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Cleaning his sheath?

4K views 16 replies 10 participants last post by  manca 
#1 ·
My pony (gelding) never had his sheath cleaned and he's about 6 yo. He is very dirty and I worry if there is a bean...

I never watched how to do it and my question is do you think I'm able to do it by myself or should I call a vet?

He's itchy, but I wonder if this is about sheath or something else, because he's not itchy only around his tail and other hind parts...
 
#2 ·
IMO if he will drop for you and be relaxed enough to drop then you can clean it. It may take a few tries for him to drop and let you handle it but just work him into it. I have one horse that will not drop for anything so we do the best we can to keep the beans out of there and when the vet comes out about once a year we have him do it under sedation. But my other boys are happy to drop it and let me clean as long as I am gentle... They let me know when they are not happy about it with a swish of the tail....
 
#3 ·
My guy drops anytime I brush, ride, or do anything with him. He recently had a 'bean' and I actually got rid of it myself. It's tricky and if your not comfortable messing around that 'area' I'd call a vet. It's simple to get rid of. But, if you want to try and clean it yourself, get a bucket of warm water, sheath cleaner, and a rag. Warm the rag with water, stick it up there and try to pull it down, gently, to clean it. Some guys pull it so far up there its too hard to get, but be gentle, use warm water and a soft hand and you should be able to clean it with no problem. If he has a bean, the tip of his penis will have a hard lump in the end of it. Like I said, I know how to treat this and can do it myself, but if your not experienced or comfortable, call the vet. Keeping this clean is key. If he ever drops it while your brushing him get the 'chunks' off then. If I notice my guy has chunks I do it while I brush him. He drops every time I brush or ride him, so my guy is easy to clean. (I think he was proud cut, and he just likes me. lol kinda creepy, but useful when it time to clean). But, use warm water and be gentle when you do it. Again, if you or the horse get uncomfortable, call the vet. :)
 
#4 ·
And if he's itchy around his butt he might have worms. Horses rub their back ends when they need to be wormed. In my experience and knowledge that means they have worms and need to be treated. So, it might not be that his sheath is dirty but that he needs to be wormed. :)
 
#5 ·
He sometimes drops when I brush him, so I think we'll be able to do it. I hope he will be ok with it :P I'll try it tomorrow and I'll tell how it'll go :)

He is reguraly wormed, each time with other paste, last time less than 2 months ago so I don't think this is the reason :)
 
#6 ·
Your gelding doesn't necessarliy have to drop to get a bean out of his sheath. Plus getting the smegma out doesn't require his dropping down either. Be sure to use latex gloves on your hands when going into a sheath to look for beans or clean out flakes of gunk and smegma. When I learned of using K-Y Jelly for sheath cleaning it was a god send.
 
#7 ·
I actualy do it every time I hose my horse off. If he is not droped I just stick my hand up thier and pull everything out I also spray the water up thier they love it. Just stand at thier side incase they kick. I have one who kicks like when you scrach a dogs belly and thier leg gose nuts. That is what he dose it is so funny and he streaches and wobles.
 
#8 ·
I know he doesn't have to drop, but I would prefer if he does... I'll go for it anyway though...

I'll remember about gloves :)

Where can I buy K-Y Jelly? Do they have it in pharmacy? I was thinking about really gentle child shampoo, without perfumes. Is that a good idea? But for the first time I'm going to try just with the water, because I don't know how he'll react and I don't want to end without rinsing him.
 
#9 ·
I know he doesn't have to drop, but I would prefer if he does... I'll go for it anyway though...

I'll remember about gloves :)

Where can I buy K-Y Jelly? Do they have it in pharmacy? I was thinking about really gentle child shampoo, without perfumes. Is that a good idea? But for the first time I'm going to try just with the water, because I don't know how he'll react and I don't want to end without rinsing him.
No, shampoo is not a good idea
 
#13 ·
I'd suggest seeing if he'll let you before adding KY, soap, or anything else because the last thing you want is to have stuff squirted up there and be unable to clean it off.

If he won't let you..... vet, good drugs and the best $25 I ever spent. He was so drugged he could barely get his head off the ground but dang could he still kick!!
 
#15 ·
Those are excellent videos on sheath cleaning. K-Y Jelly can be bought at a pharmacy or any store that sells health and beauty products. The KY has no harmful irritants. I have used it for every sheath cleaning I've done. Even rinsing it out is not necessary. It helps to loosen the smegma and makes removing it much easier. There is a product called Excalibre that is also a sheath cleaner.
 
#17 ·
Thanks everybody, you're really helpful :D

I did today, just with water, he didn't dropped, so I went into the sheath. I didn't find the bean, he doesn't have a hard lump which should be there if he had it. Got out a lot of smegma :P

He didn't protest once, actually I think he enjoyed, he made that "scratch me" face :D

And in the end I just put the hose in his sheath, he wasn't too happy about it, but he tolerated it without causing me any problems :)


Thanks again everybody!
 
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