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!