# Derp - How To Tell if Miniature Horse is a Stud?!



## TemperTantrum (Dec 4, 2021)

This is a weird question, I know. I have a 7 year old mini horse that was said to be a stud. He has lived with an older mare (16 years old) for 4 years and she's never gotten pregnant. I'm used to full size horses where the testicles are very obvious. His, I don't find obvious and I'm wondering if he was gelded or could be a cryptorchid? He has some studdy behavior, he will briefly make a big fuss when sharing a fence line with my 5 year old mare. He makes no attempts or studdy behaviour with the mare he's grown up with.

Upon inspection his testicles look and feel very tiny. Feels more like an empty pouch to me. When you look from behind there's absolutely nothing. I had to get a bunch of pics because most showed nothing but in these you can see something.

Can a vet confirm if he is fertile or not? Are their tests for testosterone? Maybe it's normal for minis to have such tiny testicles and I just have no idea! I wanted to ask you guys before I call the vet and sound like a total idiot lol.


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## Zimalia22 (Jun 15, 2021)

A simple blood test will give you your answer.


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

He could be deformed I guess. I do think that mini’s still have proportional balls. I would get a vet check.


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

Will you tell us what the vet says if you get him done? I have what I believe is a half cut crypt, but he does also have a little ball in his sack. It would be interesting to see what a vet said about that for me.


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## TemperTantrum (Dec 4, 2021)

Blood test? Awesome!! It'll check for testosterone?? I'll call them on Monday. They're very rural so hopefully they're familiar with it. Hopefully it's pretty standard? 

I will definitely let you know what the vet says! I will update this thread for sure.


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## makeshiftM (Jun 24, 2021)

iirc, Cryptochidism is more common in miniatures. If he's a double (both testes retained) then he's going to be pretty much infertile. Unfortunately, this makes gelding more invasive/expensive.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

His testicles aren't normal even for a mini. When normal they are easily seen as long as you can squat down low enough to look, that is. LOL


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

Some minis have this weird thing where they have small testicles and they can kind of shrink them up and it's hard to tell they have them. I've heard of some that sometimes you can palpate and sometimes not, but they were technically dropped and able to be gelded.


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## wvfarrier (Sep 13, 2021)

If he is crypto, it can cause some other health issues and may need to be addressed at some point.


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## n2idaho (5 mo ago)

Simple answer. Check " under the hood" If you still have doubt, feel his body behind his penis up to the split of his hind legs. From the pictures posted, you have a gelding. If he seems a bit too frisky around the girls, a blood test will sort it out.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

gottatrot said:


> Some minis have this weird thing where they have small testicles and they can kind of shrink them up and it's hard to tell they have them. I've heard of some that sometimes you can palpate and sometimes not, but they were technically dropped and able to be gelded.


This is a thing with horses. They don't really shrink them up but there is a space that they can be pulled up into when the testes are small which in normal sized horses is before what people refer to as dropping. Typically they are pulled up close to the inguinal canal. The inguinal canal has two rings, an upper and lower. Testes are in the abdomen during fetal growth and migrate through the canal between two weeks before and two weeks after birth. Until the rings on the bottom end of the space tighten up they can totally disappear but they are there. They can be palapated if in the space below that lower ring sometimes. Testicles caught above the upper ring in the abdomen are not able to produce living sperm because of the high heat. Those caught in the space between the first ring and second ring of the inguinal canal may rarely produce living sperm again because of heat but are unlikely to. Just outside that lower ring is a pocket that when small testes can be pulled up into. A rare few will have one caught there (high flankers) of the three locations for retention these are most likely to produce live sperm but it is still not likely. All of these can display stallion like tendencies as even though size remains small and undeveloped they do produce some testosterone. It isn't the same amount as a testicle that is outside these spaces and in the scrotum. Testes grow with the colt. The closer to maturity the larger they are. If kept around other intact males they may remain small/er.

At that age though a blood test can give you your answer. @TemperTantrum did you ever get your answer?


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