sheath cleaning

Firehorse

Firehorse

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my boy is very very tickly in this area, he's generally tickly all over! his previous owner hadnt cleaned his parts and i can see they need doing. he never drops more than an inch and if i try to go anywhere near, he gets quite upset. he doesnt kick out at me, but kicks at his belly and moves his bum towards me. i ve managed to squirt a goodly dose of baby oil inside, several times now. from what i've seen it does look better. is this enough to keep him clean, if i squirt baby oil in maybe once a week? i thought at least if i do that, he'll start getting used to it being done and maybe gradually let me be more invasive
 
olive oil is better imo.i would not do as often as you say because you can upset the natural balance.
 
My boy used to be like how you described, and the cleaner it got from infrequent doses of baby oil / the cleaner it got and now he keeps it out a little too often
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Thats what I used to do, and lots of grooming etc. Darcy actually used to squeal if I so much as put my hand near there
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Very embarrasing!!
 
I had the vet out to my lad last week 'cos I thought I had a problem in that area. Thankfully he is fine but I did ask if I should be cleaning or not. There seems to be 2 camps on the matter. He said not unless you could see a problem and that they are best left alone.
 
Have you never seen Mr Hand???

Copied and pasted here for you!

Mr. Hand
Step 1) Check to make sure there are no prospective boyfriends, elderly neighbors, or Brownie troops with a line of sight to the proceedings. Though of course they're probably going to show up unexpectedly ANYWAY once you're in the middle of things. Prepare a good explanation.
2) Trim your fingernails short. Assemble horse, hose, and your sense of humor (plus, ideally, Excalibur cleanser and perhaps thin rubber gloves).
3) Use hose (or damp sponge) to get the sheath and its inhabitant wet. Uh, that is, do this in a *civilized* fashion with due warning to the horse; he is apt to take offense if an icy-cold hose blasts unexpectedly into his personal regions ;-)
4) Now introduce your horse to Mr Hand . What I find safest is to stand facing the horse's head, with my shoulder and hip snugly against the horse's thigh and hip so that if he makes any suspicious move such as raising his leg, I can feel it right away and am in any case pressed so close that all he can do is shove, not really kick. The horse should be held by an assistant or by your free hand, NOT tied fast to a post or to crossties. He may shift around a good bit if he's not happy with Mr Hand's antics, but don't be put off by that; as long as you are patient and gradual, and stick close to his side, he'll get over it.
Remember that it would be most unladylike of you to simply make a direct grab for your horse's Part. Give the horse a clue about what's on the program. Rest your hand against his belly, and then slide it back til you are entering The Home of the Actual Private Part. When you reach this first region of your destination, lube him up good with Excalibur or whatever you're using.
If the outer part of his sheath is really grungy you will feel little clods and nubblies of smegma peeling off as you grope around in there. Patiently and gently expedite their removal.
5) Thus far, you have probably only been in the outer part of the sheath. The Part Itself, you'll have noticed, is strangely absent. That's because it has retired shyly to its inner chambers. Roll up them thar sleeves and follow in after it ;-)
6) As you and Mr Hand wend your way deeper into the sheath, you will encounter what feels like a small portal that opens up into a chamber beyond. Being attentive to your horse's reaction, invite yourself in . You are now in the inner sanctum of The Actual Private Part. It's hiding in there towards the back, trying to pretend it isn't there. Say hi and wave to it . No, really, work your finger back and forth around the sides of it. If the horse won't drop, this is your only shot at removing whatever dried smegma is clinging to the surface of the Part itself. So, gently explore around it, pulling out whatever crusty topsoil you find there. Use more water and more Excalibur if necessary to loosen attached gunk.
7) When Mr Hand and the Actual Private Part have gotten to know each other pretty well, and the Part feels squeaky clean all around, there remains only one task: checking for, and removing, the bean. The bean is a pale, kidney-shaped accumulation of smegma in a small pouch just inside the urethra. Not all horses accumulate a bean, but IME the majority do, even if they have no visible external smegma.
So: the equine urethra is fairly large diameter, and indeed will permit you to very gently insinuate one of your slimmer fingers inside the urethral opening. Do so, and explore upwards for what will feel like a lump or "pea" buried no more than, I dunno, perhaps 3/4" in from the opening. If you do encounter a bean, gently and sympathetically persuade it out with your finger. This may require a little patience from BOTH Mr Hand AND the horse, but the horse will be happier and healthier once it's accomplished. In the rare event that the bean is too enormous for your finger to coax out, you might try what I did (in desperation) last month on the orange horse: Wrap thumb and index finger around the end of the Part and squeeze firmly to extrude the bean. Much to my surprise it worked and orange horse did NOT kill me for doing it and he does not seem to have suffered any permanant damage as a result ;-> I have never in my life seen another bean that enormous, though.
8) Now all that's left to do is make a graceful exit and rinse the area very thoroughly in apology for the liberties you've taken . A hose will be MUCH easier to use here than just a sponge and bucket, IME. Make sure to direct the water into the Part's inner retreat too, not merely the outer part of the sheath. This may require you to enfold the end of the hose in your hand and guide it up there personally.
9) Ta-da, you are done! Say, "Good horsie" and feed him lots of carrots. Watch him make funny faces at the way your hands smell. Hmm. Well, perhaps there is ONE more step...
10) The only thing I know of that is at all effective in removing the lovely fragrance of smegma from your hands (fingernails arms elbows and wherever else it's gotten) is Excalibur. Even then, if you didn't use gloves you may find you've got an unusual personal perfume for a while. So, word to the wise, do NOT clean your horse's sheath just before an important job interview or first date ;-)
and of course, there is that one FINAL step...
11) Figure out how to explain all this to your mother (or the kid from next door, or the meter reader, or whoever else you've just realized has been standing in the barn doorway speechlessly watching the entire process.)
Now, go thou forth and clean that Part :-)


Maybe this is why we only have mares by choice LOL!!!
 
My last horse hated being cleaned when I got him, even though he had been a stallion used at stud
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(must have been roughly handled at some point perhaps?)

I got the vet out to sedate him and clean his sheath, took a lot of cleaning, but it improved his canter loads
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And after that he was a lot happier for me to clean him, so poor boy must have been really uncomfortable before
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[ QUOTE ]
I had the vet out to my lad last week 'cos I thought I had a problem in that area. Thankfully he is fine but I did ask if I should be cleaning or not. There seems to be 2 camps on the matter. He said not unless you could see a problem and that they are best left alone.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yea I followed the left alone advice and he ended up with an infection
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, then I still had to clean him out as well as antibiotic for the infection
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Get him used to it one way or another, and do it when required, I have played tug of war with it to keep it out so I can clean it
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he doesn't tend to get that upset.

Oh yea, I find there isn't any smell to worry about.
 
[ QUOTE ]
He said not unless you could see a problem and that they are best left alone.

[/ QUOTE ]

By the way i actually agree with this school of thought. I've had my gelding coming up 6 years, and have never cleaned his sheath. I always have a check but it seems fine left to it's own devices!
 
I embarassing have to confess two things :

With my retired horse Gulliver he had a small lump like sticking out of his (ie a big bean) so I had to talk to my favourite vet about my horses willy he indicated that I could just grab and squeeze it out. I did manage this task unassisted but unfortunatly it clouded all my romantic vet like fantasies.

Secondly my new lad is always relaxing and showing me his willy and goes to sleep when I excavate his special places he actually enjoys it plus as its a busy yard I enjoy the look on parents faces as they tiptoe past with their stilletos and their little darlings ask what I am doing with my horsey!!
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very funny posts, especially the Mr H one! Anyhow, my boy sounds similar to yours in that he kicks out etc - what works for me is to position myself as a couple of the other posters have mentioned, out of harms way by his front legs. Usually wait until after he's been exercised, and very relaxed. I'll have a bowl of warm/hottish water ready with a flannel and very often he will let down a little when being groomed. Then I'll take the warm flannel and just hold it on the area concerned, moving it gently around and more often than not 'it' will drop and can be cleaned.
 
One of our yealing geldings need a clean this weekend.......told husband he should be doing it
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Ended up with me doing the cleaning and hubby holding pony, who was very good, although after reading Mr Hand have only done half the job
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