Guys At A Gelding Party (Not?)
Photo at right: "Mister," an Appaloosa colt, is the only guy who'll be at today's gelding procedure at our ranch (click to enlarge).I don't know how many times you've been present for the castration of a colt, but I've been to a number of "gelding parties" over the years (one's taking place at our place today)...and I've noticed something.
Guys would prefer, if possible, to be doing something else that day. It's like an acutely personal sense of identification sets in; you bring up the subject, only to witness the winced expression and protective bring-together of the knees, followed by a rapid change of subject. Yikes!
Which maybe helps explain why the only guy expected to be at today's 11 a.m. appointment will be the future gelding himself. Our vet, her assistant, and the two or three others on hand all answer to Ms., not Mr.
And I know better than to tell Ed how it went once he gets home from work!
posted by Juli Thorson @ 9:57 AM
15 comments
15 Comments:
LOL, on the guys... But seriously if you are the one that has to handle and manage the obnoxious stud colt behavior the gelding party will put a smile on your face:)
Kelly
Doesn't bother my hubby and son at all. DH did pale a bit when the vet and I carried one oyster into the house and disected it on the cutting board on the kitchen counter. I wanted to learn about the internal structures. DS didn't mind so much after I assured him the cutting board would be cleaned and disinfected.
OK, mission accomplished. And while the newly gelded Mister remained unconscious from his anesthesia, a couple of us grabbed sets of clippers for sartorial purposes.
He woke up a different man, and a new man, too.
As my friend and I would say, "he woke up not quite a man" lol
I've only been to one "gelding party" where someone other than the vet was male. Years ago we were gelding my yearling colt and a friend that boarded with us was considering a future as a vet. When he heard Moon was being gelded he asked if he could watch. I'll never forget the way his face went green then grey. He is now a counselor for troubled youth and trains/shows on the side.
Have I not lived until I attend one of these parties? I've never even been invited to one!
My vet is male...and very particular about the castration process. As he takes each testicle out, he has to throw it back over his left shoulder. I think this is for luck or something...
All I know is that I stand to the right of him! ;)
LOL, that is so true! These comments are hilarious!
Come to think of it, whenever I help out with castrating calves, the guys are not quite as jovial as when its just a vaccination or tagging day . . .
I had a vet that was very "pro" gelding. He wanted to geld all the studs! hahaha
When I was a kid we worked the calves and sheep. My dad and his buddy would castrate them and I clearly remember asking what they were doing and having boy bits thrown at me! Then told to pick them up, wash them off and throw them in the cook pan! EEEWWW gross! I left and went and rode my horse!
Ah yes, 'calf fries.' Otherwise known as bull fries, mountain oysters, or steer nuggets. They generally did get fried and eaten in the ranching country I came from.
Ah yes, 'calf fries.' Otherwise known as bull fries, mountain oysters, or steer nuggets. They generally did get fried and eaten in the ranching country I came from.
Gelding party? I once had two horses done the same day but it wasn't a party really...saved on farm calls though.
The last time I had a colt gelded the vet asked me if he could keep the testicals, said he had some buddies that BBQ'd um? BBQ UM? he wasn't even from TX!
I once sampled rocky mountain oysters without knowing what it was...why is that the guys make themselves scarce when it comes to removing them, but all hang around with beer in hand laughing theirs off when they have some unsuspecting victim (usually a young woman) sample them breaded and deep fried, or fry panned in butter and garlic? Oh sure they eat oysters raw on the half shell or shoot um down, but won't touch these with a 10 foot pole but think it's hilarious when someone else does.
Kathy,
I can't say that I know the answer, but I have observed the phenomenon you describe!
Juli;
I didn't know where to post this so you would see it, and I do recall a blog about horse people and their dogs, but since this is current I thought I would post it here to let others know it's an extremely 'common problem'
I just went through a terrible experience the last 38 hrs wondering if my beloved border collie Derby would survive.
Sunday I had Derby kenneled up in an empty stall while I did spring vaccinations and de-worming on 6 horses. On the last horse, the old sweet gentle mare, I had let him out of the stall...my mistake...my old girl spit out some of the dewormer and Derby as quick as only a border collie can ran up under us and licked it up before I could say get outta there!
That was about 6:30pm. I didn't think much of it..oh well,he won't have worms...came in the house fed the dogs took a shower, had something to eat, sat down in front of the boob tube and promptly feel asleep, until I was waken by a freaking dog!
This was about 9:30pm. Derby was going crazy, jumping on me (not at all the norm for him) drooling, staggering,crying,and panting. I called a friend and he said it sounds like he got into something....bingo..the horse de wormer.
I rushed him to the emergency vet (no small feat it was a 45 minute drive to town with a freaking dog trying to get in my lap at 65mph)
By 11am he was hypersensitive to light and sound, temporarily blind, had a temp of 106.7 and as the vet tech said "having a bad trip". It was explained to me that he could die from this, and I did good by getting him there right away. Unconciousness, coma, liver and kidney failure can occur if they have ingested enough.I estimated Derby gobbled up appromimately 250lb dose of moxidectin/praziquantel.That was 5X's his weight!
According to the toxicology vets from the ASPCA, it's not the praziquantel that is the problem but the moxidectin which is in the same class as ivermectrin, and anytime a dog gets an avermectrin product, this includes dog heartworm medications one must be extreamly careful.
The toxicology vets at the ASPCA who monitor,research, and advise vets nation wide on poisonings also told me this is so common, it's one of the top 5 problems they see as far as dogs being poisoned. Anything from a puppy playing with an old tube, to a dog jumping into a feed tub with daily de wormer, to ignorant owners thinking it must be good for the horse so they use it on the dog!
apparently there are a few dogs that are very sensitive to drugs and are hypersensitive to these drugs.including Border collies, Australian shepards, Greyhounds, and McNabbs.
I am glad to report after $800 bucks of treatments Derby is home and resting. After panels of blood work he does not appear to have liver, kidney, nerological, or brain damage. He's going to recover!
I had to learn a lesson the hard way...this dog thinks that anything that falls out of the horses mouth is fair game and tastes good, and usually it is..an apple, carrot, horse cookie, grain and with his lightening speed it's hard to deter him. However next time I do the de-wormings I will have him kenneled up and will wipe up anything that is spit out immediately!
I hope others here take heed of my mistake! The ASPCA pet poison control hotline is a wonderful source and they have a vet there 24-7-365 to help you! If it wasn't for them I don't think he would have made it.
While those of us with horses can't imagine a town vet not knowing about horse meds and dogs, it's a sad fact. With the dwindling of large animal vets and most vets limiting their practices to small town type pets they tend to forget about the meds that our 'ranch' dogs can be exposed too.
Kathy--
Great post!
To make sure it really gets seen, I'm going to copy it to a whole new post.
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