Medical management of urinary calculi in a stallion with breeding dysfunction.

Abstract

A 9-year-old Thoroughbred stallion was examined because of breeding dysfunction and possible urethritis. The stallion had good libido and readily obtained an erection, mounted, and intromitted but did not thrust and ejaculate. After mounting the mare, the stallion would squeal and dismount. Endoscopic examination of the urethra and bladder revealed irregular, spiculate yellow crystals (< 1 cm in size) and sabulous deposits; numerous calculi were embedded in the mucosa of the bladder. Because the horse was at the start of a breeding season, the owner would not give permission for general anesthesia. Medical management was attempted, because postoperative convalescence after surgical removal of calculi might have curtailed breeding activities, and the calculi were small. Every 1 to 3 days, the bladder was lavaged with saline solution containing acetic acid, and anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial drugs were administered. The stallion was able to return to breeding mares, and sperm numbers and semen quality were good. However, urine contamination of the ejaculate was detected, suggesting that the stallion may have had a primary neurologic deficit affecting bladder control and function that was causing calculi to form secondarily because of delay in movement of urine through the urinary tract.