Sheath cleaning

JBM

JBM

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Ok I believe fin has a bean stuck or ulcers (maybe both) so I’m going to investigate the bean first
I need advice and encouragement 😂
Firstly he’s never dropped so do I need some sort of sedation to assist? Will that help him drop?
How do I not get kicked in the face? He is grumpy around that area so I’m expecting him to get annoyed

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(We were on an orange wind warning so all the horses were in for 24hours which is why the swollen back legs)

Signed,
The desperate plea of a mare owner
 
w1bbler said:
For a horse that's a bit awkward to do I would pay one of the sheath cleaning people. They are usually very quick & thorough. If your horse already doenst like you fiddling in that area you risk making him worse.
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Unfortunately they are very rare in north of Ireland and he may have to wait a month or more for a shealth cleaner to be about
Last time one was up was July
 
w1bbler said:
For a horse that's a bit awkward to do I would pay one of the sheath cleaning people. They are usually very quick & thorough. If your horse already doenst like you fiddling in that area you risk making him worse.
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Exactly what I was going to suggest! Never fancied doing it myself. Pic is of the beans found the first time my horse was done.
 

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Is Fin an ex racer, or am I making that up? Nice handsome looking chappie 🙂.

Foregut ulcers are unfortunately a common finding in horses who have been in training, so a scope to rule them in or out is a good shout. He is showing signs that he could have them. The vet could ferret about in his sheath looking for beans while he’s still sedated after the scope.

Good on you for noticing his discomfort and for trying to help him., but do keep yourself safe.
 
Archie was terrible to do anything with in that area and due to his melanomas he had to have quite a lot done there. I used to give him 1/2 a tube of Sedalin (he was 630kg) and that was more than enough for him to let me access everything. It also helped it all hang out - moreso than some of the stronger sedatives. Having said that, if he's sufficiently sedated to let you have a good rummage, it doesn't need to be out, you can still clean it while it's inside.
 
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I wouldn't attempt it on a horse that doesn't like it its too dangerous fortunately mine love it but they don't always drop it so its difficult to get to the beans, although the sheath lady can get them to drop it out and they are happy for her to remove them.if you can't get a sheath cleaner person I would get the vet to do it with a bit of sedation.
 
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Tiddlypom said:
Is Fin an ex racer, or am I making that up? Nice handsome looking chappie 🙂.

Foregut ulcers are unfortunately a common finding in horses who have been in training, so a scope to rule them in or out is a good shout. He is showing signs that he could have them. The vet could ferret about in his sheath looking for beans while he’s still sedated after the scope.

Good on you for noticing his discomfort and for trying to help him., but do keep yourself safe.
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Yes he is!
I am considering scoping but we are also thinking he may have hindgut ulcers so I’m considering that I’ll treat him anyway but don’t know how you get insurance to give a go ahead on that as obviously you can’t know for sure if they have hind gut uclers
 
The symptoms of hind gut ulcers are very similar to those of foregut ulcers.

I went through all this with my late homebred. The vets were fairly sure that she had foregut ulcers but wanted to scope to be sure - she surprised everyone by scoping clear. The vet had to use a wrapped bale of shavings as a barrier to protect herself from kicks when checking her udders 😳.

The ‘good’ news is that it lead to a diagnosis of hind gut ulcers which I was able to manage after getting the Equibiome test done and following the post test protocol, which isn’t crazily expensive. She was much more comfortable and happier after that. I lost her to an unrelated cause earlier this year age 13yo, but she had stayed comfortable in her gut for her last three years.

You do first need the negative scope for foregut ulcers, though, to rule them out or to treat as necessary. Not sure about the insurance angle, as my mare wasn’t insured.

It’s unlikely to do any harm by popping him on a course of oily herbs to support the hind gut - there’s lots of posts on here about them, but I still recommend getting the scope done.

Good luck.
 
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Thank you
My vet was going to prescribe treatment anyway based on how he is but I might call up insurance and see what they want
I would like to avoid scoping just as I know it can be stressful and they need starved first
My vet was going to give me peptizole for 28 days
Is that what you used @Tiddlypom?
 
I’ve had my horse scoped twice and it’s not that stressful. If you have it done first thing in the morning you can take away feed late evening so only overnight without food. The horse was sedated and the process was extremely quick. I don’t think insurance will pay out for stomach ulcers unless you have scoped and seen them I know mine SEIB wouldn’t.

As to sheath cleaning if you suspect an issue it might be as well to do it the first time under veterinary sedation. If no big issues you can work on making him comfy for future interventions. I did this with my old boy. Initially he wouldn’t let me near it but by the end he quite enjoyed it 😳🤣
 
JBM said:
Thank you
My vet was going to prescribe treatment anyway based on how he is but I might call up insurance and see what they want
I would like to avoid scoping just as I know it can be stressful and they need starved first
My vet was going to give me peptizole for 28 days
Is that what you used @Tiddlypom?
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My vet didn’t want to prescribe anything without knowing what was going on. The scoping procedure is not that bad. My mare was already at the horsepital on a day visit for a lameness workup. Vet suggested the scope and they kept her in and starved overnight then scoped her first thing. By the time I saw her at around 10am she was round from it all, and fine.

Knowing what I know now, I’d always scope so you know what you are up against.
 
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JBM said:
Thank you
My vet was going to prescribe treatment anyway based on how he is but I might call up insurance and see what they want
I would like to avoid scoping just as I know it can be stressful and they need starved first
My vet was going to give me peptizole for 28 days
Is that what you used @Tiddlypom?
Click to expand...
One of ours was scoped. We knew he would be evil without food and I didn’t fancy transporting him like that so we paid for him to spend the night before at the vets. (Apparent he had a lovely clean stomach 🙄)
 
My old Ardennes wasn't retracting properly (& he was a big boy so it was obvious). He wouldn't let me anywhere near his boy bits so we did the first wash with the vet under sedation. Poor vet had a new boyfriend who kept asking her about her job - she'd come from having her arm up a horse's bottom with an impaction to washing a large willy 🤣

Anyway, next time the sheath cleaning lady was on the yard he let her have a rummage without sedation and he always seemed to have a decent bean every year after. He'd been gelded at 9 so perhaps that was why.

I need to do my gelding but think I'm going to see if the experts will do it.
 
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Tarragon said:
What are the classic symptoms that lead to the suspicion of beans?
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It can make them itchy a bit grumpy in general and wee spraying rather than a constant stream.

If you can get to touch the end of the willy you can often feel them in there sorry for the too much information 🙈

My 2 absolutely love the sheath cleaning lady they find it heaven and it's a bit of knack to get them out they use a lubricant up there to soften them a bit so they come easier.
 
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Mine has a special spot to tickle that normally makes him drop. If he doesn't drop it means going up as sometimes he retracts and doesn't want to come out again straight away. Glove up. Lube up. Rub it on and let it sit to soften up and then dig in (carefully of course). Make sure you really get into the flaps in the head. That's where the beans hide and you'll likely need to gently massage it out if there are any. It can be a pain to get out - they can get really stuck but the relief that they feel is significant.

Mine unfortunately gets a little excited despite being a gelding when he gets his sheath cleaned 😂

Tarragon said:
What are the classic symptoms that lead to the suspicion of beans?
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Mine becomes lame in the hind end and very rigid in his back. He won't fully drop either when he does pee. At one point mine decided to stop drinking water because it meant pain when he went to pee. After removal he drank a lot of water and usually will pee happily. So now I check more regularly.
 
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