Today I visited a casual acquaintance who has a 1 1/2 year old arab colt. I was looking him over and noticed that one of his testicles is turned 180 degrees around so it is basically facing backwards. It doesn't seem to bother this colt at all and the owner has no idea how long it has been that way.
Is this a cause for concern? Will the testicle turn itself back the right way? I asked my vet when she was out today and she said normally a stallion with a twisted testicle will exhibit extreme colic symptoms due to the pain. She was at a loss as to why this is not bothering this colt. I am 100% sure the testicle is twisted. My vet was not sure if the owner should be concerned or if it was even wise to try to manually twist the testicle back the right way (for one thing not sure which way to turn it, could wind up with a 360 degree twist).
Although this is not common, it by the same token is not all that unusual either. Most will self correct spontaniously, some however do not. I stood a stallion all his life who had a left testicle twisted. We made no attempt to correct it and the only problem we ever noticed that could have been attributed to it, was once in a while we would get a pink tinged semen sample from him when collecting. It never caused him any pain that we were aware of and it had no adverse effect on his fertility.
I agree however that an attempt at manual correction could cause serious problems. If he shows no discomfort as a result of this. I would suggest making note of it and let it be.
HP
Anonymous (66.12.92.252)
Posted on Tuesday, September 04, 2001 - 06:46 pm:
I have a 7 year old stallion that has both testicles rotated, has had for the 2 years I have known him. His semen quality is poor, due to very small epididymi (no storage capability); otherwise the stallion is healthy and happy.
I agree with Horse Pro that a rotated testicle is not unusual and will probably never cause any problems. Best leave well enough alone!
I had a yearling colt that has a twisted testicle and by two is was normal. It did it all on it's own.
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