It had to happen and better sooner than later....Qilin became a gelding today. No one, but no one wants an ungelded mule and I prefer to do it in the Fall after the flies have gone and while he still has mom around to offer comfort. It all went very smooth, Qilin was cooperative and my vet did a fantastic job. She had a fourth-year vet student with her who will be let loose on the animal world in May and we were able to tell her all about the differences between castrating donkeys/mules and horses. That is one more vet going out into the world who now knows what to do different for the long eared patients.
Qilin is feeling a wee bit sorry for himself, but is doing well otherwise. He took after his more sensible donkey half and stayed lying down until he was truly ready to get up.
It is a cold and rainy day and the drugs made him shivery so he got some scruffy blanket practice as well.
I am very glad to have this done and over with. It is a routine procedure and completely necessary as ungelded mules have a nasty habit of turning mean and since they are sterile anyway, it really does have to happen. However, any procedure has its risks and drugs don't always work the same in mules and donkeys as in horses, which provides fertile ground for my worry-wort brain.
Now that this is done, Qilin can get back to doing what he has been, which is growing at a prodigious rate. The vets thought he was as big or bigger than most of the 10-12 month old babies they see!
My vet asked me if I had cut back on Tessa's grain yet, which just makes me laugh as I never give her grain. Qilin has never even seen grain and likely never will. They both get 1 pound of alfalfa pellets and a ration balancer along with the mediocre grass hay I have. The last thing I want to do is increase Qilin's rate of gain by feeding him more. He is managing to get enormous quite well enough on his own.
So glad it went well today! I was thinking of you both. That blanket sure looks familiar too.
ReplyDeleteI thought he looked big too. Glad you got things taken care of.
ReplyDeleteHe's looking fantastic. Personally wouldn't have minded reading about the differences in the procedure between horses and mules, hadn't known there were any prior to this post. Following his progress with interest, K.
ReplyDeleteYea! I'm all for gelding. Makes a much nicer male animal any time. I'm super happy all went well. I can't believe he's already that old.
ReplyDeleteHe looks as mythical as his namesake! Wasn't his Sire a mule?
ReplyDeleteWhat is the difference between castrating mules and horses???
ReplyDeleteGood boy, Qilin!
ReplyDeleteThe nice thing about gelding is that in a day or two he will have forgotten all about it. I always wondered if mules were gelded given that they are sterile. I wasn't sure how it worked with the hormones and such.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the very same as Theresa A. Do you do it to mules ? He will be a happy boy in a day or two and never miss his parts! he will never, ever be a mean boy. How could he? All your animals are so loved and cared for.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering when this would take place. Glad it's over. He can now proceed with life as usual, grow and learn and play.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Qilin! You can now make the best use of your fabulous mulito brain without it ever being sabotaged by stoopid hormones;) One worry less, Kris... and I hope those brilliant boots you made for Ramsey work wonders!
ReplyDeleteYeah! Wise and only choice...he will be ok!
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