…”previous owner said he had dropped but had pulled his testes back up,”…
I recently bought a stud colt that is three years old. When I went to look at him he had both testes up in his abdominal cavity, the previous owner said he had dropped but had pulled his testes back up, he was in a bad situation so getting him out was my main concern so no Vet check was performed. He got an erection the next morning and had swelling on his penis and in his thighs that was not there before. Will I be able to keep him as a stallion? What could cause this to happen? Do you think he is holding his testes because of this? I am planning on getting him to a Vet as soon as possible but I just wanted some advice. Thank you
Dr. Kimberly A Gryl’s Answer:
Jessica:
Your question is a little confusing to me, but I will try my best to answer it. If you are questioning whether those swellings are testicles or not, it is best to have your veterinarian examine your horse and palpate them (if the horse tolerates that). Generally speaking, once a testicle fully descends (drops) and is well-visible in the scrotum, it does not get completely sucked back up into the abdomen so as to be out of sight/feel. Stallions can raise them slightly for temperature drops or exercise (ex. racing), but they will always be partially scrotal even then as long as they have completely descended. If, when you bought the horse, he did not have any visible or palpable testicles but now he does, then perhaps they were just slow to descend.
To know what you are dealing with, the best thing to do is have your veterinarian do a thorough physical exam on this horse & tell you what he/she can feel. It is important to know that both testicles have descended, because having 1 retained (stuck up in the abdomen) is a bad flaw and genetically linked — you do not want to breed these horses. If that is the case, you should have him gelded. By 3 years of age, they will be dropped if they are going to drop. If there is still some question of whether or not there are testicles present, your veterinarian can do further testing to verify. Hope this helps.
