Re:horse question

[CMNewell <reshan@deyr.ultranet.com>]

>The trainer kept telling me from the beginning that I needed to geld my colt.
>  Even though my colt was beating the trainer's colt, the trainer still
>thought my colt was not good enough to be a stallion.

How well do you know this trainer? Could he want your colt gelded to get 
rid of the competition?


>  So, I went to pick up
>my colt this weekend and he has no testicles.  Trainer says he never had them
>and that was part of the reason he needed to be gelded.  The colt had one (I
>thought) down when he left but that was a good many months ago.

I repeat--how well do you know the trainer?


>  Now, he is 16
>months and shows no interest in mares.  He does the baby mouth thing at mares
>and would rather eat grass than socialize.  My vet cannot palpate anything
>and says the colt shows no signs of any stallion characteristics that she
>would expect at this age.  We're running a testerone test, but I'm wondering
>if anyone else has ever experienced this?  Do horses ever just hit puberty
>really late?

Did your vet look for surgical scars? I'm very probably wrong, but it might 
be worth ruling out the possibility that he was gelded while away...

                     --CMNewell