Cleaning your geldings 'bits'

liss1987

liss1987

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I am curious what peoples opinions are on whether cleaning this area is something that most find necessary for the health of our horses, or if it is just something that us humans find unsightly and have decided is something we should do?

There are only 2 geldings at my livery, mine and another little pony. The little pony is very 'active' and regularly tries to mount the other much larger mares (unsuccessfully!) and has never had his bits cleaned, and my old boy is the complete opposite and probably doesnt even know what his is for!

He gathers quite a lot of gunk around in that area that makes me feel i should clean it, but i have had mixed reviews with some people saying i must clean it or itll get infected and others saying its perfectly natural, cleaning it will only cause more problems and horses managed without us cleaning their bits for many many years, which i am inclined to agree to some extent, but mainly because the idea of cleaning my geldings bits almost traumatises me!

I tried doing it very gingerly once and my other half thought it would be hilarious to take a photo of me in the middle of doing it. i was NOT impressed and it has put me off doing it again! (bloody men!!!)

So, what are your thoughts and is there anyone else out there like me?
 
I have only ever cleaned a sheath once, unfortunately shortly afterwards my cob developed lumps on his bits then a big non cancerous growth that led to him being PTS

I KNOW the cleaning didnt cause the growth but I have always felt guilty as I am sure if I hadnt have been poking around up there the situation wouldnt have got aggravated

Irrational I know but I hadnt cleaned a sheath up to that point and am unlikely to start now
 
Your always going to get the "for' and 'against', personally Im against. I dont think soaps and cleansers in areas that can't dry out properly are a good thing.
However I would suggest that you allow him to be 'handled' around his bits as there may be a time when you may have to.
 
If i tried to get near the gelding i share i would die, i have always found a low pressure hose carefully aimed gets the worst out and will not have the damaging effect soap does. Saying this i will only do this if it gets bad otherwise i will let nature take care of it.
 
My old Arab (RIP) got a swelling in his sheath, years ago now, so I had the vet out who sedated him and cleaned it all out found a fairly largish lump of dirt which almost looked like a stone, when I asked her if I should be cleaning his sheath and she told me not to as can do more harm than good, so now with my new boy I don't!
 
I would sat it depends on the horse :confused:

My old boy needs his cleaning regularly, once a month or more. He has had a sheath infection in the past, and also a maggot "nest" when I haven't cleaned it regularly (believing that nature should take its course ;) ) Nowadays as soon as he starts getting gunk down his legs, the hot water comes out - but that is all I use. No cleansers, no baby oil, nothing except hot water as hot as I can bear (it cools down very quickly)

My younger one on the other hand, doesn't seem to get dirty, so I leave it alone. Ocassionally I will pick off any scabby bits if it's hanging down, but other than that, if it ain't broke, don't fix it :)

OP if your horse's sheath needs cleaning, then do it when your oh isn't around. Either that, or tell him to grow up :)
 
My boys sheath swelled up, on the advice off here I hot some sheath cleanser and hot water. Gave it a good clean and the swelling disappeared!
Will just do it as soon as it looks majorly gunky now.
As for being embarrassed about handaling his Willy, I am a carer and have washed faaar worse ;)
 
OOOH ..interesting , daughters first pony was a gelding and his always looked spotless and never saw a sponge in all the time we had him.We now have another gelding only been with us a week and still settling in.He had alot of dried up gunk on the inside of his legs.Washed and soaped this off a few days ago as I thought it may have been dried sweat (he sweated alot on the box coming to us ).Anyway was giving him a good brush yesterday and theres more gunk there again.Someone mentioned in this thread gunk on the legs and the sheath needing cleaning.Should I give him a good wash today..if so what do you guys use etc??.....hes very nervy as has been mishandled in the past .
 
When we got our little 22year old gelding earlier this year we were told he needed to have his lad cleaned as he got uncomfortable. I have never really bothered with other horses but I started to notice he was letting it hang out more and more and it was getting ermmm crusty so I took this to mean he was uncomfortable so used a sheath cleaner and warm water. Low and behold he doesn't let it hang out so much now... Thank god!! So I guess he is one that needs cleaning. Or that he sees me coming now and tucks it away in case i don those gloves again. He didn't seem to mind me doing it though!! Not my favourite job in the world!
 
If you don't clean your geldings bits you still need to keep an eye on them. A 'stone' can form from accumulated deposits in the end of the penis and can make it difficult for a pony to urinate. A pony at our yard had one and couldn't wee at all. When the YO took the stone out we couldn't believe how big it was. Apparently these are quite common.

I have only ever had one gelding but I did clean his bits in order to keep an eye on this.

from the equsite advice...

What is a "bean"? A firm lump of smegma that has collected and hardened inside the horse's penis. This lump or "bean" must be removed as often as possible. It can cause serious pain to your horse. There have been thousands cases in the last year where the bean is overlooked by the owner and becomes so large that the horse can no longer urinate...which may also cause other problems due to blockage.
 
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My boy would definitely not let us near it so we don't. But it gets pretty disgusting & he had to be sedated a few weeks ago when he cut all his legs open on the sheep wire fence (long story - we have now removed the lot) as he wouldn't let the vet near them to clean them & give him an injection so while he was all sleepy my mum did clean it with water. I can't see that an occasional clean with warm water will do any harm, it's probably if you do it all the time or use lots of unnecessary products.
 
Thanks guys! It's quite smeggy on the actual penis itself, he doesn't get any on his stomach or legs, I think I'll leave it alone and maybe just give it a hose if I catch it out! Ill also keep an eye on his urinating to make sure there's nothing getting in the way! (seems to have no problem peeing at the mo).
 
I used to clean my gelding but he didn't like it much, I think its been over 10 years since I've done and he's had no problems, but if its out and there is a big crusty bit I just quickly remove it. I think unless your horse is having issues then there is no need to clean it
 
Ive had to clean my boys as its "squeaking" when he is being ridden. Used the proper sheath cleaner and a low pressure hose and gave it a good clean but it's not topped the noise. Anyone else have this problem?
 
ralph and maverick said:
when I asked her if I should be cleaning his sheath and she told me not to as can do more harm than good, so now with my new boy I don't!
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Is it just me who thinks she may have said this because curing the issue is more expensive :o

I never touched my lad's bits. One summer I bought him in and he had a lot of flies near his sheath. He was very irritated and tried to take my head off my shoulders when I went near it. I called the vet and £180, some antibiotics and a good clean later the vet removed a bean which had cause him an infection.

Since then, once yearly I sedate him myself and clean it. He doesn't get gunk down his legs, but I keep a close eye on his urinating habits just in case. I don't use anything except water and my hand, and I don't waste time removing all of the build up inside as that isn't what causes the issue. The main thing to worry about is the bean.

As for 'naturally'; in the wild, there are no geldings and I've read that covering a mare cleans it, as well as normal stallion behaviours that geldings don't often do because of hormones.


elliefiz squeaking or 'whooping' noise? Whooping noise is air trapped in the sheath often related to the horse being tense (not necessarily bad tense but holding their muscles tense). Nothing to worry about!
 
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I keep an eye on it, and remove any big lumpy bits, but unless you have a horse that is prone to infections, I've always felt that it's best to leave well alone. This theory is backed up by my vet, who reckons that disturbing the bacterial balance causes infection. An occasional clean is fine, but doing it weekly is too much. Horses aren't like people in that respect. The fact that those who get washed a lot immediately produce more gunk is indicative, to me, that they need it!
 
xRobyn said:
As for 'naturally'; in the wild, there are no geldings and I've read that covering a mare cleans it, as well as normal stallion behaviours that geldings don't often do because of hormones.
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I was just about to ask this question, my 3 year old colt has been, let's say, "pleasuring himself" :rolleyes: , in his stable a lot this week. Does that naturally clean it - it never looks mucky, but I was talking about this very subject with the yard owner yesterday.
 
HBM1 said:
I was just about to ask this question, my 3 year old colt has been, let's say, "pleasuring himself" :rolleyes: , in his stable a lot this week. Does that naturally clean it - it never looks mucky, but I was talking about this very subject with the yard owner yesterday.
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Yeah I'm pretty sure it does, especially if they erm, ejaculate afterwards... :o
 
I never clean my geldings bits, nor my geldings that are on full and part livery. Nor have I ever cleaned a sheath except for one time when on livery and yard owner instructed all liveries that they must clean their gelding's sheaths! :eek:

I believe they should be left well alone unless there is a problem. IME horses that have been cleaned there require cleaning regularly from then on. But if you wait it out, it can be reversed. A gelding arrived here from a professional yard where he received a thorough clean there every fortnight. He was the only horse on my yard that had smegma down his legs. So much so that I ALMOST buckled and thought I would have to clean him. However, I waited it out as he was not in any discomfort and now, after a year he no longer has the smegma. It has sorted itself out. He looks clean and comfortable. Had he seemed uncomfortable or if it was getting swollen, obviously I would have cleaned it. But luckily it wasn't needed.
 
My older gelding is quite 'relaxed' shall we say so it is easily accessible. I often just hose it And get the gunk from the outside off. I have also on a couple of occasions had a 'bean' fall out while I was doing this, but I wouldn't go hunting for it by sticking my fingers up anywhere they don't belong! Lol.

My younger gelding does get quite messy with his. Still working out a way to get to it as he is not so free about letting it all hang out. But again I will only be hosing, no shampoo/cleaning stuff or fingers in places!!! :D will let you know if I'm successful
 
Quote de ralph and maverick
when I asked her if I should be cleaning his sheath and she told me not to as can do more harm than good, so now with my new boy I don't!
Is it just me who thinks she may have said this because curing the issue is more expensive

# I had never thought of it that way!!!
Obviously I keep an eye on the new boy, who I have to say appears quite clean down there, but if/when ever the need perhaps clean warm water and a sponge might not be a bad idea then from the sounds if it
 
What you have to remember us that it was stallions that managed without us cleaning them and they were mating mares which cleaned it anyway and kept it free from gunk. It's geldings that have the problem because they're not sticking it in anywhere. I clean my boys because the gunk attracts flys and I have heard horror stories of maggots living up there, for my peace of mind I clean it about once every 3 months in summer, then every 6 through the winter. Too much cleaning causes a chemical imbalance up there and as we all know, some bacteria is good. But not too much. Give a thorough clean two or three times a year.

Personally, it makes me sick, the smell is revolting a ()
 
ralph and maverick said:
Obviously I keep an eye on the new boy, who I have to say appears quite clean down there, but if/when ever the need perhaps clean warm water and a sponge might not be a bad idea then from the sounds if it
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Best bet (IME) is to keep an eye on his urination. If it gets darker/less volume/starts straining etc then it may be time to give it a little clean. Otherwise, he should be fine :)
 
I've had four geldings and never cleaned any of their sheaths. My current boy gets his willy out when I brush him so I get to see it's ok most days....
 
About once every month or two he gets loads of black gunk down his legs and I use that as a cue to clean using warm water and non perfumed lube ... And most definitely rubber gloves! Haven't ever done the bean thing though as Willie always disappears quick smart once sees cleaning stuff! :-D
 
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