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> > > Seems I recall that some "come down" a little later. Maybe if you're a
> little patient he can eventually get his "brain surgery" for the regular
> charge. :-)>>
>
> That is my experience - very recently.  Ismak is now 2.5 yo and his
> other testicle descended about a week ago - to my greatest relief!  I
> would have hated to geld him, but if it hadn't descended by age 3, I
> would have had to take out another bond on the house to afford the
> surgery, but I would have done it.
I'm really surprised by some of the responses I've read to this thread.  A
significant percentage of colts (4-5%) will retain a testicle until their
second spring.  I'm amazed that the vets involved in the case that had
cryptorchid surgery at 11 months didn't just suggest waiting another year.
Also, if the retained testicle isn't too large, some colts will drop the
retained one with FSH therapy.

Cryptorchidism has NOTHING to do with disposition (relative to if the
horse was kept intact anyway)--the testosterone production is NO different
than if the colt had both testicles down and was left intact.  The
retained testicle CAN cause some discomfort in maximal athletic
pursuits--with cryptorchid TB's it is common practice, I understand, to
surgically remove the retained one, even if the normal one is left in
place for that reason.  Also, in some species (dogs in particular, but I
don't know that this is has been shown in horses) the retained testicle is
more prone to malignancy if it is left in.

It IS true that the abdominal testicle does not produce viable sperm--it's
too warm inside the abdomen.

With regard to heritability--while it has long been the thought that the
condition is heritable, equine geneticists have been unable so far to
prove any sort of heritability pattern.  So while we can't say for sure
that it is NOT heritable, the jury is still out in whether it IS
heritable.

The surgery is really not all that complicated.  And it isn't exactly a
blind search to go after one--if it isn't right there above the inguinal
ring, there is nonetheless an anatomical path that it follows in its
descent, and if one simply follows that path in reverse, one will
encounter it.  It may be clear up in the position where one would find an
ovary in the mare, but it WILL be somewhere along that descent path.  The
main thing is that one has no idea when one starts the surgery just what
the duration of anesthesia will need to be (unless one has been able to
locate the position in the path by rectal palpation prior to surgery)--so
one has to be set up with some kind of anesthesia that can be maintained
for a period of time.  Gas anesthesia is the safest, but if economics
dicate, one can also do it with ketamine/xylazine (or other suitable
ketamine combo) with a guiafenisen drip to help potentiate and prolong the
anesthesia under field conditions.  I've done several that way with no
problem, and it can be reasonably economical that way.

Heidi



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