# Caslick removal - when?



## Bounty (23 February 2008)

What is the earliest I can remove Tills' caslick?
One vet has advised me that they can be taken out 2-3 weeks prior to her due date (yes AP... there is no such thing as a due date!!! 
	
	
		
		
	


	




), whereas another has said to leave them as long as possible...
This is her first foal, so it's not as though I have an idea of what is a 'normal' gestation for her - meaning that I'm not happy to take my chances of leaving it in in case she drops earlier than expected  
	
	
		
		
	


	





Advice?


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## c7mlm (23 February 2008)

mine is due on 5th april and the caslicks are coming out on 13th march. this is when my vet booked it in for .


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## AndyPandy (23 February 2008)

You only know the due date once the foal has been born. That WAS the due date 
	
	
		
		
	


	





I would remove the caslicks at day 295 to 315 of pregnancy. No later, and the closer to 315 the better. Your vet may have a different idea though. Having a foal born through stictched vulval lips is something which you want to avoid at all costs!


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## S_N (23 February 2008)

[ QUOTE ]
Having a foal born through stictched vulval lips is something which you want to avoid at all costs! 

[/ QUOTE ]

It's one of the MOST hideous sights imaginable!  I've only seen photographs, but O M G!!!!


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## springfallstud (23 February 2008)

My T/B mare always has a caslicks and i removed hers what i thought to be 3 weeks before her due date cough* cough* AP LOL good job i didnt leave it any later as her foal came the following week! 2 weeks early!! cough* cough* again, gosh this is going to be fun on here now we are too scared to mention due dates, reabsorbtion etc etc LMFAO


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## AndyPandy (23 February 2008)




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## KarynK (24 February 2008)

Had mine done around 260 days, couldn't bear the thought of an abortion being born through stitched lips let alone a foal, vet said do it in 1st stage labour, not bl**dy likely!!!!!!

Maybe its a female thing but NOOO!!!


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## Angela_Wise (24 February 2008)

Leave it as close to the anticipated arrival as poss.  When you have your tetanus booster for foaling (approx 4 weeks before) is normally the most economical time as vet already on the yard.  

If you are sending your mare away to foal down, experienced attendants can do it at the time of foaling but this is not recommended for the first timer or for those mares which are not monitored.


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## TFS (24 February 2008)

we did ours when we thought she was a few days off foaling but then she held on for 12days whether that was because of the weather or being unstitiched no one knows


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## Bounty (24 February 2008)

Thanks guys


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## mike1210 (29 February 2008)

i would agree with your vet, during 1st stage labour if the mare is watched closely. if she isnt, which she should be, all mare should be, then a reasonable assumption is 2 weeks before. but teh downside to that is that opening a mare up that ealry can lead to acsedning infection that could infect the foal, and lead to septicaemia.

best thing to do is monitor the mare very closely, when 1st stage labour - cut with scissors.


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## Bounty (29 February 2008)

Vet will be 45mins away, and these caslicks have been in for 5 years as a minimum estimate, but my guess is more like 10-12years as she would have had them done when she started her polo career 
	
	
		
		
	


	




. They are extremely 'grown over' and you cannot see the stitches at all hardly, so I daren't try and do it myself


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## S_N (29 February 2008)

[ QUOTE ]
Vet will be 45mins away, and these caslicks have been in for 5 years as a minimum estimate, but my guess is more like 10-12years as she would have had them done when she started her polo career 
	
	
		
		
	


	




. They are extremely 'grown over' and you cannot see the stitches at all hardly, so I daren't try and do it myself 
	
	
		
		
	


	





[/ QUOTE ]

She still has the actual stitches in?  As in the thread?  Blimey - these are usually removed as soon as the wound has healed IME.

I've had to either open up, as not done by a vet, or open up further, as vet has not opened enough.  I HATE doing either!  One thing I am absolutely useless at, is holding the tail out of the way for a caslicks or opening - I just hit the deck 
	
	
		
		
	


	




  Yet I am fine with all the blood and guts associated with foaling..... 
	
	
		
		
	


	




  Last year, the lads at the stallion unit had nicked my surgical scissors and not returned them and I had a mare foaling that had been 'opened' by a young and inexperienced vet that day and she was foaling - the ONLY sharp scissors we had to hand happened to be on my Swiss Army knife........


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## Bounty (1 March 2008)

Yep, the stitches are still there 
	
	
		
		
	


	




The only caslicks I have ever removed has been in a dissection, and that was iffy enough - even knowing that the poor girl couldn't feel me doing it. The seal the skin makes is just incredibly strong, much more so than I had imagined.
I think it must be a female thing.... I shuddered at your mention of the swiss army knife


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## Spyda (1 March 2008)

Around 320 days gestation is generally recommended if you're foaling down yourself.  If foaling at stud I'd follow their recommendations. Many studs monitor around the clock and will do it during the first stage of labour.  A responsibility I wouldn't want to take myself at home.


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## Mega (25 February 2015)

Having spoke to my vet, it seems that its a game of holding your nerve as long as possible. We are 266 days in, the vet said to leave it as late as possible, but definitely don't want to get to foaling and it not be done!!!


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## Alec Swan (28 February 2015)

A thread which is 7 years old,  but never mind!

Though your vet will most probably remind you,  it's VITAL that once the caslick is released that you daily separate the lips of her vulva.  Mares never seem to mind,  and if you don't,  then the chances are that it will re-seal itself,  which isn't what's wanted!

Alec.


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## Mega (2 March 2015)

Hi Alec

I know that it was an old thread, but relevant to my thoughts.

I didn't know about paring the lips of the vulva, but it makes sense. Thank you


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