A gelding’s gonads are gone, but he’s still susceptible to problems developing in his reproductive tract, particularly abnormal growths in the accessory sex glands. Take, for example, prostatic tumors, which can cause difficulty urinating or blood to show up in the urine. When a gelding has signs of discomfort associated with the urogenital tract, it’s often difficult to determine whether the accessory sex glands are within normal limits of size and “character.” Researchers recently determined and described the ultrasound appearance of a group of “normal” geldings’ accessory sex glands so practitioners can to better detect when something’s amiss.

Maria Schnobrich, VMD, Dipl. ACT, a reproduction specialist at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, in Lexington, Ky., completed the research as a resident in the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Clinical Studies. She presented her findings at the 2013 American College of Theriogenology Conference & Symposia, held Aug. 7-10 in Louisville, Ky.

The accessory sex glands (vesicular glands, prostate, ampullae, and bulbourethral glands) are intimately associated with other organs (bladder, urethra, and ureters) and can be evaluated using transrectal ultrasound. Schnobrich and her Penn colleagues used this approach in a group of 12 clinically normal light-breed geldings, ages 2-25 years old, with the goal of establishing a baseline for comparison. “This may help us in looking at geldings when we see them clinically,” she said. Researchers had already characterized normal measurements of stallions’ accessory sex glands (“These measurements come into play when we’re doing breeding soundness exams, or evaluating stallions for pathology,” but as far as she knew, these measurements weren’t available for geldings, though she noted it is generally accepted that geldings’ accessory sex glands are smaller than those of mature stallions.)

The team sought to obtain 24 separate measurements of the various components of the internal urogenital tract for each gelding