One year old colt missing vital tackle!

[DuckToller]

I have been watching and waiting for something to drop, but so far nothing has. Even got the vet to check in case they were undersized and hiding, but no, she had a good grope and there's nothing there.

We know he was foaled in April, but as he was a little, shall we say, undernourished when he came, I didn't worry too much at first about his lack of manliness.

However he is now as well covered as he can be, he has grown 3" over the winter, and there's still nowt to be seen in his nether region.

Vet has suggested waiting for a bit longer in case they might drop late, and mentioned possible drug therapy, and also said that on a good note he won't be fertile and he won't need gelding

Any experiences on no balls anyone?

 

[Thistle]

I did read somewhere recently that it can happen - that is, to be born without any. Guess he will need blood testing when he is older to check hormone levels.

Is there any chance at all that he was done before you got him?

 

[Alexart]

They can just be in the abdominal cavity further up the inguinal canal than can be felt, but can be even still up by the kidneys which is where they start out! I have heard of some not dropping till they are 2yrs old which is as long as I'd wait before investigating thoroughly.

As for gelding he will need to be gelded - the chances of him being fertile are very low as sperm needs to be at a cooler temp than in the abdomen but there is still a chance he has a few swimmers - so not something I would risk in terms of turning out with mares!!
He will also need them removed, even if they have to go and find them in the abdomen, as they will eventually turn cancerous if left, not to mention they can have all the behavior and drive of a stallion which if left can become ingrained and learnt rather than just hormone driven, so better to get them done sooner rather than later - they are called a rig when one or both nuts are retained, so it is not a good idea to leave them - of course he would have to have a major op for that and it isn't cheap, but some do make an appearance when sedated so don't give up hope yet!!!!

 

[JanetGeorge]

Vet has suggested waiting for a bit longer in case they might drop late, and mentioned possible drug therapy, and also said that on a good note he won't be fertile and he won't need gelding

Saying 'wait a bit longer' is the only bit of that advice I can agree with! If there are drugs to make a colt drop before he's ready, my very experienced equine vet hasn't heard of them (or if he has - he doesn't recommend!!

A colt with retained testicles CAN still be fertile and he DOES need gelding - it's just a bigger, riskier and more expensive operation!

The fact he was malnourished as a foal may well be partly to blame (although the condition does tend to be genetic in origin) - if they're not down by two, then surgery would be advisable - and in the meantime, keep him away from mares!

 

[DuckToller]

Hi - thanks for your input everyone.

Thistle - extremely unlikely he was already done, would in fact put my life savings on it

I will check with my vet and ask what he meant by drugs - I might have misunderstood, I hadn't asked him to come out to see the colt, just one of those 'while you are here' requests!

He is out with geldings, not showing very much coltish behaviour at all, but then the others are all older so he lacks a playmate and they don't encourage his antics, poor chap.

His lack of balls isn't his only problem, so everyone pray for them to drop as I daren't think of how much the op would be.