Equine Slaughter Houses Back? Opinions?

http://yourlife.usatoday.com/fitness-food/story/2011-11-30/Horses-could-soon-be-slaughtered-for-meat-in-US/51495306/1

Chrome's First Walk After Gelding/Castration - Video!

I took Chrome for his first walk this morning since he was gelded/castrated yesterday. He did great! He was reluctant at times with his ears back and his tail switching from side-to-side so I think he is feeling some discomfort. He's so stoic about it though so it's hard to tell how much pain he's in. I wish there was something I could do for him. I know horses are tough because showing weakness in the wild could get them killed. Millions of horses have been gelded though so he will be fine. Once this is past he will be so much better off. :)

Our shadows as we walk up from the pasture together.
My shadow makes me look fat lol.
Well my coat does anyway.

Hubby went with us and took the dogs.
Gotta love multitasking.

He did some yawning. Silly boy always does that though.

Reluctant to walk at times, but that was partly due to Faran neighing at him lol.

Watching Faran.

Checking out a puddle and of course he stepped over the rope and pulled it out of my hand right into the mud lol.

Check out this video of our walk.


When we got back from the walk Chrome and Zeppelin were playing together. Chrome was cantering and trotting around and playing bitey face with him. I'm glad he's doing so well but I cringe watching him lol. I'll keep everyone updated. :D

Chrome's Gelding/Castration Photos

Chrome loaded up fine at the house. When we got to the vet clinic about fifteen minutes away he was sweating and it was in the mid forties Fahrenheit today, so the trailer definitely makes him nervous. Poor baby. We will work on it more in the spring.

He unloaded perfectly and was very curious about everything around him, but definitely not overly excited. He was being a tad bit pushy, but settled down with a firm reminder. The picture above is when he first got out of the trailer and he was waiting with my husband while I told them we had arrived.

We walked him around a bit because it was freezing (to me anyway) and I forgot my gloves and hat. I was so cold! He enjoyed exploring a little.

We had to wait about thirty minutes. It was torture. So cold and windy and I was soooo nervous. The waiting was awful for me, luckily I had my awesome friends there to joke and make me laugh to distract me (and to take pictures). They were awesome!

He kept looking at a distant ridge, lifting his muzzle and sniffing the air. It was so cute.

My hubby looks creepy in his ski mask hat thing. The jacket on Chrome's back was to put his head on while he was asleep. I guess hubby got tired of carrying it lol.

Chrome got so bored and impatient. He was yawning and pawing. Dork.
I was too cold to walk around hehe.

Leaning against Chrome to share warmth. :D He's such a good boy.

My gorgeous boy. He's getting so gray!

Did some grazing to pass the time.

Finally moved to the sidewalk in front of the clinic to block the wind lol.
It was so much warmer there.

The vet finally came outside to . . . you know. Some of the pictures below may be disturbing to some people. There are pictures of him asleep and falling down. Those were the only things that really disturbed me, but I think it was more because it was my horse. If it was a different horse that I wasn't attached to curiosity probably would have taken over. With Chrome I was a nervous wreck! The vet was so awesome about answering my questions and my friends were the best at keeping me calm. I stayed by his head during the entire procedure, petting him and talking to him. I'll admit I almost started crying at one point, but my friends kept me laughing. :)

Getting the first sedative.

Getting sleepy. I was keeping my distance in case he fell.

I forget why I was laughing, but I really like this picture.

After the second injection he definitely started getting unsteady. He was all splay legged hehe.

He started to fall the wrong way and the vet had to pull his head (I hate the way the halter pulled up into his eye) to make him go the other way.

This is the most awful picture! He almost rolled all the way over (very slight slope), but the vet was an expert at maneuvering him safely into a good position.

I don't have permission to post his face on the internet so I blurred it out. He put a rope around his leg to hold it out of the way and also pulled his tongue out of his mouth so he wouldn't bite it. From this point on my friend switched to video for the procedure. The vet explained the whole thing as he went along and showed everything to the camera. His confidence helped keep me calm. I stayed by Chrome's head the whole time, petting him. I didn't want to see the procedure while it was being done, but it was interesting watching the video. I was going to post the video, but some of our conversation was inappropriate for the blog and other people are in it that I don't have permission to post on the internet. Oh well. It's probably too gross for most people anyway hehe.

The procedure went quickly and Chrome did well. The vet did an awesome job and was just great for the whole thing. Then we just had to wait while Chrome woke up.

When he finally sat up he ran his tongue right through his own poop pile eww! I moved his head a little and kicked the poop away. I wish I'd had a rake so I could have cleaned it up.

When he rolled up he had his leg in a weird position, so we fixed it to make him for comfortable.

He sat there for probably five minutes before he got up. We were in the process of switching the camera to video so we could get him standing up when he did it lol. I was shocked how quickly he stood up. He was definitely unbalanced, but didn't stagger around like I worried he might. We did get a video of me stuffing his poor dried out tongue back in his mouth. It's hilarious because I didn't realize she was taping it.


I stood with him for a few minutes while he got steadier and then he started mugging for treats haha! Can't keep my boy down for long. I knew he was okay when he did this . . .

. . . beautiful smile. Had to change it to black and white because the color was awful.

I was talking while I hugged him so my expression is weird, but I love this picture.
He was still so out of it lol.

When he seemed steady enough to ride safely in the trailer we went to load him up. He did NOT want to go on. Poor baby. I think it's because he was feeling so unbalanced. He would walk halfway up and then back down the ramp again. He was getting more and more upset, so my husband and one of my friends finally got behind him and pushed him into the trailer. Poor baby. We definitely need more work and practice at loading and hauling.

When we got home he was sweating again, but not too bad. When I turned him out in the pasture he was eager to see his buddies. The little turd donkey started chasing him and acting aggressively (I guess because of the blood? Weak herd member?), so we trapped him out of the round pen and let Chrome rest with Faran for a few hours until the anesthesia wore off.

When I went back out a few hours later to let him out of the round pen he was napping.

I felt bad waking him, but he'd already heard me and it was too late to sneak back inside so I went ahead and let him out.

He walks a little slow, but seems pretty unconcerned with his incision. I forgot how stoic he is.

Not sure what he was doing . . . maybe checking to see if Faran had stolen something from him LOL! Two seconds later Faran told him in no uncertain terms to back off.

Sleepy boy sticking his tongue out hehe.

Their bickering never lasts long. It looks like Chrome was grooming Faran, but he was actually licking him lol. This was the best picture I got darnit.

Gorgeous Faran!

They moved out onto the thirty acres for some grazing.
Zeppelin was leaving him alone, thank goodness.

Dirty (but cute) donkey.

Faran was dirty too hehe.

Anyway the vet said basically to leave him out where he can move around, watch for excessive swelling and walk or longe him daily. He gave him a tetanus and a shot of penicillin (is that common practice now?), so he should be good. He said I don't have to clean it or put anything on it. If it closes up on the outside I'll have to take him back in so the incision can be reopened. Please keep your fingers crossed it doesn't!

He's doing great. He really seems a lot less concerned with the whole thing than I would have thought. He was even . . . uh playing with himself so he must not be in too much pain. Of course it could be that the local anesthetic hasn't worn off yet. We shall see how he feels tomorrow. I hope it's not horribly cold because I'll be out there walking him at least twice tomorrow for thirty minutes. I don't work tomorrow, so maybe more. Anyway I'll keep you all updated!

All Good!!

We're back and everything went great! Chrome was such a good boy (well except for loading back onto the trailer to come back home, but I don't blame him) and I LOVE this vet. I'll be back in a bit with details, pictures and even video! He let us videotape the whole procedure. :) I'll be back. Thanks guys for you advice and encouragement.

Tomorrow is the day! I'm nervous!

Tomorrow is Chrome's appointment at the vet to get gelded. I'm so nervous! I think I mentioned on here already that this is my first time having a horse gelded. The horses I grew up with were either mares or already geldings, so I'm new to this whole thing. If anyone has any advice, hints, tips, tricks, after-care instructions, questions I should ask the vet, etc. please share! Just nothing to scare me please. No horror stories lol.

We got the trailer ready today. Checked the tires and wiring, put down bedding, hung a hay net, etc. I don't want to have to deal with any equipment malfunctions hehehe. Then I loaded Chrome to let him eat his supper on the trailer. He paused at the ramp to sniff it and then walked right on. Of course he found his feed immediately so that was his jackpot. Then we closed the ramp and doors so he could eat with it all closed up. His head came up and he was very tense, but he didn't panic and did finish his supper. Then we let the ramp down and he waited for me to ask him to back out, which he did perfectly. So unless he just wakes up on the wrong side of the bed tomorrow he should load fine. I feel like I'm as prepared as I can get, just have to concentrate on keeping the anxiety at bay and we should be fine.

I would really appreciate aftercare instructions though because I've never done this before. My plan so far is to leave him loose in the pasture so he can move around as much as possible. It's going to be cold all week which will help the swelling and should keep him from going for a dip in the pond. As far as cleaning I'm not sure what to do. I've heard a million different things. Cold hosing to keep swelling down and keep the wound open. Walking twice a day for thirty minutes a piece for the same reasons. Some people say use diluted iodine spray or betadine to clean it. Some say leave it alone. I've been told to use Vaseline on his legs to keep them from getting raw from the drainage. Also is he okay out with Faran and Zep? He won't play too hard will he? Do I give anything for pain or swelling or let him hurt so he will take it easy? Anyway thank you so much everyone in advance for any help or advice you can offer. :)

New Video of Chrome's Sire

They posted a new video of Chrome's sire. Check it out!

New Weights & Going For a Walk (Chrome Wearing Saddle)

Note: The pictures in this post were taken tonight at dusk so the lighting was awful, so I played around with them in my editing program. :)

Making "googly" eyes at a dragging rope. Silly boy.

One of my followers appydoesdressage (great blog by the way, check it out!) gave me a link to a weight calculator that takes into account different variables such as young horses and draft horses, so it's more accurate than a weight tape. Here is the link http://www.smartpakequine.com/health_and_nutrition/weightcalculator/default.aspx

So I went and got the measurements for Faran and Chrome. Faran's girth measured 82 inches and his length measured 78 inches, so it says he weighs 1589, which sounds a whole lot more accurate than the weight tape which put him at 1300lbs. :) Chrome measured 70 inches for his girth and 68 inches for his length, so it says he weighs 1010lbs. That sounds soooo much better than 890. I had a hard time believing he could possibly be that light at 15.1hh, so I'm glad to see that he probably has made it over 1000lbs. Good thing I dose a little heavy with wormer lol.

Since it warmed up a little today (I love t-shirt weather in November!!) we decided to take the horses for a "walk" around the perimeter of the pasture for a little exercise and bonding time. I decided to saddle Chrome just to make it less boring lol. I figure the practice can't hurt. I think I put it on a little too tight at first because he was reluctant to walk. Once I loosened it he was fine though. :) We had fun. Chrome didn't spook when a rabbit ran right under our feet either. He's such a good boy! My hubby practiced having Faran walk on his left side, because he's so one sided. He did really well. Sorry I didn't get a lot of pictures. It was pitch black by the time we finished our walk.

All saddled and ready to go!! I think I have it too far forward.

Hubby and Faran watching something in the distance. They are so cute.

Hehe this picture makes me hubby look tiny LOL!

I love watching these two interact. :)

They are going to make such a great team.

A picture of Chrome being balky before I loosened his girth.
He never strongly resisted. I didn't have to drag on him or anything.
He's such a good boy.

Handsome, even when washed out by the flash.

I love this shot! He's so gorgeous.

I LOVE this shot too. I wish it had turned out brighter, but still really cool.
He was acting silly over a fire the neighbor had burning. Adorable!

The same picture above, but with the color instead of black and white.
It made it even darker, but the sky looks so cool!

Anyway that's all I have for today. :D