Stallion management requires many special demands. Generally, stallions are kept in separate turnout areas by themselves. They require more formidable fencing, barns, stalls, and stall doors for containment. Their testosterone-driven aggressive behavior requires exceptional handling skills. It is not surprising that most stallions get “cut,” or, more technically, castrated. Castration effectively reduces or eliminates male aggressive and reproductive behavior (teasing, mounting, and copulating). It frees the horse from a life of isolation and allows him the opportunity to be grouped with other geldings and mares and to engage in normal equine social situations. And, obviously, it eliminates the ability to reproduce. For the vast majority of male horses who don’t qualify as breeding prospects, castration is probably the best option for all concerned, including the horse.
Not long after birth, male horses begin exhibiting distinctive male behaviors. Although these behaviors vary a great deal from one individual to the next, breeders are quite familiar with them. It is not uncommon to see week-old colts mounting their dams, although awkwardly and often on the wrong end. Later, they start developing their oral tendencies of biting and general “mouthiness,” sometimes incessantly. They enter puberty during their yearling year. Yearling colts that are turned out together can occasionally be seen sparring with each other, rearing up in head-to-head combat and biting each other up and down the legs, rarely resulting in a mark on either one. They can be fertile as yearlings and consequently must be kept separate from mares and fillies.
Castration is possible even just weeks after birth. Weanling age, however, is a much more common age for “early” castration, and probably the most common age for castration is as a yearling. That is when their physical size and the intensity of their male behaviors really begin to present problems.
Older horses are often castrated, as well. Some turn out not to be good breeding material. Others pose training problems and their owners hope they will perform better as geldings. Some have sired a few offspring for the special interest of the owner and won’t be used for future breeding. The oldest horse I can remember castrating was 17 years old and had been a good breeding stallion but was sold to a 4-H member (4-H does not allow kids to show stallions).
Surgical Options
Castration is an extremely common procedure. When both testicles are fully descended into the scrotum, there are two conventional approaches.
- Recumbent: To perform a castration in a recumbent position, the horse is given a general injectable anesthetic. In fact, usually several medications are given. A sedative or a couple of sedatives are given to make the horse very sleepy but still semi-conscious and able to stand on his feet. After an appropriate amount of time, another medication is given that will make the horse unconscious. Within a minute after administering this medication, the horse will lose consciousness and collapse. It is important that a safe area (good footing, reasonably soft) is provided since the fall to the ground is not always smooth. The unconscious horse is positioned, scrubbed, and the procedure is completed fairly rapidly since the anesthetic is only very short-lasting.
- Standing: To perform a standing castration, the horse is heavily sedated. He is not unconscious and consequently remains on his feet, although fairly wobbly. Physical restraint, such as a lip twitch, is commonly used as well. Local anesthetic is also used to reduce the pain at the surgery site. This method avoids the risks associated with general anesthesia but poses other concerns, such as the behavior of the horse, handling concerns, and access to the surgical site.
Both of these approaches use similar surgical techniques and the subsequent incisions into the scrotum are left “open” (not sutured closed). These incisions are left for several reasons:
- It speeds up the procedure tremendously
- The “dead space” created by removing the testicles would require many layers of suturing to adequately close
- The amount of cleanliness or “asepsis” employed would be entirely different
- The surgical site would need to be draped with sterile drapes and the surgeon would need a cap, mask, and sterile gown
- The procedure would require much more time, and the relatively safe short-acting anesthetics used with the other approaches would not work
The common approaches described above are safe, quick, effective, and much less costly.
What to Watch For
After the surgery, there are several concerns. The blood vessels supplying the testicles are large, and our initial worry immediately after the surgery is hemorrhage (bleeding). If it is going to be a problem, generally it is soon afterward the surgery. For the first day, it is good to keep the new gelding quiet and confined to a small area such as a box stall or small pen so blood clots can form and solidify. Keeping him confined also enables you to observe him periodically. Expect a slow dripping of blood from the surgical site. A stream is obviously a problem, but so is a rapid dripping such as from a very leaky faucet.
Starting on the second day, hemorrhage is generally no longer a concern. Instead, our concern shifts to swelling. Leaving the surgical sites open allows for very good drainage. It is very important, however, that the surgery site stays open and draining. Forced exercise helps ensure that this happens, and should start the day after the surgery. Lunging is probably the safest and simplest. Twenty to thirty minutes once or twice a day will help keep the incisions open and promote good drainage.
This exercise can start out easy the first few days but should be intensified by the third day and continue for at least two to three weeks. Monitor the swelling every day. All horses will develop rather prominent swelling in the sheath; swelling will naturally gravitate to this low area and will be evident from a rather long distance away. What is much more important is the swelling around the scrotum and the surgical sites. To see this, one must bend down (be careful, since he’ll be quite sore) and look up between the back legs. If there is significant swelling there, call your veterinarian.
After two to three weeks, post-operative complications should be behind him, and your gelding can return to normal care and use.
