Seriously, though… NUTS.
Yesterday was Presto’s gelding appointment. I’m sure he wouldn’t be happy with me sharing this all over the internet, but his testicles are TINY. Like maybe slightly bigger than jordan almond size. I could clearly feel/see one of them, and I was fairly certain that I was feeling the other one too, although it wasn’t clearly visible.
The vet arrived, felt him up (there is no dignity in what happened, why lie?) and declared that yes indeed both of them had dropped enough to where he could remove them. Great, let’s do this!
So we started with sedating Presto a bit so that the vet could start washing him up and get a plan of attack. Since they’re so teeny and not super dropped, they could be a little tricky. Once we got him sedated (and then twitched, because let me tell you who is NOT OKAY with the big creepy vet feeling up on his nuts) he started prepping. One part of that prep was making sure that it felt like the inguinal ring on either side was closed up enough to where the risk of hernia was not high.
And, well, that’s as far as we got. The left side, the one with the testicle that is the most dropped, felt good. But the right side, the one with the testicle that’s still a bit higher up, felt a little bit too open still, in the vet’s opinion. He said he was 80% sure that we could go ahead and do it, put some sutures in there on that side, and it would be fine. But he thought the risk for hernia was higher, and that gave him pause.
He gave me 3 options:
1 – go ahead and do it, put the sutures in, and hope that between the sutures and the subsequent swelling, it would be enough to prevent the intestines from popping down through the ring.
2 – take him to a vet hospital, have them lay him out on the table, and do a more intensive surgery to make sure the inguinal ring got closed up securely.
3 – Wait a few months, check it again, and see if the inguinal ring has closed up enough on it’s own to pose less of a risk for hernia.
That choice was pretty clear. Presto doesn’t act studdish, doesn’t seem to realize yet that he’s a colt, and he’s nowhere near any mares. We have the ability to keep him segregated without much trouble, at least for the shorter term. So we aborted our mission and the vet will check him again in July when he’s back for Henry’s mid-year vaccinations. Hopefully by then the ring has closed up a bit more and the risk is much lower. Given his history, neither the vet nor myself was very excited at the idea of embarking on a potentially risky venture.
So for now, he gets to keep his nuts. Their days are numbered, though.
breedrideevent.com 
😂😂 You guys have certainly been having adventures with dangly bits recently!
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Penis has been on my blog twice this week!
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Well darn it! I think you made the right choice for sure. Fingers crossed it’ll be uncomplicated by July. Copper’s balls were microscopic when they were removed at Presto’s age too…if it makes him feel any better? lol
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Poor Presto. They really are so little, it’s kind of comical.
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Amanda you’re going to flag something on my work computer and IT is going to block my blog. Enough with the horse dongs.
BRB dying.
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It’s just been that kind of week, I guess? LOL
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ugh you probably will have to wait till Fall tho realistically right?? Due to flies and heat. ICK.
Sorry Presto for the feel up 🙂 He does look offended!
And thank goodness he is such a good baby colt! Imagine if he was studdy!
LOL still giggling at his expression
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We’ll see what happens. I mean at this point if we wait for fly season to be over, we’re talking November. That might be a little unrealistic, logistically.
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As long as they don’t get rude, I don’t mind gelding a little later. I have no idea if there is real science behind this, but I have seen this many times–a little hormone is good for some boys…keeps their ego intact. 😉 The ones gelded later just seem to have a little more pep in their step. I think my pony would have a lot less of his pizzazz had be been gelded earlier. He likes to show off, and he thinks highly of himself–two qualities that help us immensely in the show ring. Seeing as Presto seems to be a pretty laid back dude, you might be thankful later that you let him develop a little more before snipping him!
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I mostly just don’t like having an uncut horse at a big boarding barn, and neither does my barn owner (don’t blame her!). I also really don’t want him to learn how to be interested in mares lol. Hopefully he remains very chill about things and stays out of trouble until we can safely get the nuts off.
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I’m just wondering about the hits you’re gonna get based on this week’s topics 😂😂😂 poor Presto, gonna have to get felt up again!
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I am overdue for a “search terms” post… ive had some doozies lately.
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Another adventure ! and the first time I have seen you post a graphic. Good news, there is education there along with your regular funny take on the scene. Loved the whole post. Presto the Wonder Boy …
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The vet had to explain a lot of it to me (geez, raising fillies is easier) but once I saw the chart it instantly made sense. Charts are great lol.
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Good choice, not that you need my approval. I had the misfortune to witness to a castration that went horribly wrong for that reason.
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He said he had that happen once, which was why he was hesitant!
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Well that’s a bummer for you, but I bet Presto’s pretty happy to still be all man for a bit longer. I had to send Jampy to a clinic to have his done since he was already middle aged. And nothing was small. I brought him up there and the vet goes oh wow, no missing those! #awkward
I was really worried about a hernia, and all they said was that I should be concerned if I see a large lump there. Well, like, it swells ya know? So obviously there was a lump. That vet got a LOT of photos of said lump from me. Fortunately, everything went just fine. Medically anyway. Jamp is still not recovered emotionally.
Definitely agree with your decision to hold off.
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Emotionally LOL
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Poor Presto of the tiny balls. Hopefully that means his figurative balls, the kind needed for an event horse, are much, much larger.
It sounds like you made a good decision. Why hurry things along, after all? I still remember Riley’s gelding- everything went great and the surgery was over and we were all waiting for him to wake up, and instead of groggily coming out of his stupor he just leapt up, totally upright, and scared the bejeezus out of us all. So yeah, things can always catch us off guard so better safe than sorry.
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Yeah those figurative balls are just ginormous. Probably rainbow and sparkly.
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oh dear…. here i was ready to congratulate Presto on becoming a man, or, er, well, you know what i mean. but i guess instead here’s hoping that he keeps his innocent boyhood mentality intact (lol) right along with everything else for now!
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Hopefully living with donkeys will keep him uninterested in exploring any hormonal urges he may have.
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Uh, you kept yours, why shouldn’t Presto keep his? HA!
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mine are big enough for both of us.
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I have been LOVING the Henry & Presto buddy updates, but when is Bobby going to return to the blog? The public is clamoring for it.
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I dunno, I haven’t seen Bobby in forever. He’s dumb.
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i think its funny hes got little teeny tiny nuts. i also think it’s good you waited!
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I appreciate a good vet that explains everything along with their opinion and why. I have known my vet forever out of freak coincidence, which is nice. Hopefully Presto’s all ready come July and still blissfully unaware he should be an asshat colt.
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Ah gelding is such an experience. We let Ember have his until he was 17 months old. The surgery was long but he came out of it well. Hopefully Presto will be all set for an onsite gelding in July.
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