Colt testes? Only one dropped so far, what would you do?

E_B

E_B

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I'm completely clueless with this stuff. Had a surprise foal 6 months ago, his left testicle dropped 3 months ago and no sign of the right one yet. Is it normal for them to drop at such different times and is it normal if they drop far apart? He lives with 2 mares (1 his dam) so I'm worried, has mounted his mum playfully in the past but doesn't actually act "colty" with them though he's been having more of an attitude lately, does he need to be weaned & separated because of this behaviour? The 2 mares have recently been in heat and he didn't try anything. Sorry if this is silly I'm just so lost with what to do and don't want any more foals, especially not with his mum!! 😩 What would you do?
 
TheMule said:
It probably is there, just held up a bit higher. Really you need him sedated so the vet can have a good feel around. I'd want them off now or end of Winter to avoid mud/ flies and before Spring time hormones kick in
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I had the vet out for him 2 days ago and she couldn't feel it. Really wanting to get him castrated this year instead of next but not sure if it'll drop in time. He's very well handled & mannered so he does let me feel for them, just no sign of it at all so far
 
Not much help, but one of my colts dropped the second one when he was two. They tried castrating him when he was one, but the other one didn't fall down even when sedated so I got him as a stallion. So, they can fall down and very different times. I wouldn't want to keep an uncastrated colt with mares much longer than six months. I'd probably want to keep him with other colts anyway, so wouldn't need to stress about castration. Is there any possibility for you to put him in a herd?
 
Korg said:
Not much help, but one of my colts dropped the second one when he was two. They tried castrating him when he was one, but the other one didn't fall down even when sedated so I got him as a stallion. So, they can fall down and very different times. I wouldn't want to keep an uncastrated colt with mares much longer than six months. I'd probably want to keep him with other colts anyway, so wouldn't need to stress about castration. Is there any possibility for you to put him in a herd?
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Thank you that gives me a bit of peace lol. I can separate him on my property I just need to get him a companion, that's why I'm trying to figure out if it's likely to drop any time soon but I don't think it's worth the risk of waiting it out.
 
Yes, one of our colts held onto one of his testicles, kept getting him checking by the vet. He was almost 2 yrs old, I couldn't wait any longer (didn't have room to separate him then) and vet wasn't confident it would drop on its own.
Off he went for surgery, luckily they found it hiding in there so quick operation and he was home after a couple of days
 
My homebred lad didn't drop his second testicle. Luckily he was well behaved and I was able to keep him away from mares. I eventually took him to be castrated when he was 3 1/2 , and they found it not too far up. The vet said it probably was on it's down and would have made an appearance quite soon.
 
Mine had “yoyo balls”. Twice I had the vet out to assess for gelding and both times they said “no there’s only one” but I had DEFINITELY seen two, so I ended up taking photos as proof that I wasn’t a crazy person who couldn’t count. Turns out he’d only drop them both if it was warm enough out, so a well timed vet visit (plus an hour with a rug on before hand to warm him up), the 3rd time was the charm. He was 13 months when finally cut.

Edit to add (because it’s funny): The day we actually managed to get the job done he was in the stable and as soon as the vets arrived, the head vet shot out of the car and into the stable to grab them both and did not let go until the sedation had fully kicked in.
 
6 months is young, so you could wait a bit longer. But id remove him from any mares in the meantime .

One of mine waited until he was a yearling and it still didnt drop. So he went to to the vets for a GA. His recovery was far far better than any other castration weve had.
 
One of mine had his second one much higher than the other - the vet managed to get hold of the second one under sedation. But we had booked him in for the 'big surgery' as both myself and the vet didn't think it would be possible.

As Asha said 6 months is young, can you pop him on youngstock livery away from your mares for the winter and see what you have in Feb? still time for healing without the flies etc.
 
Asha said:
6 months is young, so you could wait a bit longer. But id remove him from any mares in the meantime .

One of mine waited until he was a yearling and it still didnt drop. So he went to to the vets for a GA. His recovery was far far better than any other castration weve had.
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Thank you I think that's my best option.
 
dorsetladette said:
One of mine had his second one much higher than the other - the vet managed to get hold of the second one under sedation. But we had booked him in for the 'big surgery' as both myself and the vet didn't think it would be possible.

As Asha said 6 months is young, can you pop him on youngstock livery away from your mares for the winter and see what you have in Feb? still time for healing without the flies etc.
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Thank you for the advice I'm definitely going to give him time for it to drop just wasn't sure if it was safe for him to be around the girls still. Think I'll get him a colt friend and they can just go grow out together for a bit.
 
Another probably silly question.. is it possible for him to get either of them pregnant over the winter? One of them was in heat just 2 weeks ago. If not, is it still bad to keep him with them? Sorry for all the questions I'm just not experienced with this at all and want to make sure I'm doing the best thing for them all!
 
E_B said:
Another probably silly question.. is it possible for him to get either of them pregnant over the winter? One of them was in heat just 2 weeks ago. If not, is it still bad to keep him with them? Sorry for all the questions I'm just not experienced with this at all and want to make sure I'm doing the best thing for them all!
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If they get in heat, which can be silent, then yes, he can probably get them pregnant. Either way, colts benefit from having another colt to play with. So I would not keep him with the mares. If possible, it is good to have a babysitter, an adult gelding, with the babies to teach them some manners. But I'd prioritise a colt of the same age.
 
Some years ago a 3yr old stallion was sold at Auction and only one had dropped. The requirement for sale was that they had to be of an equal and generous size. After the Auction he was a Adheidelsdorf for training and he would only get licensed if the other one dropped
 
Cragrat said:
My homebred lad didn't drop his second testicle. Luckily he was well behaved and I was able to keep him away from mares. I eventually took him to be castrated when he was 3 1/2 , and they found it not too far up. The vet said it probably was on it's down and would have made an appearance quite soon.
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One of mine waited till 4! I was lucky that I could chuck him out with other colts and just assess him periodically. Poor lad used to assume the position so we could grope his balls every time he saw us 😂
 
E_B said:
I had the vet out for him 2 days ago and she couldn't feel it. Really wanting to get him castrated this year instead of next but not sure if it'll drop in time. He's very well handled & mannered so he does let me feel for them, just no sign of it at all so far
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When I chatted with my vet the other day for routine jabs we chatted about getting my two colts (mini shetlands) gelded, I told him on the last vet visit she couldn't really feel much and he did say that they have the ability to tuck them up and hide them somewhat if they arent relaxed enough for the exam and that usually once under sedation they both drop down nicely. I was pondering about gelding in spring but may leave it till next Autumn.
 
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