title: Current practice relating to equine castration in the UK.
abstract: This study aimed to characterise current practice relating to equine castration in the UK. A questionnaire was posted to all 655 veterinary practices specified to provide veterinary care for horses, or classified as specialist equine practices. Respondents were asked to cite the number of equine castrations performed annually by the practice, describe techniques used for castration, outline anaesthetic/sedative/analgesic drug protocols used and provide details of post-operative medication. There was a 43% response rate to the questionnaire. Considerable variation in techniques and analgesia provision was identified, with the majority of respondents using a number of sedation/anaesthetic protocols rather than a single technique. This characterisation of current practice provides a useful platform from which subsequent investigations into welfare implications of current equine castration techniques can be directed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Clinical Studies, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Roslin, Midlothian EH 25 9RG, UK. jill.price@ed.ac.uk
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Eager
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Welsh
authors.forename: N K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Waran
mesh_terms: D000700:Analgesics; D000777:Anesthetics; D000818:Animals; D004363:Drug Utilization; D006736:Horses / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D009919:Orchiectomy / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom; D014730:Veterinary Medicine
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D000777:Anesthetics