Pudendal and caudal rectal nerve blocks in the horse - An anesthetic procedure for reproductive surgery

James Schumacher, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
G Bratton

Abstract

The pudendal and caudal rectal nerves in four male and five female adult crossbred horses were anesthetized with a local solution. The injection site was located at the foramen for the caudal gluteal artery and vein in the sacrosciatic ligament. Twenty milliliters of local anesthetic solution were injected via a 15-cm, 18-gauge needle. Quantitative data on anesthesia were determined from these injections. Dye was injected with the anesthetic in four additional horses so that accurate placement of the solution could be determined at postmortem examination. Satisfactory anesthesia of the anus, perineum, and vulva in the mare and of the anus, perineum, glans penis and penile layer of the prepuce in the male was achieved by placement of anesthetic near the foramen for the caudal gluteal vessels in the sacrosciatic ligament. Penile extrusion also occurred.