cleaning a shy guy - any suggestions?

[Clive_s_Mom]

I have a question for all you expert sheath cleaners out there. I have a very, er, let’s call him “uptight” gelding when it comes to have his nether regions cleaned.
Example, today, he is tranquilized for teeth floating - so I take this opportunity to do a little maintenance. This horse’s head is practically resting in his shavings, yet, he’s barely dropped and when I go to clean (with warm water and Excalibur) he pulls it up all the way. I could only do the actually sheath, and not the ‘other’ as I was hoping to get too. I tried, I probed, I pulled (a little), I reached in, ack! I was fairly gentle, tried rubbing on his kidneys - Nothing works!

Any suggestions? Ideas? Proven tactics? Sorry for a gross subject, but I think it’s important and I’d like to be able to do a more thorough job next time. Thanks in advance for any ideas.

• C

[OlmosHeaven]

Both my mares are pretty good about letting me clean them – they love a strong spray of water from the hose, just spread their legs with a blissful expression on their faces. LOL.
But I have to clean my gelding with him sucked up to his eyeballs and my arm up almost that far. He doesn’t mind it, never tries to kick, just doesn’t want to exhibit himself. I can get the bean without any problem. I just can get him as clean as I’d like. Oh well. He’s retired and blind, so doesn’t do much running around. At least he doesn’t get as dirty as when I was showing him.

[Lionheart]

I cant belive your vets would charge so much! That’s absurd! Our vet has even shown others at the barn how to do it FREE OF CHARGE! I’m amazed that other vets out there charge such outrageous fees! i think my entire vet bill, including sheath and coggins, for spring shots is about $75. And we have teeth floating coming up which will be about $50-75 incluing tranquilization.

[Clive_s_Mom]

I have a question for all you expert sheath cleaners out there. I have a very, er, let’s call him “uptight” gelding when it comes to have his nether regions cleaned.
Example, today, he is tranquilized for teeth floating - so I take this opportunity to do a little maintenance. This horse’s head is practically resting in his shavings, yet, he’s barely dropped and when I go to clean (with warm water and Excalibur) he pulls it up all the way. I could only do the actually sheath, and not the ‘other’ as I was hoping to get too. I tried, I probed, I pulled (a little), I reached in, ack! I was fairly gentle, tried rubbing on his kidneys - Nothing works!

Any suggestions? Ideas? Proven tactics? Sorry for a gross subject, but I think it’s important and I’d like to be able to do a more thorough job next time. Thanks in advance for any ideas.

• C

[Clive_s_Mom]

Thanks everyone - though my favorite is to let the vets do it! It hadn’t even occurred to me to ask. Spring shots are coming up - do you think my vet would fire me for asking her to do that?

RescueMom - every once in awhile he’ll let it all hang out - but as soon as I come in the stall it’s put away quick. Strange animal - most geldings seem to enjoy relaxing all the way when they are just munching in their stalls and such.

Thanks again.

[Rye]

My horse is equally as shy. I keep the Excalibur in my grooming box for quick use.

My gelding usually pees after were done riding and I put him back in the stall. He urinates and as soon as he’s done…swoop in and grab it and don’t let go

[Velvet]

Just go for it. Get some Ex or incredibly gentle soap, lather up your arm to the elbow and just reach in. Make sure you are facing towards his back end, have your free hand on his hip and can feel for kicks, and just start feeling around. You’ll know where the end is, and you can even get the “wax beans” out that way. If you use gloves, your hand is usually too sticky and it’s hard to pick out a peanut unless you use your finger nails.

Okay, be grossed out. I thought I’d gag the first time I dug around. You get over it and they feel better. I just clean it out, then run the hose on low and guide it up inside and rinse things out. Then I get a bucket of water, antibacterial soap and a fingernail brush and scrub my hands off and clean out around my nails.

No big deal and they feel much better for it when you’re done. Better than the vet because they usually don’t get it quite as clean as “mom” will. Just don’t clean them all the time. A few times a year is good. If you do it too often, you can make their bodies produce more oils and make it even more likely that they’ll get those “wax beans.”

[DMK]

invest in a box of surgical gloves… go on a search and destroy mission… (1cc of ace if he is the kind of shy guy that is modest, and feels a kick is necessary to preserve his modesty!)

[Cactuskate]

You might also try just rubbing and scratching his belly right in front of the sheath area on a regular basis. Kind of in the bellybutton area. My gelding would crawl in my pocket if I would let him. He gets that upper lip stuck out and his neck stretched like the giraffe he imitates.

Maybe by desensitizing him to “here I come” but instead a pleasant experience, you can evenutally incorporate a quick clean. Then gradually go deeper, and maybe the rub will feel so good he will get comfortable dropping.

I think some geldings have been “punished” or gotten after if you will for “dropping in public”. Maybe your guy has some deep seated psychological issues to deal with here. I’m sure there is some bazillon dollar cure for all of this.

If his sheath doesn’t look really crusty and disgusting when you do get a peek, I wouldn’t worry too much. Nature would not have made it that difficult an area to deal with on their own if it was meant to be sparkly clean, you know.

[Clive_s_Mom]

DMK -

I had the gloves - did search and cleaned what I could reach. Got the sheath good, was hoping to get the other. He WAS tranq’d.

Rye - Mine does the same - but he only pees at half-show. He’s REALLY prudish.

Someone at the barn had suggested baby oil - thinking that would help loosen the stuff and make it easier to clean (thus, making him happier). Any problems? I seem to remember reading somewhere NOT to use oils, as they attract dirt. Has anyone tried? What did you think?

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[coco]

I’ve had my gelding for 3 1/2 years and have NEVER cleaned him (I’m too squeamish and afraid he’ll kick my head in).

He seems happy enough to walk on this earth “au naturel” without soap and water ever touching this part of his body.

Am I a bad bad mother??? We’re both really happy with the current set up…

[DMK]

No way to phrase this delicately… just keep going (gently) - eventually you will find it

I would stick with the water soluble stuff like excalibur - it does as good a job of softening the crud, as oils, which I do believe just add to the build up after you are done.

Also, if you are just able to clean the sheath, that will go a long way to improving the whole situation, as it were (unless he has a pea).

Every time I clean a sheath, I SWEAR my next horse will be a mare!

[Velvet]

The problem is, nature never intended horses to stay in stalls with shavings for hours on end. Straw can be bad, too, but the worst offender is shavings. They get the little particles up inside, it irritates the skin, thus producing more oils for coating and creating an excess which can cause problems.

The little “wax beans” that they get around the tip of their penis are the worst problems. They can put pressure on the urethra and make it difficult for the horse to urinate. Also, they are thinking there is a possible connection between them and some lesions and cancerous growths that have been discovered on some horses.

The other problem is all of that extra oil, dead skin and shaving particles make for an itchy mess, which is uncomfortable to the horse. This is often the cause of the tail rubbing you see horses doing.

Guess I don’t believe in doing it all the time, and yet again, since we do not have our horses running around in the wild and we also expect them to have a longer life cycle than they would in the wild, I clean their sheaths at least twice a year. If you do it a couple times during the summer and once in the winter, you’ll notice the difference in how much easier it is to clean and how much smaller the little “beans” are.

I would suggest doing it. The frequency is up to you.

[This message was edited by Velvet on Feb. 16, 2001 at 02:56 PM.]

[rescuemom]

Clive’s Mom, does he ever completely relax and “let it all hang out”? If not you might want to run that past your vet. Otherwise, you just gotta keep searchin’, searchin’.

DMK, I did go with a mare the next time. My gelding was a piece of cake comparatively. Miss Mare does have to have her udder area cleaned, and just as often as sheath cleaning. But Her Sensitiveness is not real thrilled with the whole procedure, sometimes less so than others. It smells just as bad as gelding crud and you have to put yourself in a more dangerous position to reach the crud buildup area. So the only real plus with a mare is that they don’t have to drop in order for us to do a thorough job.

[Lionheart]

I’m tellin’ ya… pay the vet $10 bucks and let him/her do it. It’s well worth it. I can guarantee you guys that he gets it cleaner than i ever could. We have sign up sheets when it comes to spring and fall shots, there is an “Other” column and almost everyone has “sheath” and “coggins” on there. It’s like clock work…

[DMK]

Yes, rescuemom - my mares were all pretty much the same way. I just tend to conveniently forget about that little trait since I have geldings these days!

[Reginapony]

Where do you get a Vet that only charges $10? My Vet will start with a $20 tranquilizer, then add on the price of sheath cleaning.

My friends and I stuff a liberal amount of water soluble Nitrofurazone Dressing into our horses sheaths. It seems to melt away the scales and smegma. We rinse out the sheaths the next day. I have tried this with 100% pure aloe dressing. It worked just as well. If this sounds like a bad thing to do, I would love to hear from more knowledgeable horsepeople. I never questioned my friend who told me about using the Nitrofurazone dressing.

[Lionheart]

I say this cuz i just pay my vet $10 bucks and he does it with my regular shots. It seems so much easier than fighting with him.

Maybe he doesnt feel so shy when it’s a guy doing it! maybe they’ve seen those videos that are all over the internet and email…

sorry guys, just couldnt resist the last comment.

[Chanda]

My vet would charge $75 for a sheath cleaning and that is not including a tranquilizer.

My horse his shy around water but if he is hanging during a grooming and can take a couple picks at the flakes. It is gross but he is so dirty. I really need to get on the ball and we finally have warm water in the barn!

One thing that I learned recently is that rubbing their chest and between their front legs can get them excited. It certainly works for my horse where I have to specifically stay away from that area of he ends up humping my leg like a dog.