I know this is not neccessarily pertaining to foot care but figure someone could maybe explain. Been working on a yearling minature for a few months has a bulge that vet says is a hernia. Curious as to how a horse can get a hernia. Also, have a shire that I have trimmed a couple of times. First time went great, couldn't ask for a horse to stand better. Went over to trim the other day, and was looking at the horse from a distance, and noticed what appeared to be testicles hanging there, now this horse is cut, but felt like an ***** asking the owner if he was sure. Didn't notice it the last time. Have asked the owner to email pics which I will post. The area feels hot to the touch like it is infected, don't know if it is an inflamed sheath or maybe a hernia. Horse was acting like it hurt him to extend his leg back. Was extremely jumpy to work with this time. Just wonder if anyone has any experience with this.

Might have beans in the sheath?

DoubleCFarrierService wrote:james yes a horses have two rings like us put ice packs on it to take the swelling down the vet will have to fix this on the shire and mini thay can put a string to pull it closed or they use a webing to close to hole and the cost is very high in some cases it can cost from 6000. to 12000. to fix that was a quote i got for my stud.Bulges in the body wall could mean internal organs are out of place. A hernia is any rent or tear in the body wall that allows internal organs to push through into undesirable places. Any age or breed of horse can experience a hernia, and a hernia can occur in just about any location within the body wall. In this article we'll review some of the more common types of hernias and consider their significance and solutions. Abdominal Hernia ...

Gary Hill wrote:
That was my thought as well, told the owner to try and clean inside, maybe give a shot of penicilin and talk to the vet. Only saw a horse with a hernia for the first time this year so wanted to sort of get educated on the matter. The swelling is quite profuse and very hot to the touch, have never seen a horse with beans that bad. Then again there is alot I haven't seen. I hope the guy will send me the pictures to give a better idea.

There's several sorts of hernias and many of them congenital.

There are other reasons why hernias occur and such as by rearng, kicking, jumping or straining.

They often happen spontaneously and also often recover spontaneously.

Sounds like this could indeed be a congenital scrotal hernia. Its not uncommon for this to happen or evidence itself after a castration and particularly if the animal wasn't done via the standing method. I'm surprised that the vet hasn't explained that and also said what the prognosis is and what, if anything needs to be done.

Do you know if the horse was cast with ropes to be castrated? Do you know what method of castration was used. If the inguinal ring is large then the bowel can leave the abdomen and pass through the inguinal canal and protrude through the scrotal wound and that's when the closed technique of castration is used.

Because the horse is showing signs of being uncomfortable it's best to get the vet out to check it. I don't know when it was gelded, but best to check there's no infection and that's what is causing the swelling. Again that's highly possible and they can even get scrotal abscess

Also best to check if for sure it is a hernia that it isn't strangulating which could be very serious. If the hernial ring is more than an inch in diameter then its often the case that treatment is done to sort it out and stop it becoming strangulated.

Horse was cut several years ago. Guess I wasn't clear on that. This has just appeared since the last time I trimmed him.

I was at a farm years back that about all of the eight or ten foals had umbilical hernias. This place was a verry bad place for a horse to live and a Vet had never touched any of them, so I don't know if it was from poor care at birth or hereditary, or conginital.
This lady has been shut down twice and has now moved out of the county so as to start again.
It was sure strange seeing all those foals with a big bump on the belly.