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New Zealand has passed new regulations in an effort to strengthen the country's animal welfare system. These regulations cover a variety of animals and procedures, as well as denote who can perform surgical procedures and under what circumstances.

Equine castrations may only be done by a veterinarian or a veterinary student under direct supervision of a vet, and the horse must be given pain medication. Failure to comply can result in fines up to $5,000.

Striking a horse on its head is a new offense that carries a fine of up to $1,500. Failure to provide a horse that is tied with food, water, shade and shelter from extreme weather conditions can carry a fine of up to $900. Any equipment that injures the horse, or prevents it from eating or drinking, is now also a punishable offense.

These regulations become law in August, but will not be enforced until May 9, 2021. Some offenses carry fines and possible convictions. In instances where the horses are severely impacted, prosecution would fall under the Animal Welfare Act, which carries more substantial penalties.

Read more at HorseTalk.

Find the Care and Procedures Regulations here.

The post New Zealand’s Animal Welfare Laws Strengthened; Horses Offered Additional Protection appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Gelding operations are among the most-performed surgical procedures in the equine veterinary world. Though this surgery has been performed for many years, there is always room for potential improvement.

Drs. Ditte Marie Top Adler, Stine Østergaard, Elin Jørgensen and Stine Jacobsen, of the University of Copenhagen, wanted to compare a new, barbed suture martial to traditional suture material that requires the surgeon to make multiple knots to keep the stitches in place. The barbed suture material has tiny barbs on the surface that lock the material in place, eliminating the need for knots. Manufacturers claim the barbs make the material more secure and increase the speed at which the castration can be performed.

The research team used 45 horses that were brought to The Large Animal Teaching Hospital at the University of Copenhagen for inguinal castrations; 24 of the horses were sutured with smooth material and 21 were sutured with the barbed material. The scientists then evaluated any complications while the horse was in and out of the hospital. They also compared how long it took the veterinarian to close the surgical wounds.

There were minor short-term complications; swelling was noted in 29 percent of the stallions that had the barbed suture material and in 33 percent of the horses that had the smooth suture material. Three horses required follow-up care for castration complications. One had scrotal swelling (barbed suture material had been used); one had a weeping wound (smooth suture material had been used); and one had the wound reopen (smooth suture material had been used).

Veterinarians using the barbed suture material were able to close the wound six minutes faster than using smooth suture material.

Though the cost of barbed suture material is higher, it reduced surgery time by 40 percent and it did not result in increased post-op complications.

Read the full article here.

Tag: gelding

New Zealand’s Animal Welfare Laws Strengthened; Horses Offered Additional Protection

Does Suture Material Affect Surgery Speed?