We have a lot of experience in castrating horses of all ages and types. Castration can be performed under a general anaesthetic or standing with sedation and local anaesthetics.
On the day of the surgery we ask you to have your colt caught before we arrive. We will require a clean area (a grassy paddock is ideal) with enough room for the horse to recover from the anaesthetic.
We prefer to geld horses in the morning for several reasons:
- It is easier to keep an eye on them in the hours after surgery if you are around during the day.
- It is preferable to perform the surgery before it gets too hot.
- We like to try to get our routine visits done early to minimize the chances of arriving late due to emergencies.
It is preferable that your colt has at least started a course of tetanus vaccination before being gelded. We include a tetanus booster at no additional cost, however if the horse is unvaccinated we will administer a tetanus antitoxin to provide immediate protection against tetanus. This will be an additional charge.
When we arrive, we will examine the colt to ensure he is healthy enough to have surgery. We will ensure both testicles have descended (if they have not descended we can perform surgery to extract them but this is a more involved procedure with additional cost).
Your colt will be sedated and we will administer pain relief, antibiotics and the tetanus vaccine before being induced with general anaesthetic.
The surgery is relatively quick, and recovery is usually approximately 15 minutes after induction.