Swollen Sheath - AGAIN!

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Benjamin

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Oh poor Benj. His sheath is really big again, and hot too!

It started to swell, along with his legs and tummy, when he was on box rest. He has been turned out every day for the past 2 weeks, but I noticed last night that it was really big again and hot! He didn't like me touching it either.
Any ideas?
The only thing I can think of is I have started giving him carrots (about 2 a day) again. Could he be intolerant to them?

Help!
P x
 
He's really going through the mill isn't he?
Carrots are full of water, and sugar, so he could be intolerant to them. They give my friend's horse the squits as soon as she feeds them to him.
Maybe take them off him again and see if it goes down.

Hope he gets better soon...
 
He is, poor sausage! And his mane is falling out!
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I didn't give him any last night and hasn't had any this morning, so I will see how he goes!
I have the vet out on Saturday so if it still hasn't gone, then they can take a look.

Thanks
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P x
 
Bald as well? Poor boy
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It's not cos of the Rhino rug is it
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???? Megan has plenty of mane to spare if you want some sending down to glue on so he can look his best for the vet!!
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How are his legs now? I take it he's on the mend if he's going out in the field.

x
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cushings ? or maybe he has a collection of secretions stuck in the end of his willy. I had this with one once, had to get the vet out to sedate him and get it all out.
 
I've known this happen a few times, would try and cut out the carrots and see if that makes a difference. Also, may just need a good clean, with all the mud and gunk around at the moment, but probably is too sore for the time being.

This happened to my veteran gelding and it turned out it was related to a heart murmur - the heart wasn't pumping blood correctly and it was pooling in his sheath and tummy area. I did, however, always think this was a strange diagnosis as he, supposedly still has this heart murmur and this has never happened since. His sheath was stone cold though.

It also occured a few times in a friends horse and the vets concluded it was an allergic reaction to an ingredient in fly repellants and/or coat shine products - she did use a lot of these
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LOL, no, not completely bald, and has plenty to spare!!
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The leg is getting better. He was worse for standing in his stable, and when we started the walking in hand, he was a total nightmare!! So I just decided to turn him out in a small feild. He is happy as larry!
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[ QUOTE ]
cushings ? or maybe he has a collection of secretions stuck in the end of his willy. I had this with one once, had to get the vet out to sedate him and get it all out.

[/ QUOTE ]
Cushings? Really? I am not so up to speed with this, I will go have a look for some info!
I may as well get the vet to sedate him as they will be out. Can't hurt to have a look, although, when he went in for his joint medication, she did have a good look round in there and also gave it a good clean!

Thanks
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P x
 
Don't know the full history of your horse but this happened to my old horse once and was caused by a miniscule scratch on the soft skin of the sheath area.

I couldn't believe such a small scratch could cause such immense heat & swelling. Week's worth of antibiotics & he was brand new! Plus we had to hold a bag of frozen peas on the area for 20 mins each evening.................!!

I'll leave that picture to your imagination!!

Whatever it is hope your old boy feels much better soon.
 
Cairo since he has taken life easier has got a more grubby todger - vet said that often if they are not so active this area does get more grubby.

I have given him a bit of a clean and did find the start of a lump but it is impossible to hold his willy and get it out - you need two hands just to hand onto it.

Going to have the vet take a look next time he is out and if necessary give him a little sedation so we can really make sure it is not a bean.

Chancer gets these already - last year I got two out that were over 1/2" in length. Luckily he love having his willy fiddled with so it is very easy for me to check and remove buildup.

Hope Benji gets well - he and Cairo would make a matching pair at the moment.
 
This happens sometimes to my old horse, Red, who is now 26. The vet tells me that it is caused by him not moving around enough as he prefers to stay in his field shelter eating hay. This means the lymphatic system doesn't work so well in draining the fluid away which is why his sheath gets quite big and rather swollen. I make sure I walk him around gently for a while each day as I don't ride him anymore as he's retired and this seems to do the trick. I also massage it gently (!) as well as his legs in the direction of his heart as this was recommended in the equine massage book I bought recently. If your horse has been on box rest, this may be why it happens but you can't odds it.
 
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