castration options

lor

lor

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Jun 28, 2006
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I am going to have my fjord boy castrated within the next month or two. I did speak to my vet and she has suggested my boy goes in overnight the previous eve, to be starved (I havnt told him that) and then short g/a.

I know they can be done under local, but I want what is best for him so can I have your experiences of both/either to help me make up my mind.

Thanks dudes:D
 
If you think he can handle it behaviour-wise I'd personally go for the local option rather than general. Much less risky and he'll be back on his feet quicker which I believe will help the healing process.
 
We knock our lot out and do them snoozing soundly. But they can be a bother getting back on their feet again. The bigger the horse the more traumatic. If the vet is happy to do it under mild sedation and standing it is less stressful.
 
I had one done under a general and one done under a local anaesthetic last year. Both here on the yard. I would say that the one done under the general healed MUCH better and faster than the one done under local, and he wasn't stressed at all. The only one stressed was his mum, who stayed with him, saw him layed down under anaesthetic and thought he was dead! She screamed for the whole time. The colt was oblivious, obviously! The one done under a local took longer to heal, and the wound was quite 'messy'. My vet prefers to do castration under a general anaesthetic. One the whole, apart from the 'feeling sleepy and falling over' part, it was very stress-free for the young colt, and rather stressy for the older lad who was done under the local. It would depend on the horse and my vet's opnion which method I'd choose in future, but I think from a healing point of view, the general was much quicker and neater.

Just for your interest.....A couple of photos of my lad under anaesthetic!
 

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  • Unconscious Vihar! Castration day!.jpg
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  • Vihar in recovery - castration day!.jpg
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We have had 4 folk trying to keep a Shetland ex colt on the floor until he's ready to stand, and we have gone flying though the air.
 
My boy was done under a general an last Feb. The vet actually discovered a slight heart murmour before she started but he was still totally fine, was done in 15mins and got back up on his feet with no problem at all and his wound healed very well. No complications at all. Was nice to see him lying so quietly for a change to be honest!!! :D My poor wee baby....but he looked so cute.
 
all ours are done stood up and just with local anaesthetic.

Hal went off in the morning and came back tea time-ish absolutely fine, no swelling, bleeding or anything and he was a 10yr old and had been covering up until then.

others have been done at home just the same, but usually younger, he only went in because he was old.
 
Gurnosstud said:
Our vet does ours standing up, sedates them first and they are fine.
Click to expand...

Ditto - carn was fine by tea time sleepy from the sedative but no trauma to that area at all & healed quicky - i had him on arnica tablets previous to the castration & for the wk following
 
Thanks for opinions. One of the things that put me off g/a is that vet said he would have to be starved for 12 hours which seems a bit mean on a youngster who is used to living out.
Still mulling things over.:)
 
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