Subscribe to Equinews and get the latest equine nutrition and health news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for free now! Search Library Entire Site. Library Section Only. As the owner of a female dog, that question lurked from day one. When is she old enough to spay? It was never a question or a concern. So why are horses so different from dogs or cats?
Therefore, the procedure required to remove said reproductive organs and turn the stallion into a gelding is not very invasive. It just involves removing the testicles which generally takes about thirty minutes and another two weeks of stall rest to recover. Quick and easy, no muss, no fuss as long as there are no unforeseen complications.
To spay a mare, on the other hand, is a whole different can of worms. The most common type of spay for a mare is an ovariectomy which only removes the ovaries as opposed to a full spay which takes the ovaries and the uterus. There are three different approaches veterinarians can take to spay a mare.
They can go in through the abdominal cavity — similar to the way dogs and cats are commonly spayed — make and incision below the flank, or go in through the vagina. However, it is not as common because it requires a higher level of expertise.
A big argument for spaying dogs and cats is overpopulation and backyard breeders. This same issue is often addressed with horses. It keeps the animals from coming into estrus, and is a fail-safe method of preventing pregnancy. Spaying in dogs and cats is generally safe, not terribly expensive, and allows rapid healing with few complications.
In horses, spaying is not common, and means removing the ovaries rather than the uterus and ovaries as in dogs and cats. Owners generally learn to accept that their mares may show some behavioral and personality changes during heat periods.
Mares in heat may squeal, kick, flinch when touched over the loin and flank, tend to buck or bolt when ridden, or display other behaviors that can be serious enough to make the horse unusable for several months during the spring season.
Besides being difficult to ride, a vocalizing mare in heat can also distract any stallions and sometimes even geldings within sight or hearing. These cookies do not store any personal information. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies.
It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Contents Spaying a mare At what age should a female horse be spayed? The operation and the post operative care Myths Spaying a mare The spaying of a female horse, also known as a mare, is an operation called an ovariectomy which is the surgical removal of the ovaries and so preventing the continuation of the oestrus cycle.
At what age should a female horse be spayed? The operation and the post operative care There are various methods which can be used when performing spays on mares.
Ventral Midline Incision At present this is the most used option as it is more widely available across the country than the other two methods. Two Flank Incisions The horse is sedated using a tranquiliser and a local anaesthetic is given. Entering Via the Vagina The vagina is entered via a small incision by a skilled surgeon following sedation and a local anaesthetic.
Myths Spaying my female horse will make her fat Female horses or mares will not become overweight as a result of the operation. My horse will no longer look like a mare This is a worry many owners have when forced to make the decision as to whether or not to spay their mare.
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