Seriously though.... most of the larger farms that are sure of being present at the foaling remove the Caslick's only when the first stages of foaling are present, so any time in the last few days is fine - prior to that there is a tendency for the labial lips to grow back together.
Posted on Wednesday, November 01, 2000 - 07:42 pm:
My mare had a Caslick's in when I bought her off the track. I'd like to breed her by A.I. this Spring. Does a Caslick's need to be removed for the A.I. process?
Jos
Posted on Thursday, November 02, 2000 - 11:47 am:
How far down the labial lips a Caslick's extends varies considerably, but as long as the inseminator has enough room to get their hand and arm in (there is a fair degree of tissue elasticity!), then there is no need to remove it. In most cases you should be OK.
If you do not remove the Caslick and the mare aborts the foal, will the Caslick prevent the aborted foal from being passed? And could this kill the mare? Will the labial lips tear enough to let the fetus out?
Jos
Posted on Wednesday, March 21, 2001 - 12:58 pm:
The labial lips will tear if the mare either aborts a late-term fetus or foals naturally without the Caslick's having been removed. The actual amount of skin that is drawn together in the Caslick's procedure is minimal - usually less than a quarter of an inch, although it is 3 or four inches in length.
That is not to say however that it is not necessary to remove the Caslick's before the mare foals - that is most decidedly recommended!!
Judy the caslicks procedure involves a partial surgical closure of the labial majora of the vulva. The purpose for this procedure is to prevent the mare from aspirating debris when the vulva is relaxed. Since the reproductive tract of a female is negative pressure. If the labial majora is allowed to open into the vaginal vault, air will rush in as will any debris including fecal material and air born dust containing bacteria along with it. This procedure prevents that from happening.
This is a very simple procedure that involves the surgical debridement and closure of the vaginal margins typically leaving only enough of an opening to allow the mare to urinate without obstruction. This will often be to the extent that it will require opening again in order for the mare to be bred and certainly would require opening before the mare foals.
Unfortunately this procedure by it´s very nature has one negative side effect. In that when it is done repeatedly, each time a small amount of the labial margins are cut off to form a blood supply for the closure to heal. Subsequently the vulva becomes smaller and misshapen. I have recently found a better way to perform this procedure and avoid this eventual problem. It involves the following. Instead of trimming of the labial margins or external tissue. If the practitioner will instead trim just inside the labial margin where it becomes mucus membrane, then suture that part together. It makes a much cleaner closure with no external tissue loss. It also makes subsequent opening of this closure much easier, since the labial margins form a guide line as it were, for the person doing the opening.
I just had my 23-year old mare sutured up with a Caslick on Thursday. Today is Sunday and there is a moderate amount of swelling on the outer lips of the vulva. Should there be any swelling after 4 days?
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