Swollen sheath!?!

[welshied]

Anyway his sheath was swollen about 2 months had vet out and he was given antibiotics and it did go down a little bit and she told me to give it a good clean which i did every other day for 2 weeks.

It is swollen again and i clean it every week with just a sheath cleaner that you add to water and rinse it away again but 2 days after i clean it it will be minging again, but its not actually in his sheath its just on his willy

So do you know what could be causing it and do you think there a other underlying problem than what the vet said?
Also do you think the vet needs to come back out?
As surely not all geldings need there bits washing twice a week?

 

[Alimac19]

Are there alot of flies?? The geldings on our yard were all standing near water at the gate and they all got swollen sheaths!! We cleaned them and moved the gates (electric fencing) away from the water and they were all OK.

 

[Sarah Sum1]

Sounds painful. Hope it clears up.

 

[welshied]

Theres not a lot of flies i don't think hes in any sort of pain with it because he doesn't mind me cleaning it etc he kinda enjoys it lol

 

[Skippydo]

I think over cleaning it can take away the bodies natural ability to clean it itself. I think i'm right, i'm sure i've read the same on here somewhere.

 

[spottybotty]

How old is he? the reason i ask is I had an oldie whose sheath would fill, the more he was in the more swollen it became and hen in winter is legs would fill as well, he was perfectly healthy but if he did not get excercised ridden and in the field it would swell.

 

[welshied]

He is 13 but he has just been retired earlier this reason due to bad arthritis

 

[Porkie]

My oldie's sheath does this. He is 28 and vet said it is common in older age or in retired horses as due to lack of exercise the fluid doesn't pump round the body so well and can build up in certain places.

My boy is still in light work and goes down when he has a long hack but can then be up again the next day or down for a day or two. Also comes up in hot weather!

The only other thing vet said to me was that if it didn't go after exercise it could be blood pressure related meaning his blood pressure was high - but as mine goes down when exercised he told us not to worry about it.

 

[Cuffey]

It can be an early sign of Cushings
Is his coat normal for the time of year?

 

[welshied]

I wouldn't say his coat is any thicker than normal he did have a really shaggy coat last winter though a lot thicker than normal

 

[kellyeaton]

call the vet back out cleaning can be good but to often messes up the ph balance. try feeding him aloe vera juice to try help flush him out!

 

[Skippydo]

Ooo i've just remembered a few people said clean it with a little baby oil in the water to help soften the **** and clean it easier.