Sheath Cleaning

Denbob

Denbob

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 September 2017
Messages
1,093
Visit site
New territory for me!
A girl on my yard has booked someone to come out and clean her youngsters sheath... I don't know whether to get my boys done as well as never really had to think about it. The last time he was sedated (February) the vet had a good look and a general feel around and said all was fine.

To sheath clean or not the sheath clean, that is my question!
 
Unless there is excess discharge, then I leave well alone. My gelding gets his out quite regularly so I check it every so often when he does and remove the bean if there is one.
 
IME if they are fine and then you start washing them, then they need washing.

If hey are fine and you leave them, they tend to stay fine.

In the past I have inherited geldings with simply awful, stinky sheathes, but regular washing did not 'cure' them. I would have to break them of the habit, by a regular wipe round with damp then dry cloth inside.

I do keep an eye thay they can pass water easily, keep an eye for any discomfort, keep an eye for smell or discharge down the legs.
 
I get M's done. He was cut very late and seems to collect a lot of gunk. He disapproves of me touching him anywhere in that area but is more than happy for the sheath cleaning lady to get stuck in.
 
Glad I’ve finished my breakfast!🤣
I have to admit I haven’t cleaned Mr H’s you-know-what and it looks fairly clean and he pees fine but I probably would / should pay someone to have a rummage around. I’ll ask the vet next time (I think it might be another 15 years or so before specialist willy cleaners arrive in cumbria...)
 
Ha! Could be a gap in the market then Reacher and a business opportunity for someone🙄- erm but it won’t be me!!!! But what would one charge for that service????
 
I've had mares for the majority of my life so this was new territory when I switched to geldings. My previous TB gelding was broken a lot and sedated for treatment so the vet would get the bean while everything was hanging out. At mum's place we now have 3 geldings so hired a sheath cleaner.

I'm more than happy how to keep a gelding clean etc but I'm clueless about "beans" and don't want to possibly do harm by trying. In my mind it was better to pay £20 for someone very experienced to do a good job. Our geldings, despite externally being clean, all had beans. I can't help but think it must be a relief to get them out!

I do wonder what happens with wild/feral horses? Do they just die if it gets that bad or is it not an issue for them?
 
Because I come from a hunting background I do clean sheath and have had the experiance of buying a horse who turned to have a nasty infection because the yard he was on obviously never checked the condition of the sheaths of the horse on the yard .
Sorting him out was a job for the vet and at that time I got the fun low down on what can go wrong down there if you don’t keep things right I am disclined about sheaths .
geldings various enormously some need them cleaning much more than others and hunters need more care than other leisure horses because all sorts works it’s way in there during a long hard muddy day .
Fat horses IME always need more cleaning .
You don’t need to wash sheaths regularity some of my horse will get them washed four times a year some every three weeks but you need to check if they need washing and act if they do .
 
  • Like
Reactions: TPO
Wizpop said:
Ha! Could be a gap in the market then Reacher and a business opportunity for someone🙄- erm but it won’t be me!!!! But what would one charge for that service????
Click to expand...

£25 and apparently she can do a 100 horses a week. So a reasonably wage for doing it, even after overheads!
 
If it gets all flaky is it alright to spray the hose up there? It cleans it but could removing the flaky bits like that cause some sort of blockage?
 
I know someone whose vet said aqueous cream and low lint swabs available on line or from the chemist are the best things to use for her gelding. Just gather a fair bit of aqueous cream on the swab and dig in, eurgh! Both are cheap from the pound shops.
 
I talked about this with my vet very recently and she said not to do it. Those 'professionally' cleaning tend to be over zealous and strip away too much of the good bacteria from the skin thus opening the sheath up to problems.
 
alainax said:
Another whose vet told me to leave well alone!
Click to expand...

My boy gets quite messy. I used to have to clean him at least once a month, until I read this can actually make things worse. I stopped cleaning and he’s still messy, but no more than he was before, so I’ve concluded that it wasn’t really helping.

I do always check for beans monthly still as they are far easier to remove when small.
 
These secretions in bodies are natures natural lubricants, and move bacteria out of the body. I suppose in humans the most visible one for us is ear wax, but if you have problems with it only someone who is specially trained should wash it out.
There are more problems caused by over cleaning, than leaving well alone unless there is a problem. I would like to put a huge warning on Hibiscrub which can cause contact dermatitis when really all that is needed in most cases is tap water.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top