Hypospadias in a Friesian gelding.

Summary

# Hypospadias in a Friesian Gelding Hypospadias—an abnormal urethral opening—rarely occurs in horses but can cause significant clinical complications including altered urine stream direction, contact dermatitis and behavioural disturbances. A 6-year-old Friesian gelding presented with these signs secondary to hypospadias combined with chordee (penile deviation), which redirected urine flow onto the pelvic limbs and caused visible skin damage and obvious discomfort during micturition. Surgical management via partial phallectomy successfully corrected the urine direction and eliminated the secondary dermatitis and abnormal urination behaviour, though subsequent urethral meatal stenosis required revision surgery to maintain adequate urinary function. Whilst hypospadias remains an uncommon congenital condition in equine practice, this case demonstrates that urine-induced contact dermatitis and distress during urination warrant thorough urogenital examination, particularly when conventional dermatological treatments fail. Practitioners encountering unexplained pelvic limb dermatitis coupled with behavioural changes during urination should consider anatomical urinary tract abnormalities in their differential diagnosis, as surgical intervention can substantially improve welfare outcomes.

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Key Findings

• •Hypospadias with chordee in a Friesian gelding resulted in altered urine direction causing contact dermatitis of pelvic limbs and behavioral distress during urination
• •Partial phallectomy successfully resolved abnormal urine flow direction and associated contact dermatitis
• •Post-operative urethral meatal stenosis developed after initial phallectomy and required revision procedure

Conditions Studied