Only one testicle? !

Katieandnik

Active Member
Joined
11 February 2015
Messages
36
Visit site
Looking at rehoming a colt i have absolutely fell in love with him and I have the facilities for a colt until gelded BUT he only has one testicle .. what's this mean for getting him gelded? Is it still possible or do you have to wait till other drops?
 
Looking at rehoming a colt i have absolutely fell in love with him and I have the facilities for a colt until gelded BUT he only has one testicle .. what's this mean for getting him gelded? Is it still possible or do you have to wait till other drops?

Hi My Colt had this problem we waited and waited but eventually he had to have an operation to find the missing one, so he could be castrated properly,
 
If it doesn't drop or you have to castrate sooner rather than wait it will require an operation which will probably be under GA and the cost will be fairly high, if you are rehoming rather than buying I would proceed with caution unless the current owners are willing to pay, it may cost far more than his value depending on where the hidden testicle is.
 
I waited until mine was nearly 4 y/o- the second testical still hadn't dropped, so he had a GA. It turned to be not too far up, so it was quite easy to remove and he recovered quickly. I seem to recall it was about £400 8 years ago.
 
Well he's 4yo now so what are the chances of it dropping really I have facilities for a colt for a while but not a stallion for life Arghhh I'm so disappointed he is so perfect for me really my dream horse (looks wise) but iv never had to have have a horse operated on its abit scary! But now I'm thinking if I don't who will? :(

Ok if I had one testicle removed would he still show aggression towards geldings? :(
 
I doubt you'd find a reputable vet who would remove just one testicle.
The horse would be a rig. It could be that the retained testicle is small, deformed and basically hardly functioning, as was the case with my horse, but it could also be fully formed and pumping out loads of hormone, making him unpredictable at best, dangerous at worst.
 
If he is 4 there is little chance of it dropping now, taking the one will leave him still fertile if the other is tucked away so at risk of covering any mares he may be able to get in with, there is also a risk of him getting cancer in the remaining testicle.
I had a livery in that only had one, that was removed and blood tests showed he did not have another but it was a risk for the owner who would have struggled to pay for the op and was having problems finding livery, you need to think very carefully and factor in the cost of the op if you do go ahead, I would expect it to be up to £1k, although it may be lower.

Just to add the livery was not in any way aggressive to other geldings, he was with me just for short term turned out with some geldings before he had the op and afterwards, he was sweet just a typical young cob.
 
Last edited:
My boy was just over a year and it was done under a GA but we had it done at home, eventually they found the small one up inside of him. It cost about £200 and he recovered very quickly
 
I wouldn't mind paying that and if he recovers Ok. If I rang the vet could they give me a price or would they do it first then give me a price I wonder :( I realllly want him he's soooo cuteeeee and I can't see anyone else doing it for him :(
 
The retained testicle can turn cancerous so needs to be removed, I had a colt who didn't have any descended, we waited til he was 3 then operated, one was just up inside, one was by his stomach, would never have dropped
 
If he's 4 if it was going to drop if probably would have by now so he'd need an operation under GA to locate and remove the offending testicle wherever it may be hiding. If you're lucky it will be somewhere close to where it's meant to be. If you're not it will be hiding in the abdomen somewhere. You'd definitely need BOTH testicles removing as the retained one will not be being kept at the right temperature and is likely to have developed abnormally increasing risk of tumours significantly.
 
3 years ago I lost my 3yo colt due to a retained testicle.

He only had one dropped and we were starting to see some serious behaviour changes in him. We took him to our vet and the offending article wasn't in the inguinal canal so while he was under GA the vet scanned for it - it was found in the abdominal cavity, in a place where he would have had to have major surgery with only a 20% chance of survival and only a 50/50 chance of ever being anything other than a field ornament even if he did survive the op (that he would have had to go to Liverpool for). Our vet bill was £500 for that. If we had gone through with the abdominal surgery as well we would have had a bill of around £3k but it was the chance of survival that put me off.

I'd say have a chat with a reputable vet and get their opinions.
 
Oh dear :( you poor thing that much of been horrible :(
I'm going to give my vet a call later today obviously I would love to take this boy on and rid him of his problem but without knowing how serious it could be I'm not to sure now and I'm absolutely gutted for him! I thought at least he could be kept as a stallion some where but that's not even an option :( it's so sad
 
3 years ago I lost my 3yo colt due to a retained testicle.

He only had one dropped and we were starting to see some serious behaviour changes in him. We took him to our vet and the offending article wasn't in the inguinal canal so while he was under GA the vet scanned for it - it was found in the abdominal cavity, in a place where he would have had to have major surgery with only a 20% chance of survival and only a 50/50 chance of ever being anything other than a field ornament even if he did survive the op (that he would have had to go to Liverpool for). Our vet bill was £500 for that. If we had gone through with the abdominal surgery as well we would have had a bill of around £3k but it was the chance of survival that put me off.

I'd say have a chat with a reputable vet and get their opinions.

I was told the same regarding my little Dartmoor, so I trained him until he got over his colty 'kevins'. He really was an arse at first, but he got over it with some firm riding.

I was also told that not gelding would increase his chance of an early death to cancer, but he has given us 16 years of being an excellent children's pony.
 
I was told the same regarding my little Dartmoor, so I trained him until he got over his colty 'kevins'. He really was an arse at first, but he got over it with some firm riding.

I was also told that not gelding would increase his chance of an early death to cancer, but he has given us 16 years of being an excellent children's pony.
Hello Penny, I know your reply here was from years ago, but I wondered if you could message me with how your experience with your Dartmoor training went, keeping him as a rig/stallion? Thanks 07917 344636 Sarah
 
Hello Penny, I know your reply here was from years ago, but I wondered if you could message me with how your experience with your Dartmoor training went, keeping him as a rig/stallion? Thanks 07917 344636 Sarah

I don't think that poster comes on here much and agree with AM remove your number its a public forum.
 
Top