Rescue Horses

[michickenwrangler]

I did call 2 vets.

One flat out refused to work on him because of the lack of handling.

Considering this is for a mostly wild fully adult stallion, the surgery is going to be more in-depth than a normal gelding procedure. I'm not that attached to him. DBF didn't seem as broken up about it as I thought he might be.

I did let B know about it, basically saying I can't take him. She will have to consider other alternatives.

I'll probably go out there tomorrow.

 

[GLENMAR]

Now that I think about it, I think my vet was set up to do minor in house surgerys.
I had a second gelding that also had an undecended testicle, I dropped him off
at the clinic for his surgery. It sounds like the lame mare is not going to be sound again.
You may only have 1 workable horse out of the 3.

 

[michickenwrangler]

UPDATE

After calling around to vets and getting the same answer from them, I had a talk with B about the stud, recommending that euthanasia was probably the best alternative. She was justifiably upset, but I pointed out that he would just get passed around and probably end up hurting someone in the process. I told her I would continue to handle him until "the day" so that the vet could handle him for the procedure.

Well, DBF and I had advised her to look into Michigan's "dower law" mainly for other issues. Her husband's estate was tied up in a trust, leaving her with basically nothing. So the dower law advice was mainly to see if she could get some of the assets to make the financial strain of his death a little easier. B is bound and determined now to at least lease the pastures and barn/see if the two pastures and barn could be lent to her in order for her to keep her horses. She said quite firmly, "I'm not putting my horses down."

So if this is the case, I will have to wash my hands of the situation and go back to my original (and probably saner plan) of finding a nice TWH or MFT for DBF ASAP.

 

[GLENMAR]

That's too bad. I hope that lame mare is not suffering in pain.

 

[baybrio]

Hi michickenwrangler,

I'm a bit confused, did you say you could go in the stall with the stallion and brush him? Or was that a different horse? If you can go in and brush him, the vet can sedate him. Then you can either geld him at the farm or probably transport him. Earlier it sounded like you couldn't get anywhere near the stallion. When you called around to different horse vets did say he was untouchable and wild, or did you tell them you could brush him in a stall? Sorry if I got the horses mixed up.

Also try to contact a couple of horse rescues, many of the long time established rescues have dealt with similar situations and can probably put you in touch with a vet who will work with this type of stallion.

 

[michickenwrangler]

Hi michickenwrangler,

I'm a bit confused, did you say you could go in the stall with the stallion and brush him? Or was that a different horse? If you can go in and brush him, the vet can sedate him. Then you can either geld him at the farm or probably transport him. Earlier it sounded like you couldn't get anywhere near the stallion. When you called around to different horse vets did say he was untouchable and wild, or did you tell them you could brush him in a stall? Sorry if I got the horses mixed up.

Also try to contact a couple of horse rescues, many of the long time established rescues have dealt with similar situations and can probably put you in touch with a vet who will work with this type of stallion.

I've been around this stallion off and on since he was born. Yes, I have been in a stall with him and brushed him. But that doesn't mean a vet will be able to get a needle in him without the potential for disaster. I can't catch him in the pasture. And they won't be able to geld him at the farm with a retained testicle. The surgery is much more invasive with greater risk for infection and complication.

With horse rescues as full as they are, I doubt any of them would be willing to take on an unhandled older stallion that they have little hope of ever placing. A few horse rescues in the state have even come under fire for "overcrowding" past zoning regulations, simply because they are taking on too many horses.

I just had too many misgivings about him. And this weekend, DBF rode our new TWH gelding. While he's green broke, he's had A LOT of groundwork done, is very mellow and agreeable. All in all, the TWH is a much safer and family friendly horse.

Yes, I will get a hold of B soon to see what is going on. I can still try and work with the stud a few days a week, but in addition to my goat farm (which is my income, not just a hobby), I'm also baby-sitting a few days a week, so my schedule is getting even busier.