The Boys of Summer

This morning dawned at Fields Quarter Horses with a sharpness that seemed a little too bitter for Fall. The steady wind which blew outside whistled a warning that the sun would not appear today. Wintery clouds filled the blue overhead with their tell-tale grayness. There was no rain in the heavy curtains above, but they were thick and cold nonetheless. Today, we were going to be cold.

Fall on a breeding farm means many things. Pregnant mares begin getting vaccinations to ensure the health of their unborn fetuses, hay fills the storage sheds, and the weanling colts are scheduled for castration.  We are firm believers in following the Farmers Almanac for the best dates to perform certain procedures. Two such deeds which are always coordinated with the Almanac are weaning of foals and castrations. While the Almanac may date to Benjamin Franklin, the advice contained within dates to before Medieval Times. Even earlier than the Druids, it is believed that Ancient Egyptians may have consulted with the stars to determine the best times to plant crops and perform animal husbandry tasks.

After weaning them based upon these dates over the past 3 months, it was now time to castrate the young males of this year's foal crop. Having scheduled the appointment a few weeks ago, we could only hope that Mother Nature would cooperate and send us good weather- she withheld the rain but sent us a bitter wind. Having the blessing of the Almanac on our side (the sign was as far away from the groin as possible today!), we convened our team to perform the surgeries early this morning.

Our team consisted of Dr Mather, myself, Wayne, and Amber. The plan was set into motion. The vet preferred to perform the operation outside in a clean dry grassy area.  We organized equipment and moved our operation to the freshly mowed holding area just beyond the gate of the Colt Paddock. Jude, a beautiful kind bay colt, approached the gate first to inspect the group which stood there. We brought him into the grassy area and Dr Mather administered the two-part sedation. The most dangerous aspects of the procedure is when the horse lies down and when it is arises after surgery. During this time, the horse is sedated, unsteady, and if it flailed, it could injure itself or a handler.

Jude became drowsy while standing and we gently helped him to fall over on his left side. I covered his eyes with a towel so that he would be encouraged to rest quietly during the procedure. Dr Mather affixed a rope and pully to his top hind leg and we pulled that leg forward, exposing his genital area. She laid out her sterile surgical supplies, cleaned the surgical site thoroughly, and made a 2 inch long incision onto his scrotum. She then manipulated the bottom testicle (and several inches of epididimus cord as well as a gland) out of the incision. A clamp was placed onto the area to prevent it from slipping back inside. A tool which clamps (or emasculates) the cord was placed onto the base of the testicular matter. The crushing action prevents bleeding as the vessels clot and begin to repair themselves almost immediately. After allowing the clamp to remain in place about 10 minutes, she repeated the entire procedure with the remaining testicle.

During the process, we monitored Jude's breathing to make sure that it remained steady and even. He flinched involuntarily only once during the clamping portion of the second testicle. He received a tetanus booster, a shot of penicillin to ward off infection, and an injection of a pain-killer/anti-inflammatory drug to help with discomfort and swelling. Then, we removed his leg restraints and allowed him to rest quietly for a while longer.

With Amber in charge of recovery efforts, we moved our attentions to the next in line- Maxim, the tallest and biggest of the weanlings. As Amber closely watched Jude for signs of waking up, we sedated and began to prepare Maxim for surgery.  We removed the soft towel from across Jude's eyes and he blinked slowly. Right on schedule, he moved to rest sternal but remained lying down while he sorted out the spinning world. After another few moments to get his bearings, Jude decided to stand. With Amber to steady his front end and Wayne to steady the rear, he stood up. He wobbled only slightly as he took his first few steps as a gelding. Within moments, he was being led back to his paddock to join the other foals.

The assembly line progressed much the same as we castrated Maxim, then Wolfe, then Sly. Each was quiet to handle both before, during, and after their procedure. Wolfe protested slightly when he was sedated and tried to move away from Dr Mather's needle but then was the slowest to decide to stand up. He lay on his side, his black eyes barely discernable from his black coat, and just looked around. We thoughth that he must be trying to decide if he was awake or dreaming.

The foals remained near the gate of their paddock, watching us with interest as we moved through the morning and each castration. We will leave them outside in the large paddock for several days following the castration so that they can move around freely. Their grassy paddock is cleaner than a stall would be and the movement reduces swelling. The incisions are left open to drain and the healing time is very quick. All of the weanlings will be romping and playing again by the end of the day. Tomorrow and the next few days, we will check each of their incision sites carefully for signs of infection, swelling, and to make sure they are draining as they heal. 

So, for another year at least, the Boys of Summer are now the Geldings of Fall! It is always nice to report that everyone is safe and the event was uneventful. Until tomorrow,

Khris