I have a 21 month old welsh colt which I bought as a future sire, as a weanling. He was checked for testicles as a yearling none to be felt at all. He was checked under sedation 6 months later (while standing) and the left one could be felt extremely high up but no amount of searching could find the right one. Two months ago I had him put under general anaesthetic on his back and the the vet found the left testicle again in the same place up very high and what she is pretty sure was the tail of the right testicle also up extremely high. One week ago I put this colt over a mare and he is now running with her to see if the extra testosterone would help with descent. Nothing so far. My question is will this work and if so how long does it take? Am I fooling myself and his testicles are never going to drop? The biggest question is also having had his testicles up so high for almost 2 years is he going to be fertile if they do drop?
Sandy
Posted on Friday, August 29, 2003 - 02:13 pm:
My understanding is that the longer the testicles remain inside the body, the smaller they are going to be, due to the body heat. My vet told me that if one testicle is larger than the other, due to one being retained for a longer period than the other, that it will have no effect on my colt's reproductive abilities. That there are a lot of stallions who have one testicle larger than the other. When your colt's testicles finally do drop, I would have his sperm count done, to see exactly how fertile he is going to be. I feel like you do, wondering if I am fooling myself with my yearling colt. He definitely has one testicle down, and it is quite large, but the other has not dropped yet, but my vet was able to feel the tail of it a couple of weeks ago, without sedation, and I am still worried. So, I can only imagine how you're feeling! Let's keep our finger's crossed.
Posted on Saturday, September 06, 2003 - 12:07 am:
My colt also has only one testicle that has dropped and he is 15 mths old. I was told that if the other one does not drop soon -- we should operate. How long do you think I should wait to see if it drops? and do you all think operating is the solution? Thxs
Sandy
Posted on Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 04:33 pm:
My colt is 16 mos. old and only has one testicle that has dropped. My vet was able to feel the other one just last month, without sedation and said that I shouldn't be worried, that it will more than likely still come down. If you're wanting your colt for a stallion prospect, then I wouldn't geld him until he is at least 2 years old, and then get a vet's opinion on whether or not it will come down. Have you had a vet examine your colt to see if he can feel the other testicle? When you talk about operating, are you referring to gelding, or is there some operation that can release the testicle to make it come down? I'd really like to know if there is such an operation.
Hi. I was asked to collect off a friesan colt of 4 years who has no visible testicles and I could not really find any on palpation. However this colt displays normal stallion behaviour, gets erect and happily jumps the mare. On collection I could only get a small amount of fluid (he showed all ejaculation signs with swollen penis head etc) but under the microscope I could not find a single sperm. The colt was bred on the owners farm so he has been known since birth. Would HcG help at this late stage? Or does anyone have other suggestions. I want to put him on herbal assistance and stable him between two mares.
You would probably do well to start by trying to determine exactly where the testicles are. If they are abdominally retained, all the hCG in pregnant women world-wide is not going to cause them to drop!
I would start by having your veterinarian palpate carefully, and if necessary lay the horse down. Ultrasound can also be a useful tool in the search.
If the testicles are inguinally retained, there is a slight chance that hCG could help, although at this age (4) it is questionable - it would depend greatly on where in the inguinal canal they are.
Let us know what you end up doing and how you make out!
So I am looking at a 2 year old APHA Tobiano Colt, Homozygous Dun, good working cowhorse lines exactly what I was looking for to add to my closed breeding program. Today he had a Pre Purchase Vet Exam, everything looks good but the seller said the vet noticed that one testicle was a good bit smaller than the other, but both are dropped. The vet said this would limit on how many mares he can cover succesfully. I hand bred my mares to control how much our stallion ejects sperm a day. So should/would this stud prospect still work for me?
He's two years old. He's nowhere near sexually mature. It's impossible to predict what size his testicles will be when he matures. If he was an older horse (>6) it would be a significant factor, but I certainly wouldn't put my reputation on the line by pronouncing that a 2 year old with a smaller testicle would be limited in the number of mares he could breed!!! I'd be waiting a few years before I said that!!
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