Use our Animal Care Library for quick, easy access to our most common animal care problems. Use our Animal Care Library for quick, easy access to our most common animal care problems. Use our Animal Care Library for quick, easy access to our most common animal care problems.
Castrating or Gelding a horse is an act of Veterinary Science and therefore can only be carried out by a registered veterinarian. It is illegal for anyone other than a veterinarian to administer intravenous drugs to your house or any schedule drugs used in sedating, pain relief or medicating. If your horse was to have a to the sedation only your veterinarian would know what to do and would have the means to attend to it.
The recommended age for gelding a horse varies quite a lot, however here at Vet Cross we find that 6-9 months is a good age, as it means the colt is old enough to cope with the anaesthetic, but smaller than a fully grown horse and therefore the anaesthetic risk is lower.
To perform the procedure the horse must first be anaesthetised and although horse anaesthetics carry a variety of risks these can be limited by taking a few simple precautions.
The surgery take approximately 10-20 minutes. The blood vessels are clamped to reduce bleeding and the area is left open to allow drainage and will generally heal within a few weeks.
After the horse has recovered from its anaesthetic he should be kept in his normal paddock, movement helps to prevent post-operative swelling, hosing the area once or twice a day can also help and spraying the area with an antiseptic spray such as Chloromide will keep the flies away.
Tetanus vaccinations should be kept up to date however a quick acting tetanus injection can be given at the time of gelding if necessary. Horses ideally should have a tetanus vaccination from about 3 months of age and a booster one month later and booster vaccinations every 12 months.
If you have any queries regarding gelding your horse please call your Vet Cross clinic where they will gladly answer your questions.
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Vet Cross Bundaberg Hospital
2 Inglis Court
Svensson Heights 4670
(07) 4151 5044
info@vetcross.com.au
Mon-Fri: 8am - 6pm
Saturday: 9am - 1pm
Available for emergencies 24/7
Vet Cross Gin Gin
60 Mulgrave Street
Gin Gin 4671
(07) 4157 3991
gingin@vetcross.com.au
Mon-Fri: 9am - 5pm
Sat & Sun: CLOSED
Vet Cross Bargara
Bargara Central Shopping Centre,
Shop 19/699 Bargara Rd
Bargara 4670
(07) 4130 5003
bargara@vetcross.com.au
Mon-Fri: 8:30am - 5pm
Sat & Sun: CLOSED
Vet Cross Pet Store
Shop 2/2 Inglis Court
Svensson Heights 4670
(07) 4152 5939
petstore@vetcross.com.au
Mon-Fri: 8am - 5:30pm
Saturday: 9am - 3pm