Routine Gelding Surgery Information
What does the surgery involve?
Gelding surgery is routinely performed in entire colts and stallions for a variety of
reasons. Most commonly it is performed so that the animal can be managed much more
easily as a ‘gelding’ rather than an entire male horse, as this is often associated with less
management and handling difficulties.
The procedure involves removing both of the testicles within the scrotum. It is important
to check that the horse has both testicles descended before the horse is gelded, to avoid
last minute changes of plan if one or both of the testicles are not where they should be.
See the later information on Rig Castrations for more information on what can be done
if both of the testicles are not present.
Some horses can be ‘gelded’ under standing sedation; however we routinely perform our
surgeries under a short general anaesthetic. This to reduce the risk of complications
through the horse moving during the procedure and this often makes it safer for all
concerned as a result (horse included!).
We sedate the horses very well before injecting for a short anaesthetic which will knock
them down. Once down, we have someone monitoring the horse’s head and breathing
while someone else holds one of the back legs out of the way so we can access the
surgery site. The scrotum area is cleaned before an incision is made over each testicle
(one at a time) and the testicles excised and removed. Blood vessels have to be carefully
crushed, so we hold the crushing emasculators on the vessels for long enough to
minimise the risk of any serious bleeding. The total procedure takes between 5-10
minutes for most horses. The anaesthetic lasts for around 15-30minutes so the horses get
up shortly afterwards. We place our horses routinely on a course of anti-inflammatory
and antibiotic medication, as well as giving a tetanus toxoid booster at the time of
surgery (and this is all included in the price).
It goes without saying that once the horse has had both testicles removed that they will
no longer be able to breed!! So you are permanently removing the breeding potential of
this horse.
We aim to perform gelding surgeries in the spring and autumn, avoiding the vet hot
summer days as this increases bleeding after surgery and anaesthetic risks and also
avoiding the mud during the winter months as this increases the infection risk.
Rig Castrations
Occasionally, some horses may only have one descended testicle in the scrotum (or even
none!). During development, the testicles form in the abdomen and travel down towards
the scrotum to appear there at or shortly after birth. In some horses, the testicles can get
‘stuck’ on their journey and don’t make it to the scrotum but remain either in the
abdomen or half way into the scrotum. If the testicle can be felt by the vet when the
horse is standing, then most horses can still be gelded routinely. However, we often do
this procedure at our clinic so that if for some reason the testicle goes astray once the
horse is knocked down, we can move the horse into sterile surgery if needed (better to
be prepared!)
Some horses require a full general anesthetic under sterile surgical conditions to remove
the testicle, if the un-descended one is still in the abdomen, as this is a much more
invasive and lengthy procedure.
Most horses will need to be scanned or even blood tested to check for the presence of
the other testicle prior to surgery.
If you think your horse may be a ‘rig’ then please contact the clinic for more
information.
What should I look out for after the surgery?
1. Bleeding: some bleeding is normal after the surgery, and so it is to be expected
that the horse will have some blood on the back legs and the ground after the
procedure. This bleeding will stop over the course of 4-8hrs following surgery.
However if bleeding continues as a fast drip or stream of blood you should
contact your vet for advice.
2. Swelling: Almost all horses will swell up in the scrotum area after the surgery.
Swelling usually is most notable from 24 hours after surgery, and can take several
days to subside. We routinely put our geldings on some anti-inflammatory bute to
reduce this swelling and improve comfort.
3. Tissue Protrusion: Tissue protruding from the scrotum after surgery is not
normal and you should contact your vet if anything is hanging out. Note that some
blood clots do hang out after surgery so this would be normal shortly after the
surgery, but any white or pink tissue visible would be abnormal.
4. Infection: We routinely place our horses on a course of antibiotics, since the area
can be difficult to clean and infection can occur following this surgery. Usually
this presents as an increase in swelling in the scrotum area 5-7 days after the
surgery, and some horses will walk stiffly behind due to the swelling. Often
antibiotics are not enough to treat these guys, and usually the vet is needed to
come and break down the infected material within the scrotum and allow it to
escape.
5. Management: We tend to recommend that the horse remain still for the first 8-12
hours or so after surgery while the bleeding stops and the horse recovers from the
anaesthetic, so having them in a box is ideal. However after 12-24 hours it is best
to get them moving around so we tend to turn them out in a small yard so they can
walk around as this reduces the swelling. It is often a good idea to pop a hose pipe
up in the surgical area once a day for a few days after surgery to wash off any
blood and keep the area clean from dust and mud.
For more information on the procedure, costs and what is involved please call the clinic
on 8388 7489 and one of our vets will call you back to answer any questions.