In 99.9% of cases, cutting a horse proud is near impossible.
When a client says my gelding was ‘cut proud’ what they mean is there was testicular tissue left in the horse when it was gelded.
My photo this week was simply to show you the anatomy of a castrated testicle within its sac, to help you understand how unlikely it is that a vet has made a mistake.
It is more likely that there is a different explanation such as only 1 testicle descended and only 1 testicle was castrated (Note: This is not a practice that I would recommend).
Testicle descent 101:
When a colt is young, the testicle migrates from the abdomen, through a hole in the abdominal wall, until it reaches the scrotal skin.
As it migrates, it gets enveloped in a fibrous sac call the ‘Tunic’. This tunic surrounds the testicle and the elements that allow sperm maturation before it enters the duct to the penis.
How I castrate my horses, is to cut through the skin, pop out this sac, and then use a special instrument called ‘Emasculators’ which clamp the cord and sac together above the testicle, before it is cut off.