Castration Clinics Address Unwanted Horse Issues

When Alison LaCarrubba, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, head of the College of Veterinary Medicine’s equine ambulatory section, learned the Unwanted Horse Coalition (UHC) would lend financial support to establish a castration clinic at the university, she recognized the program as a way to deliver a valuable veterinary service to cash-strapped horse owners a
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When Alison LaCarrubba, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, head of the College of Veterinary Medicine's equine ambulatory section, learned the Unwanted Horse Coalition (UHC) would lend financial support to establish a castration clinic at the university, she recognized the program as a way to deliver a valuable veterinary service to cash-strapped horse owners at no cost and to help reduce the number of horses whose owners are unable or unwilling to care for them.

According to the UHC, tens of thousands of horses in the U.S. become unwanted or unable to be cared for by their owners annually. Many come under the care of equine rescue agencies after economically hard-pressed owners relinquish them, or after law enforcement authorities seize the animals in connection with criminal animal cruelty cases. But a University of California, Davis, study recently revealed that thanks to limited economic and other resources, rescues can only accommodate a fraction of the animals in need of new homes.

The UHC established Operation Gelding to provide funds and materials to assist organizations, associations, and event organizers that wish to sponsor clinics to which horse owners can bring their stallions to be castrated in August. The goal of the program is to reduce the number of unwanted foals that might eventually arrive at rescues. The program pays veterinary practitioners, rescues, and other organizations $50 for each horse gelded during the low- or no-cost clinics they sponsor. So far 11 individuals and organizations including LaCarrubba, have applied to receive the funds.

"We're seeing more and more horses that are not getting enough to eat, and we have been looking for solutions to the problem," said LaCarrubba. "This is a win/win situation for horse owners and the horses

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Written by:

Pat Raia is a veteran journalist who enjoys covering equine welfare, industry, and news. In her spare time, she enjoys riding her Tennessee Walking Horse, Sonny.

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