Sheath cleaning - horse with sarcoids

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horse*21

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I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts around cleaning a horses sheath that has sarcoids. My boys is always plagued by flys through the summer and always wears a fly rug and mask, fly spray but lots gather round his groin area.

I have never cleaned his sheath before however this year he has developed a black sticky substance that is collecting and now all over the back of his legs, it is not smelly just unsightly and I am concerned it is causing him issues. I have read a few threads which to suggest to leave well alone however I am concerned leaving it will cause further problems for him and he does have one sarcoid just inside his sheath about the size of a large pea.

I would just like to say he is being fed Forest Farmacy power against sarcoids which is really getting rid of the sarcoids and they are shrinking.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.
 
My horse has had a similar problem and has had for 15 years. I have to clean him regularly, but he needs sedating for this. I try to squirt water up there a few days before which softens any bits that need it, then when sedated by vet, gets a thorough clean. We finish off by coating it in natural yoghurt. If he doesn't need vet attention, I can sometimes manage to get some natural yoghurt up there which does a partial job of cleaning him. Good luck :D
 
Sometimes Shy lets me do it, other times I have to use sedalin. You will get all sorts of answers - leave it/clean it - but tbh, as soon as the gunk is coming out, or if it clearly doesn't "self clean", it needs doing.

I did Shy's last week, and it was like gently scraping out handfuls of gooey mud - he must have been so uncomfortable, poor lad.
 
Without sounding like a doom monger I would say dont try to clean it yourself - get the vet to sedate and clean it carefully when its all dropped and you can see exactly what you are doing

My Welsh D had sarcoids and I cleaned his sheath making one bleed - a seemingly minor thing at the time but one that set off a horrible chain of events that eventually led to the horse being pts

I dont mean to scare you but I wouldnt go mucking around with a horse that has sarcoids on its sheath
 
Yes, you need to clean it. It shouldn't be so gunky that his legs get mucky! If you are worried about the sarcoids ask your vet for advice on products to use.

Once it's clean, a thick layer of sudocrem will keep the flies away during the summer.

Good luck.
 
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