# caslick



## NdAppy (Apr 8, 2009)

Erm, if he mounted and penetrated your mare then no, she does not have a caslick. 

I have no persoanl expreience with caslicks, but, as far as I know, they are easily visible on mare. :/


Warning as there are some graphic pics on this link. 
Vulval Conformation, Common Vulval Injuries and the Caslick's Procedure written by Dr. Pycock


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

You would, uh, see the stitches.

Why was your mare in with a stallion if you didn't want her bred?


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## armydogs (Apr 14, 2010)

Thanks, *NdAppy*, that did explain some things to me. I do not know if he penetrated her or not. The other person couldnt/wouldnt tell me one way or the other. I know he tried to mount her, but I kept getting told she was to tall for him. At this point in time, I guess I am going to assume with her being thin, and not in great health is the reason she didn't take.


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## armydogs (Apr 14, 2010)

Bubba, I was originally told that my horses would be seperate from the stud. After asking a few times about it, I was finally told that they was not seperated, and that he was indeed trying to breed the mares. That is one of the many reasons my horses were moved. We have had her preg checked and came back with a negative result. 

My friend who is taking care of them now, has tried to look, but Kita doesn't like anyone looking back there, so she isnt pressing the issue.


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## TrueColours (Apr 25, 2009)

You wont see stitches from a caslicks unless it was JUST done! If it was done years ago you wont see anything - other than a very small opening rather than a larger one

If you REALLY want to check and see, put a twitch on her, have someone hold her, stand off to the side and check her opening. If it is literally only a few inches long, she is caslicked and there is no way any stallion could penetrate her no matter how ready, willing and able he was! :lol:

And unless you plan on breeding her, no reason to open it up either ...


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## armydogs (Apr 14, 2010)

Thank you TrueColours. That makes sense. I am not planning on breeding, I was more curious than anything.


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## maura (Nov 21, 2009)

Agree with True Colors. Also, the Caslick's procedure is usually done after the mare is confirmed in foal, and the sutures are removed a couple of weeks before the due date. I personally have never heard of a mare being Caslicked when not pregnant, or of the sutures being left in long term, but I guess it's possible. 

The whole reason for a Caslick's is to prevent infection, and it's usually only done on mares whose conformation makes it likely (tipped vulva) that they'll constantly be contaminating their vulva with manure. Do either of these mares have tipped vulvas and have either of them actually been bred and or foaled? A no to one or both of those questions makes it highly unlikely that they were sutured.


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## TrueColours (Apr 25, 2009)

Actually - every single mare (or the vast majority of them) are caslicked at the track. To a) prevent them from sucking in air and b) to prevent them from getting bred if a colt happens to get loose, which can happen fairly often 

I dont think I have ever gotten a mare off the track that wasnt caslicked and it doesnt matter a bit if they needed it done or not - it just gets done and thats it

I hate doing them and will only do them if necessary and I hate when Mare Owners send me a mare to breed Live Cover and neither they nor the vet, have checked if she was caslicked and I get to be the lucky person that opens them up for breeding and then have my stallion breed her while she is still raw "back there"

Ive seen so many opened up and done several myself simply because there was no other option at the time but I always worry that I simply wont do it correctly and I may cause the mare a lot of discomfort as a result. And then of course you always open yourself up for a lawsuit from the mare owner if things dont go well, no matter what waivers get signed and who says what. Anytime you approach someone else's horse with a sharp knife and perform a "veterinary procedure" on them you can only cross your fingers and hope everything goes well ...


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## maura (Nov 21, 2009)

Wow, news to me. I have had several mares off the track that hadn't been caslicked (and I'm sure about that, because they had breeding exams as part of the prepurchase), and I was never aware of any of the fillies I rode in race training having it done, but I guess it's possible that I didn't know/didn't notice. 

Seems crazy to me.


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## TrueColours (Apr 25, 2009)

I wonder if some of the mares got one or two breeding stitches in and not a full blown caslicks? Or - you got lucky and got mares that didnt have it done

I think its barbaric to be very honest. Fine and dandy if they need it, or you are breeding them and they are tipped and in order to ensure the foal "sticks" it has to be done, but to wholesale do it to every mare whether they need it or not - insane in my eyes. 

Perhaps we need to approach the (predominantly male) vets with gut and needle in hand and say "this wont hurt a bit. We are going to do this stitching up procedure on you "just because" and "just in case your anatomy changes in the next 5-10 years or so and you need it"

Uh uh ... just doesnt happen around here unless they DO need it ...


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## highlander (Oct 26, 2008)

I didn't know racers in america were generally caslicked. My mare is caslicked as she is very prone to infections there (that's what I've been told by the person who's had it done).
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## armydogs (Apr 14, 2010)

Checked Kita out, and she for sure does have a caslick. Havent had Queen checked out yet, but I know Queen has only been off the track for a year. So, Im goin to guess she has had one done too. 

I dont know if either one have a tilted uterus. So now I am extremely curious. If they have one, why would they need it to be redone after they have been bred. I understand it helps keep infection out and might help keep the mare in foal. Is there any other reason to do it after the mare has been bred?


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## TrueColours (Apr 25, 2009)

Theer are some people (vets and/or mare owners) that believe every mare should go on Regumate to maintain a pregnancy. Some also believe that every mare should be caslicked to maintain her pregnancy - just "because"

A lot of times a young mare that is thin and fit will appear to be tilted through her pelvis. As she fills out and matures, her pelvic conformation may change and become normal. We've live covered many 3-4 years olds off the track for clients that are definately tipped. When they come back as 4 and 5 year olds, they no longer are

Some are REALLY bad, in that a stallion has a lot of difficulty breeding them and you have to assist every step of the way in making the angles match  and if those mares dont "grow out of" the degree they are tipped, you really wonder if they should be bred at all as they are simply perpetuating future lines of tipped mares genetically that will have possible problems maintaining their pregnancies


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## munschk (Mar 11, 2008)

I'm curious if the same occurs here in South Africa (I don't have a lot of experience in the racing industry here). As far as I understand it, only a registered veterinarian is allowed to perform it as it would be considered a veterinary procedure (though the same can be said about tail docking and breeders still 'illegally' do it here) and I can't see vets just performing it 'because' as procedures are meant to be justified.

Each mare has her Caslick's index done, and using that as a guideline and depending on the conditions and the requirements of the mare, the operation can be done but I can't imagine it just being routinely done on all horses on the track in case a rogue colt gets out or to prevent them sucking air as usually the ones that suck air are the ones who actually require a Caslicks operation.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## tarynlee (Nov 10, 2016)

if anyone is still reading this thread? I just bought an OTTB mare, who has the caslicks sutures in place. she is 5. I do not plan on breeding her, she is to be my show horse, and she is turned out with my gelding, who was gelded at age 6. [was never used for breeding]. she was also intended to be a companion for him, because he has been a loner ever since his mom died 2 years ago, and my other geldings beat him up. however, he keeps trying to mount her, [was with his mom ever since gelding, and never bothered her], I'm worried he might injure this new mare, I see her trying to "wink" it looks painful since she's not able to do what is a natural function. so far all I can find researching it is to leave her the way she is, but would like opinions, other's experiences?


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## HombresArablegacy (Oct 12, 2013)

IMO, there's no reason to keep a caslick in place on a mare that isn't bred. My trainer used to have caslicks done on all of his bred Arabian mares, and it was done with stainless steel wire. According to him, once it's been done to a mare, it has to be done for every pregnancy thereafter!

I never agreed with that reasoning. Re move the caslick and let your mare have unimpeded natural use of her vulva. Or to put it in perspective another way.....think about how uncomfortable you would feel if your "hoohaw" was sewn shut!


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