She then felt for the testicles and said they were very small, especially one of them! She covered his eyes with a towel and put cotton wool into his ears. This is to keep it quiet and dark, otherwise the noise and daylight would stimulate him. When he was sleeping, the vet sterilised the scrotum thoroughly and then made the incision. There was only one incision made and both testicles were pulled through the same cut.
The first testicle was easy for the vet but when it came to the second testicle, it took the vet a while to get it down through the cut. When the vet took the testicle out she clamped the spermatic cord with the emasculators for one minute. This helps prevents bleeding. The incision was a very small cut and left open to allow blood and fluid to drain.
Once the second testicle was removed and the operation was over, the vet gave, Ollie an injection of antibiotics, tetanus injection and a pain killer injection. The tetanus injection is because he is in the field and lying down on soil. The vet left me 4 packs of Bute. One a day starting Sunday in a small feed.
Also I was told to soak a flannel in cold water to bath him. This would cool down the wound. Ollie is fourteen months old which made it so much easier for the vet and also for, Ollie.
With the size of his testicles, it would of been impossible to of preformed the castration sooner. The second testicle was very small indeed as you will see on the video!
Some colts are able to be castrated at six months old. It really all depends on the testicles dropping and can take up to nearly two years of age before they drop in some cases.
The vet told me to let him sleep for as long as possible and to keep it very quiet. This way he will recover faster.
When the vet left it was another fifteen minutes before he woke up and lifted his head to have a look around. Then he tried to get up but kept falling back down. He did manage to get to his feet and gave a little cry out. He did stumble quite a lot, but didn't fall down. It looked more distressing then it actually was.
I stayed with him for a few hours and the bleeding slowed down. He started eating grass and walking normal again. I called the vet and told her how he was and she said it was fine to leave him.
You really need to have your colt halter broken to have the operation preformed. Make sure your horse is up to date with all vaccinations and his worming treatments before the castration.
If your horse is not used to being touched around the legs, then the week before the op would be a good idea to get him used to being touched. This will make it far less stressful for the horse and all involved. If the foal/colt is still with the mother, then bring the mother with him, otherwise the mother and foal/colt will get very stressed out and will cause problems. After the castration is over and the colt is lying down, do not forget to take the lead rope off the head collar. If left on he will do himself damage when getting back onto his feet. You do need to stand away from him when he is coming around as he cannot control where he stumbles to and could easily fall onto you and cause you some damage.
I have seen young stallions after being castrated getting up and falling all over the place and even rolling down a slight hill in the field and banging into walls. This was mostly to do with to many people around and to much noise. It scared him and he tried to get away from the noise around him. This was very upsetting for me to watch and no one could do anything to help him. That's why it is so important for quietness and allow them to sleep it off if possible.
I was very lucky to have the help of my dad on the day. He was holding, Ollie's, leg for the vet while I took the video. He stayed afterwards to make sure all was well when, Ollie, came around.