A SURVEY OF EQUINE CASTRATION COMPLICATIONS

A list frame of names was obtained from the American Association of Eq uine Practitioners located in the United States. One thousand members were randomly selected and mailed a questionnaire concerning equine ca stration. Questions were asked concerning number of castrations perfor med per year, technique and instrumentation used, anesthetic protocol, surgical technique, post operative care, and complications encountere d. A total of 615 questionnaires were returned. Of the respondents, 56 0 had performed at least 1 castration in the past 12 months. The range of the number of castrations performed per respondent was 1 to 1024 f or a total of 23,229 castrations. Behavior modification was listed as the main reason for castration, with 84% of the respondents recommendi ng castration between 3 months and 2 years of age. The Whites improved emasculator was the most common type used. Post surgical edema and sw elling was the most frequently listed surgical complication, followed by infection, fever, and excessive hemorrhage. These results are descr iptive in nature. Because of the retrospective nature of the data of t his study, causal associations cannot be made. However, this informati on could be used to design future studies to establish causal relation ships between the various protocols and techniques used in equine cast ration and the resulting complications.