bean in gelding

I have not been able to check for a bean because my guy is very shy and retracts immediately and fully if I touch him. I clean his sheath regularly because he seems to get very dirty but I can't get him to drop. I try stroking him gently and end up feeling like a pervert and he still won't let that thing out. Any suggestions?

I've always had mares too. I just booked my very first appointment with the vet. I figure I've read a lot about how to do it but still don't want to fool around or no do it right (it seems this may be one thing they may not have patience for). I figure learn about it, watch one, do one.

I've had my gelding over a year and am just getting it done now (didn't know it was something you were supposed to do). Last night he was in the tack up stall after our ride (I was talking to another boarder) and he started to pee, but I walked over and moved my tack tote so it won't get sprayed on and he immediately stopped peeing. So I don't know if he might have a bean which is maybe making it painful for him to pee, or if I might have made him uncomfortable/gave him stage fright by moving in so fast. Any ideas?

My boy is shy. NEVER drops when I'm near. Doesn't mean he doesn't get his bean taken care of, though it's a little tougher. Cleaning his sheath requires me to go elbow deep anyway, and if you've done that, you've noticed that his parts are all still there, even if you can't see them.

So, in your mind, imagine what your target looks like. Get a horse anatomy book if you must. Then go in there, grab the part, feel for the pocket in the end, and you'll run into the bean. Then gently coax it out. My guy gets wiggly when I do this, so I try to be quick as well as gentle. If you 'aim' wrong and wind up in the urethra, his eyes might get real big and he will probably object, but you won't have injured him so long as you are gentle and use plenty of Excalibur.

Of course, the very valid alternative is just to pay your vet to do it!

I only have mares, so I don't have to do this, but my daughter was severely "grossed out" when I checked my dogs scrotum, because it looked swollen. I'd hate to think what she'd think if she saw me doing this! Lol

I usually end up having the only boys in the barn so it's quite a spectacle when I'm sheath cleaning or bean checking. I just recently learned of having to check for a bean and it really grossed a few people out.

Back when I was a kid my instructor made me learn how to clean the sheath if I wanted to ride the horse. She said if I wanted a horse in the future I had to learn how to take care of it. Even if meant sticking my hand in yucky places. After working in the wonderful world of veterinary medicine there are way more nasty things to me than sheath cleaning...ugh parvo... Anyway, if you don't know how to do it, I'd advise having a vet do it instead. Seen too many geldings contract infections or end up with terribly disfigured sheaths from cleanings gone wrong or done way too frequently.

That is not true.
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Sometimes, grooming them gets them to drop. You just have to find the right spot. My wife tickles her boy on his belly a few inches forward. He almost always drops for her.
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My gelding always drops when I'm clicker training him.

We've had a lot of thread about this lately. I have owned >30 horses in 27 years, and almost all have been geldings, and I cleaned ALL of their sheaths. You must desensitize your gelding to handling his sheath. I clean my 6 yo's geldings sheaths regularly, but only for about 1 minute each time, and they stay pretty clean. Plus my boys are not irritated when I do this. My Vet sedated another client's gelding last year to clean his sheath and she was mule kicked by that horse, so you can have a violent reaction. Just use approach and retreat and you should be okay.