One Testicle - Advice Please

[BritishLion]

My 2 year old colt only has one descended testicle. I had thought this for a while but the vet had a good feel recently when he had his vaccination and confirmed.
As he is now 2, I appreciate the second testicle will be very unlikely to descend and he will need to be operated on at some point. My question is how long is really safe to leave him before the operation? Ideally, I would like to run him on until the end of his 3 year old year. He is an easy colt and we are experienced with keeping colts/stallions so this isn't an issue. I have just got no experience of one testicle and my vet is not really the type you can have a detailed conversation with, he is very good but abrupt.
Please could you let me know your experiences of a similar situation?
I obviously want what is best/safest for the pony but am a little bit gutted as I had hoped he would be my next ridden stallion. I am sure he will be a fabulous ridden gelding though

 

[be positive]

I have had two in my yard, the first was a pony bought after his op, he had been destined to go abroad as an entire but the second one never dropped so his breeder operated then I bought him about 5 months later, he would have been rising 3 when he had it.

The other was a livery that I gave a temporary home to, his owner could not find anywhere to take a 3 year old that hadn't been castrated but the vet would not risk castrating where he was at grass with no stable or shelter, catch 22 for the owner, he had just the one removed as she was advised to do that then test to see if he had a second one rather than go in looking for it, there was every chance he had been previously gelded but only one removed , questionable history as he was a coloured cob that was bought as a gelding, I have no idea of the outcome as he left 6 weeks later.

 

[foxy1]

My advice would be to wait it out- a friend's colt didn't drop his second testicle until he was a 4 year old! Before it dropped we took a mare to a large well known stud and asked the owners advice who told my friend to wait as more often than not they will drop.
Glad she waited as the vet told her it would never now drop and was booking the colt in for surgery. Vet was wrong!

 

[BritishLion]

Thank you for your replies, will defo wait until atleast the end of his 3 year old year.

 

[paddi22]

if you can, wait it out. mine had one that dropped at two and a half. I was checking him all the time and still couldn't even feel it fully but it dropped when he was sedated for dentist.

 

[BritishLion]

Thank you, there is hope. I am happy to wait so long as its no detriment to him. He is relatively easy for a colt and currently lives with my 7yo stallion and a bossy gelding so has company and a relatively 'normal' horsey life ?

 

[Errin Paddywack]

I had one that didn't drop his second one till two. We ran him with a young mare as a yearling in the naive hope that any activity might encourage it to drop. It didn't but he did get her in foal, lovely foal so after it dropped we let him cover another mare before gelding him. Second foal was equally lovely but had a retained testicle which didn't drop. My vet castrated on him at our yard. Did him on his back and after a lot of rummaging managed to find a tiny testicle. Colt was very bruised but recovered really well.
At the yard I worked at in the 60's we had a two year old with one testicle. He went away to be operated on and had to have his side opened up to find it, pea sized. He later suffered with adhesions that caused colic but did come good eventually.
Best bet is to wait and pray

 

[BritishLion]

I have everything crossed
Great minds think alike, he is stabled next to my mare in the faint hope it helps. He flirts like crazy and has a good time with himself and she just dismisses him as a silly child. She was squirting at everything (except him) last week, she has no time at all for him.
I just hope he is a late developer, he was an August foal (or accident as the mare hadn't foaled for a number of years).

 

[Gloi]

if you can, wait it out. mine had one that dropped at two and a half. I was checking him all the time and still couldn't even feel it fully but it dropped when he was sedated for dentist.

If it is going to drop it's likely to when they are sedated. Worth trying before going in for a big op.