Where oh where is that testicle?

Sorry about the silly thread title! Anyway, how long does it normally take for a stud colts testicles to drop? I have a 10 month old POA colt and he only has one descended testicle so far. I want to get him gelded soon, but would rather not pay the $500 plus that it costs for an undescended testicle surgery. Its only about $100-$200 if they are both dropped. Should I just play the waiting game? He is just beginning to act "studdy" so Id like to geld him asap to stop that behavior. Any advice is appreciated, as well as tips on how to handle stud like behavior, as in biting and being aggressive in general. Thanks

I don't know if they are anything like dogs but sometimes only one testicle drops. Sorry I'm not much help I don't know that much about horses yet. I hope someone gives you an answer or I hope his other one drops soon for you! I would hate to pay the extra too unless I HAD to.

Sometimes one testicle may drop and then a few months later the other one will as well. Just be stern with him and show him that that behavior is not acceptable. You have to be a little more dominant with studs than mares or geldings even when their really young.

Thank you for the responses, I guess we will just have to wait it out and see. Im hoping that once the weather is warmer it will drop. Its pretty cold here so maybe that's part of the problem. His behavior isnt all that bad, but he is not near as mellow as he used to be. He's good, we just need to work on biting and being strong willed when being led to his stall. Thanks again, and keep the advice coming!

Yep, I would wait a little longer. Sometimes they just magically appear overnight. If it isn't dropped by the time he is two I would start to get concerned. Like you said, it may come with the warmer weather.

I personally wouldn't wait, especially if you don't want 'studdy' behaviour & not confident about how to deal with it. 10 months is already getting too late IMO. You might find the testicle is just twisted & stuck higher & can't be felt.

I had a young boy I thought only had one. Luckily I had a very good vet who said he was happy to do the op in the paddock & not charge extra if it wasn't descended. But he found the testicle was there, just couldn't be felt from outside. Said that was not very uncommon.

Re dealing with nipping & aggressive behaviour, I don't personally adhere to the 'dominate them' attitude, but I think it's also more risky with a hormonal horse, as 'dominance games' are what they play with eachother & I would not wish to enter into that game & be seen as a challenger.

I prefer to use positive reinforcement(reward) training to teach the horse the Right behaviour instead of getting focussed on the Wrong behaviour. After all, if you teach them they get a treat or such for having 'manners' such as staying 2' away from you at all times, being 'polite', then they stop bothering trying to 'mug' you.

I usually geld at about 15 months old most the time around 20 months, many coltys I've had never drop both till after a year old.

I feel your pain. My first baby was a cryptorchid and the surgery ended up costing me about $800 :(
I heard quite a few mixed opinions. One vet said that if they weren't down by about 6 months, they likely wouldn't come down. Another vet said to give him until 2 years.
Unfortunately, that wasn't an option for me, as not only was he getting to be a pain, but he was constantly trying to mount all his gelding friends ;)

It is often recommended to wait until a horse is around 2 years of age if one or both testicles aren't dropped. This is because the surgical procedure to go in and hunt for a testicle involves more risks for your horse and more cost for you.

By taking the time to train a young horse, you can prevent a good bit of the studdy behavior. Train him away from it just as you would any other behavior that you don't like--this method works even with full-grown breeding stallions so long as training is consistant.