Community Corner

For Those Who Missed It: Operation Equine Gelding Comes to Bethany

Adopt a testicle and help stop the birth of unwanted foals . . . no really . . . this is serious!

Bethany Airport will be the site of an unusual event April 30 (raindate of May 1) when CT Draft Horse Rescue, with help from the American Horse Council’s Unwanted Horse Coalition, swings into action with a gelding clinic to stem the tide of unwanted horses being shipped to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico.

Organizer and equine veterinarian, Dr. Stacey Golub, said more than 100,000 horses are killed at slaughter each year, many of them the result of accidental backyard breeding.

“Our goal is to educate people about responsible horse ownership,” Golub said. “People should not breed for sentimental reasons or because they think they can sell the baby for a profit. There is no market for untrained foals. We want to prevent the birth of more potentially unwanted horses.”

Find out what's happening in Bethwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The festival is for stallions referred by veterinarians or rescuers, and focuses on owners with financial need.

“Those are the people least likely to be able to care for an accidental foal,” Golub said. “Our goal is to nip it in the bud and try to prevent production of foals at high risk or ending up in a kill pen or at a rescue.”

Find out what's happening in Bethwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The plan is to castrate at least 20 stallions or more, depending on how many veterinarians will donate their time that day.

How many can one vet geld in a day? Golub said her personal best is 10, but only because she has to wait until each horse is awake and standing again so she can get her equipment back.

To help provide as many free castrations as possible, organizers are looking for your donations. Twenty-five dollars will buy you one testicle, but why not sponsor a pair? After all, a $50 donation gets you a nifty testicle keychain (colors may vary, but they are expecting a run on the blue ones.)

Donations may be sent by Paypal to ctdraftrescue@aol.com (please mark as a gift), or mailed to Connecticut Draft Horse Rescue Inc, 172 Hog Hill Rd, East Hampton, CT 06424.As event organizers said (when they thought this editor was out of earshot), “Come one, come all . . . we’ll have a ball." And thank you for your "support."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here