What is the latest a colt should have 'dropped' by?

laceyfreckle

laceyfreckle

Well-Known Member
May 27, 2007
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My friend has a yearling colt (which i may be acquiring) It is 13 months. She has said that he has not 'dropped' yet which obvouisly will mean i wouldn't be able to have him gelded yet? What is the latest a colt will 'drop' and does it mean he will have a problem if he doesn't 'drop' soon? I take it he would in fact be fine to go out with mares until he 'dropd'? shows no sign of colt behaviour
 
i had friedn whose colt didnt drop till he was three and even then he retained one so had to vet had to go for grope:eek: your friend would be best speaking to her vet and see what they think about gelding him they may just be sitting there so to speak
 
if they're not down by 2 the vets do start to worry a bit. while he *shouldn't* be fertile (although it's nto unknown) while they're in his body cavity, the hormones will be going and so he may be randy and teenagery ,so is quite likely to pester any mares he is in with. also there is a chance he could be fertile despite it.

the vet can do a general anaesthetic, and hoik the offending object out. more expensive than a normal gelding, but doable. if one is retained to adulthood it'll have to be done anyway, as they are more prone to cancer if they are retained.
 
i bought my horse when he was 1 and didt drop till 2nahalf and the vet sed ther should be no probs but if u are are worried ask ** vet !! xx:D
 
I had a colt i wanted castrated earlier this year. I could only feel 1 descended testicle (which was very small) and asked the same kind of question on this forum. Wally very helpfully replied, telling me he had a stallion that could do a good inpersonation of a gelding whenever a cold hosepipe was produced! As i had another colt to do at the same time (very definately with both descended) i got the vet to look at the other. once sedated, the other became evident, but even then when the vet touched it he "sucked" it up and proceeded to try to keep it hidden throughout the op!

So, due to my experience, i would get the vet to take a look anyhow - just to make sure he's not just hiding them when your looking for them!
 
Being that nobody much replied to your second question. No, I would not turn him out with mares. There is no garantee that he is not fertile yet. Especially if he is only tucking them up like thorouglybred1 said. You will most probably end up with a foal by an unregistred/unlicensed colt and a lot of hassle.

As most others said, they should really be down by the time he's 2 or 3 at the very latest. If not, he might retain one or two, which in turn means a big vet bill for the castration.
 
So, my idea was to have him gelded fairly quickly originally as that way he could live out with the mares so will i have to wait until more becomes apparent? Also he is showing no sign of being a colt at all which is slightly worrying. (both of us could do without a huge gelding bill as a normal gelding here is around £200-£250. I could keep him as a colt but i don't like to keep colts that are in no way good enough to breed from (in his case because he's a bit of a mix) and here the older they are the less the vet likes to come out and geld them wanting them taking to the vet hospital to be gelded which = lots and lots of £
 
yes, with no problems, doesn't follow them around or try to mount. Would he be better/ok if kept with a filly rather then a mare? or would just mares be ok? Any sign of colt behaviour and he would be seperated i just would prefer not to keep him on his own if it has to be for some time til he drops although i can if i have to.
 
You are taking a BIG risk having him in with them before he is gelded, just because he's fine now he may get fruity when you don't notice and then you'll have a worse problem with an in foal filly and mare the filly will suffer as she'll not be able to cope with growing and being in foal without it affecting her growth etc.

Can he not stay where he is or go in with a gelding until he's been gelded?
 
echo shandy - the hormones can hit very fast, and if they drop suddenly or he starts feeling fruity one evening he's got a whole night of fun ahead before you are there the next morning.

at 13 months he is certainly old enough to be fertile as soon as they do drop, and i wouldn't like to bet money on him being infertile even beforehand.
 
ok, thanks both of you...he'll be staying on his own then. I have got a gelding i can acquire to put in with him but it is quite a riggish gelding (mounts mares but has been declared none the less a gelding by the vet who has tested his levels) sane and placid in all other respects but how would he react to a colt? I know he's been out with mares and geldings with no trouble other then he mounts the mares BUT for that reason he wouldn't go out with my mares. The colts owner/breeder is going to university which is why i might be acquiring him.
 
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