mulesuk

The vets receptionist rang me today to cancel my appointment as the vet has said mules and donkeys are harder to geld than ponies. So they need more staff on when I take him as it will be under full sedation and more invasive than gelding a pony. Is this the case with all mules? Apparently it is also going to cost a fortune. Is this what all vets are like?

My friends with the little mini mule cannot persuade their vet to geld him at all, and he's a nightmare now at rising a year old. They're going to have to ask a different practice to do it.

Donkeys and mules do run a higher risk of bleeding than horses after gelding and the technique needs to be modified slightly (things like the blood vessels have to be tied off). Whether this justifies a GA vs standing sedation I have absolutely no idea. Caution seems sensible but not necessarily paranoia? But they're obviously aware of the bleeding risk. Which is probably a good thing.

Can't add anything to Elkay's reply except to say you have my sympathy - a mule thats proving to be unlovable and expensive can only get better eh?

The OH (helpfully) suggests a much cheaper vets practice - Messrs. Webley and Scott....



... Right between the eyes.


(can you guess he's not a mule lover!)

Ring the Donkey Sanctuary and they will fill you in with the facts and ask the if they could recommend a vet near you.

Now I know why he was so cheap!
Everyone it seems 'knows' except for dumbo me.
I am going to try another practise close to me who have their own theatre, see what they say.
Joking apart, maybe salami is not such a bad idea.
Breeding mules would be a very unsatisfactory career move if all the boys are doomed.
I was once told many years ago that male donkeys are routinely gelded under the dam at around ten days old. Is this the case? What are the reasons? Surely the people with beach donkeys dont pay through the nose to geld them? How would they ever make any money?
Are they banded like lambs and bulls? That would stop them bleeding, but would it work?
Off to have a good cry.
Thanks jj if I have no luck with another vet I shall ring the donkey sanctuary, see what they say.

The reason they are done very early is for the wefare of the colt.Their testicles are easier to find at that age because after that they usually disappear and do'nt drop again till well after 6months (or in one of my yougsters cases,over twelve months!)
It is less stressful at the younger age and less likely to have "accidents" and unwanted foals later.Some people castrate horse colts very early too and say it leads to a better animal at the end with less hang ups.Maybe if everyone did this there would be less going through the dealers ad the eat man!

Hey, La Donna, chin up - I really feel for you - does sound a tricky situation to be in, what with him being a bit of a git as well.

You do have the option of being pragmatic - you have already ended up with an equine nobody else wanted, it would be perfectly reasonable if you decided to have a good frank discussion with your vet about just how feasible is it to minimise the bleeding risks with a field castration at home and find a balance between cost and risk. (they don't all bleed and as you say there must be plenty of cheap donkey colts that are gelded as economically as possible)

He isn't of high monetary value and at the moment you're not emotionally bonded to him either if it didn't work out. Who knows what the future holds (this little guy may be the equine love of your life in 10 years time, on the other hand you may never progress beyond first base) but if you vet knows you appreciate the risks/benefits he may be agreeable - it is perfectly normal in veterinary practice to sometimes have to proceed on a different-from-textbook treatment option on financial consideration. On the other hand, if he did bleed having being done at home then you've got a potentially bigger bill for sorting it out afterwards.

And being very pragmatic yes, you do have the salami option. As one of my vet friends often quotes - "Dead is not a welfare issue".

Good luck!

PS - Tami and Phil who bred Moon had their mule colt foals gelded at a few weeks old, on the farm, so they stayed with mum.

La Donna it can't all be worst case scenario as you say - everyone else is not shelling out a fortune to geld long ears. I know of a six year old donkey stallion that was gelded recently so i can ask about costs etc for that if you like?

JJ - while I totally agree with gelding mule foals as quick as possible on the basis that they are never going to be stallion quality I do like to reserve the right to see how my horse foals are turning out before parting them from their furry plums. I love having stallions and neither they nor the young colt have hang ups!!!!

Actually think it will be sacrilege to geld this boy...



but we will if he doesn't sell soon.

Difficult one that mulesuk because you are looking at it as a responsible breeder who knows what they are looking for.However if people aren't informed that foals can be done earlier they tend to leave it till too late!Then its a case of "oops"
Even with good quality foals,not all of them will end up as breeding stallions.
When I go to Henley and Stowe there's a dealer who comes in everymonth with youngstock he gathers from "breeders" on the Welsh hills and very few are gelded.There again,pedigree doesn't mean everything and some of the non pedigree animals are a darn site nicer than some of the "registered",pedigree stuff...breedings not that easy there are so many side roads aren't there!

Will ring round the vets on Monday, see what they say.
I dont think the one I approached would be agreeable to taking a risk, he is a bit of a stickler.
I would imagine there will be plenty of people who get them done by other people, the travellers wont pay a normal vet gelding fee, let alone an expensive one.
If I knew that afterwards he was going to be nice I would not hesitate and just pay but if he ends up being just as difficult then I would be more than a bit annoyed as well as out of pocket.
He actually dosent seem to hate me as much as he did.
There were some big coloured yearling donkeys in the sale today, they made over £500 each and they were boys, couldnt see any balls so dont know if they were done or not.

I'm visiting friends in Worcester next weekend and wondering whether to go and have a peek at the Leominster horse sales will I need a babysitter to look aftre my purse?!

Yeah do it!
Yesterday at our sale there was at least requests over the loudspeaker for transport to here there and everywhere from people who have made an impulse purchase