, hormonal acting geldings. Our Cracker gelding can actually breed - just no babies - and he was gelded at age one - a totally normal procedure. The adrenal glands also produce testosterone or male hormones anyway which is why you have to insist on perfect behavior. You don't have to kill him if he slips and tries a little nip but you must make sure he knows not to do it again and make him respect your space. Again our Cracker gelding crowded something terrible until we finally tried Hollis's suggestion and gave him a quick kick in the shins. It was the ONLY thing that would get him to back up. He looked so hurt but he never again crowded and he got lots of treat for being a good boy :)

[SandyMM]

daily dewormers
Don't like them, don't use them, too much trouble, not enough control
time to geld
ASAP

[motorgypsy]

Sorry - I forgot the question about daily wormers. Our guys have been on them for 9 years and I'm a real believer although there is always the risk of immunity developing the daily does is really small and is not designed to kill the worms but to stun them enough so the they are dumped out of the horse in a stage where they can't survive and die. It seems to prevent the migration through the bloodstream that is so serious. But do not depend on daily wormer as your only wormer. We use Quest once a year, ivermectin double dose at least twice a year and panacure generic at least once a year and notice this is the minimum. It depends on the horse what we do.

Now as to price be sure to order it from Jeffers or Country Supply because even with the shipping costs it's still a LOT cheaper. We get a 50 pound container for about $150 including shipping and the cheapest we can find it locally is $160. If you buy the 10 pound it's a lot more per pound. CW brand is the cheapest and you use half as much because it's more concentrated. Someone told me that the 1X was actually cheaper because somehow it came out to be more servings or something but I double checked and couldn't see that it was. Maybe it's with Strongid brand which is very pricey and the same chemical as CW which is made by EQUI-aid which is a good brand. The Equi -aid daily wormer is the 1X strength made by the same company. The CW is the 2X strength which is what we buy. With shipping becoming more expensive I suspect that even if you do get more serving with the 1X that shipping is going to equalize it and I just prefer the stuff to last longer because the serving is smaller.

Occasionally you'll get a special on Continuex which is also a good brand and the 2X strenth but it is usually more expensive.

With only a couple of horses it's not hard at all to do the daily wormer but just don't forget to use the paste. By the way none of our foals have ever had "scours" or diarrhea and we keep the moms on the daily all during pregnancy and when suckling. The label says it's safe and we've had no problems. I am going to get a microscope so I can check samples more often but I do screenings on occasion and haven't found anything so far.

If your boy's been on it I'd keep him on it and put your gelding on it too but be SURE to paste worm before starting daily for any horse that hasn't been on it all it's life. And then paste worm and rotate on a regular basis in addition.

[Mo.D]

Thanks Nancy :-).I have Gracie though,my coming two y/o filly and I think gelding him would just make both his and my life better all the way around.Your friend,Mo

Would also like to than you Sandy for YO.Your friend,Mo

[DSDECKERT]

Mo - I used the Guardian daily wormer on Darius until he was 3 - remember, you still need to rotate the regular wormers with it. It also contains a coat conditioner and I was very happy with it.

As far as gelding - I'd do it as soon as you can. His neck will fill out with good feed/plenty of hay.

We gelded Darius at around 17 months - my other horse was gelded at 5 and is still very studdy around mares so sooner is sometimes better!

[motorgypsy]

Again it depends on the horse as well as the age they are gelded. Brilliant is studdy around mares and will run his buddies to the other side of the fence from them but with me he's very very well behaved, very calm and very sweet. I can lead him by the chin with no halter or rope.

Geldings or not I would still run him away from the mare's side of the fence fairly often to let him know you are the lead male. Sultan, our breeding stallion is so accustomed to being lower on the male hierarchy that even if the fence comes down now he'll just stay in the paddock. But that might have something to do with the fact that our boss mare has taught him some manners several times:biggrin:

Today most boarding barns don't put mares and geldings together because the geldings will fight over the mares in many cases but you can usually put them over a fence from each other which you don't want to do with stallions if you don't want your fences destroyed;)

[Mo.D]

You guys are great,thanks for the info :-)!! I think i'll try that Guardian daily wormer for my youngsters.I like the idea that it also has the coat conditioner.Not to worry,I will still follow the regular past worming rotation though ;-).Your friend,Mo