your experience with crypt

[paso_lover]

Exactly what the title says, tell your experiences please.

[TDH]

My black boy, Stormy, was a crypt. A dual crypt, actually. I could tell he hadn't dropped - he was 19 months old, and I normally would have waited another 6 months or so, but the fact that neither was down made me persue the issue. I had the vet put him down (okay - that sounds bad - does it say better to lay him out? ) so he could do an in-depth palpation. At that point, he could feel one way up there, but nothing on the other.

So - I opted for surgery. 3-1/2 years ago, it cost me $600 and I only had to drive an hour away for it. However, as it turned out, I could very well have saved Stormy's life by doing the surgery. The reason my vet couldn't find the other testes, it had actually morphed into some type of fluid-filled, grapefruit-sized growth that the surgeon said would likely either have burst and he would have gone septic and he likely would have died.... or it would have turned cancerous, and would likely not have been caught in time to save him. It was such a strange deal that he actually has it saved, put it in fameldihyde for future reference.

It was SO worth doing the surgery; Stormy is a beautiful young guy and is a forever-horse here. Just boils down to how attached you are to your boy, and how far you can go with it during these tough economic times.

[wollenberg6]

We have a wonderful vet and had the "gelding" done and it turned out great. She did have to put her hand/arm up his backside and search for the small malformed testicle and push it forward to get ahold of it(we could not find it any other way). Tons of antibiotic and a little longer to heal but all in all worked out. He was let go till 4 years of age though...previous owner... and had developed some stud behaviors. I would suggest catching this by 2 yrs old. He will always be somewhat "staggy", but I beleive his outcome will be much better than to be allowed to stay a crypt. It is an unfortunate but not really rare occurance. Ours was just a little more expensive than regular gelding, but like I said our vet is wonderful to us.

[IULeslie]

We had our boy done at around 1 year and other than the trip to the vet hospital and the extra money, it was no big deal. He healed fine and was much more "mellow" afterwards

[canteringkids]

Horse in my avatar was bilateral crypt. I bought him when he was 18 months old and waited until he was 2 1/2 before gelding him. We had to take him to the hospital and he had to be fully anesthetized in order to go through his abdomen to retrieve the testicles. The surgery went well and his recovery was perfect (we did it in the early spring to avoid post-op fly contamination, etc.)

He never did, at 2 1/2, exhibit any stallion qualities at all. He had other behavior issues due to being mishandled during his first year, but he was always submissive and never called to mares or got out of hand. I actually wanted to give him another six months to see if he would drop, but the mares on the property were very aware of his presence and it was effecting their training. We had some unhappy event riders in the midst of show season who were giving me very dirty looks.

I'll just add that I was a vet-tech for 15 years and this was all very routine for me. I knew what to expect and wasn't too concerned about the whole process. (Well, you do worry a little more when it's your own baby!) I even scrubbed in on the surgery so I guess I did really want to make sure that everything was done right.

So, that was my experience. Do you have a crypt that you're concerned about?

[Hideaway]

I've dealt with two. The one with the trailer incedent and a friends horse they had for years that all of a sudden started acting studdy. It progressivly got worse until he was sold to a lady willing to do the surgery. After a recovery, he's good to go and back to the awesome horse he was before.

I believe the surgery can be a wee pricey but my friend had me take the horse to a race track vet who was several hundred less than locals. Maybe there's several vets who can give you quotes?

[For8tune]

Well I almost bought one that had been drugged. Thank God for Pre-purchase exams. I couldn't afford the surgery so I didn't buy him.

Right now at the farm where I board. the owner rescued a crypt. Very sweet laid back doesn't even act like a stallion even around mares. They even let him out with geldings. He is a 9 year old Arabian. She does intend on doing the surgery since it is hereditery and can't use him as a stud.

[Hideaway]

You caught them in a prepurchase drugging? How dangerously stupid is that?

[For8tune]

Originally Posted by Hideaway

You caught them in a prepurchase drugging? How dangerously stupid is that?

I know isn't that crazy? They were selling him as a gelding. Neither testes had dropped and he was 7 years old. One of those too good to be true ads. Beautiful, Well trained, Champion pedigree, ect. I asked the guy if I could do a pre-purchase exam and he said sure without hesitation. The horse was drugged and showed high testostrone in the bloodwork. Something I wanted done since he was advertised as a gelding. I asked the owner why he was drugged and he admitted the horse was a crypt and acted like a stud all the time. I can't stand dishonest people especially when it comes to horses.

[Hideaway]

I hope you handed him the pre purchase bill and made him pay it! I would've been bouncing off the walls, unable to contain myself furious.

Sorry off topic