Best way to clean sheath when you can't use a hose?

[SolarFlare]

I don’t think multi-quote is working still, so for those who said use mineral oil/baby oil - I tried that once. Exactly once. Never again. Mineral oil is not water-soluble, and it attracted more dirt than I cleaned out in the first place! The warm, moist sheath environment turned it into a sticky gunky mess up there, and rinsing numerous times did nothing since the oil isn’t water-soluble! Completely nasty.

And in regards to the bean - yes I do check, but I’ve only ever found the tiniest little chunk in there and I’ve had him for coming on 6 years. He does tend to accumulate smegma in the sheath but doesn’t grow much of a bean.

[gumtree]

$150, I’m on the wrong side of the horse care business. Bucket of warm water, Dawn soap, soft cloth manual labor. Some horse may need a couple of pennies worth of Ace. 1 1/2, 2 ccs IM. Most horses are fine without.

Maybe I should advertise this service. Very low start up costs.

A large dosing syringe helps speed things up. Fill with warm soapy water squirt in to the pocket to soften things up. Gently pull his johnson out to clean up. Reach up in and work things loose. Squirt more water to clean things up.

[gumtree]

@SolarFlare

I don’t think multi-quote is working still, so for those who said use mineral oil/baby oil - I tried that once. Exactly once. Never again. Mineral oil is not water-soluble, and it attracted more dirt than I cleaned out in the first place! The warm, moist sheath environment turned it into a sticky gunky mess up there, and rinsing numerous times did nothing since the oil isn’t water-soluble! Completely nasty.

And in regards to the bean - yes I do check, but I’ve only ever found the tiniest little chunk in there and I’ve had him for coming on 6 years. He does tend to accumulate smegma in the sheath but doesn’t grow much of a bean.

I agree.(oil)

I also have never found the majority of horses need to be cleaned that often. Maybe those that do are stalled on shavings? Pretty easy for the little bits of shavings to work their way in. We bed on straw.

I also know and have been told by vets it is not a good idea to “clean” on a regular bases or as a matter of course.

[PiasaBird]

Just want to thank everyone who chimed in. It really helped.
I did clean the sheath area. Horse seems much more comfortable. Whew!

[BatCoach]

I second Smeg-u-Later by ecolicious. My horse used to HATE having his sheath cleaned w/ Excalibur since it required so much rinsing and I don’t have warm water access. So I tired Smeg-u-later and it is awesome. Absolutely no rinsing required, and my horse actually was relaxed during the whole cleaning, and extra bonus is the nice lavender smell means no gross sheath smell on your hands! Its pricey but worth it!

[billiebob]

I use Cetaphil for this job. It works very well and doesn’t leave any residue or have to be rinsed. Plus it’s very easy to get.

TBH the most satisfying part of sheath cleaning is finding the bean(s). It’s like a gross little treasure hunt. And getting a big one out is kind of magical.

[aucowwy]

Bucket of warm water, cotton roll and any sort of sheath cleaner.

[BigMama1]

Am I the only one who doesn’t clean sheaths? I pick out beans on a regular basis to prevent blockages but that’s pretty much it.

[eclipse]

Ah sheath cleaning… luckily mine doesn’t care that I’m into almost my elbow trying to “get him to drop” so I can find that damn bean… mother showing her kids the barn was slightly horrified though LOL

I use Excalibur and a warm running hose!