Colt castration is generally performed to make male horses easier to handle as they get older, especially on yards where mares are present. Colt castration is usually performed when the colt is 6 months – 2 years old, depending on its appearance, growth and temperament.
Our equine vets routinely perform geldings under standing sedation and local anaesthetic. This has the advantages of:
> None of the risks associated with general anaesthesia
> Reduced costs compared with a gelding done under general anaesthesia
What happens when a horse has a standing castrate?
The vet will examine the heart and lungs to ensure that the colt is fit to be sedated and perform a visual examination of the scrotum. Then, a sedative combination is given via an injection.
The colt’s groin is cleaned with surgical scrub, and local anaesthetic is injected into each testicle. The operation site is re-scrubbed, and the surgeon scrubs up and prepares the instruments. The gelding procedure itself takes about 15 minutes. No sutures are placed in the incision, and the wound is left open to allow drainage. If necessary, a tetanus antitoxin is administered. Finally, the colt is allowed to recover quietly in the stable.
What happens afterwards?
A small amount of blood and fluid will drip from the wound for 30-60 minutes. We recommend box rest for 24-hours, then they should be turned out to encourage exercise. This will reduce post-operative wound swelling, although it is likely that there will be some swelling of the sheath.
If you have any concerns about the wound or your horse appears off colour, you should contact us without delay.
Don’t hesitate to contact the surgery if you’d like more information about colt castration.
Castration under general anaesthesia may be required in patients that are young, small, unhandled or bad to handle. Standing sedation castrations are not suitable for situations where only one testicle is present or where there are complications such as the presence of an inguinal hernia.
If you are not a client of HNVG and would like to have your colt castrated, we require you to pay for the castration before the operation when dropping your colt at our HNVG clinic.
