18 month old colt

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MelT

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My little section A colt is approaching 18 months old now and still had not descended any of his testicles. I had him checked in September by the vet who said they are there but are still too high up to contemplate gelding him. He is extremely pally with my section A filly who is the same age. They are constant companions and never far from one another and even eat out of the same bucket so I'm loathed to part them from one another but neither do I want Fenella in foal at such a young age (if at all!). I had planned to keep them both and eventually use them as a driving pair but obviously need Scrumpy gelded as soon as possible to prevent any accidents. My last colt was gelded at just over 18 months but was much more colty in his behaviour whereas Scrumpy is so laid back he would fall over. You never think to look at him that he is for all intents and purposes still an entire. he has never shown any signs of being colty. I appreciate each pony will be different but I'm starting to think if his bits will ever drop.
Am I worrying too much over very little or should I be considering parting them until Scrump has decided to let his extra bits drop down. They both live out happily 24/7 with other section A's and are fed daily and in good condition.
Any advice/suggestions appreciated.
 
They should be parted with immediate effect. It may even already be too late, and she may be in foal. I have known people who have said their colts were never colty so they left them with fillies, and foals were the result!

Unless you're watching them 24/7, you just can't know if he's covering her or not - and it's just not worth taking the risk.

As to what to do about his testicles, that depends on your patience, facilities and finances.

He could be done now, but it would cost more money. He could be left longer, but that will take more patience & the ability to keep him separate from mares & fillies.

As far as when testicles descend, it's so individual - I've had colts which didn't fully descend until they were a good three. I don't tend to panic until that point - and luckily, so far they've all descended by then. The other thing you could do is get your vet to sedate him - sometimes when examined, colts will pull them up out of the way. Sedating them encourages the testicles to remain low & relaxed to be fully felt.
 
My friend's rescue coblet only had one descended testicle until last month, whereupon I announced it's descent on Facebook! It then yo-yoed up and down until finally deciding to drop for good a few weeks ago. The quote for normal castration was £150, for the retained testicle it went up to £1500!

Huge relief all round when it dropped then.

So there is hope, but until then can you find another companion for both? Perhaps do a swap with someone in the same situation.
 
I could put Scrumpy in but as he's been used to living out with others, he gets stressy once the hard food is gone and Fen just stands by the gate 24/7 neighing to him which doesn't help even though she has others for company.
I do check him periodically to see if has dropped any of the 2 I hope he has but nothing. They are there I have been assured by the vet but they are still quite high up and I'm hoping they will drop eventually on their own. I will enquire locally to see if anyone else has a colt they want company for for a few months but I don't want him going with larger horses as I'm afraid he will get bumped about as he's only a small mountain pony. As soon as he's dropped them, they'll be straight off! He is so placid and docile I don't want him getting colty or bolshy.
I just hope he does drop them eventually as I don't want a majorly expensive vet bill, gelding on it's own is extortionate without added complications!!
Keep you posted.
 
We have a now 7yo stallion and his second testicle didn't descend until he was nearly three. He now has two totally normal, evenly sized testicles and no problems. Nature will decide when it happens to your boy.
 
I'd fork out for the expensive op now if you are wanting to keep him with a filly - the op will be far cheaper than rearing a foal and all the complications of breeding from a filly foal too - could you cope if she rejected her foal and you end up hand raering it or if you lost her!!?!! Fillies start coming into season at around 8 months old and colts are fertile at 6months - so you do the math even if you haven't seen them at it! So I'd get your vet to check she isn't in foal now and seperate them ASAP, then check again in a few months just to make sure!!
You may also find when he is sedated that both nuts drop more and are operable - it can be hard to tell when they are standing as they can suck them back up!
 
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