Dirty Sheath of very touchy... actually don't touch it... gelding

[Cruisesmom]

Can I get some advice on the dirty boys who do not want to participate in any cleaning whatsoever?

The very BEST gelding for everything but this. Vet sedated him for his annual floating and he still was a pill having the vet clean. It didn’t seem like a job well done as he had the yucky peely parts still hanging. He also gets the yucky sticky smegma on the inside of the upper hind legs too.

I can get a quick sneaky one shot pick a piece and that’s my only freebie from him. After that its cow kicks, no matter how sweet or how many treats or holding a front leg up.

How do you guys train this, work up to cleaning? What are the secrets?

[downen]

My little Haffy came to me last fall with the grungiest sheath I’ve ever encountered. He was biting his sides it was so bad. It must have been uncomfortable for a long time because he can super touchy and pumps his tail and stamps his foot, although he has not threatened to kick me.

I have to clean him weekly (he forms small beans each week), but he’s super greedy so I have a tub of nice hay that I put in front of him and that distracts him enough so he’s not so touchy. If your boy is at all food-oriented, maybe you can use some sort of a likit toy to distract him? The only other thing I can think of is light sedation.

Best of luck!

[Marla_100]

VERY SLOWLY, tiny baby steps. When he reacts slow down or back off, similar to conditioning for other things. I would scold at the cow kicks, that’s an over reaction IMO.
Start by itching, rubbing the belly very gently, then slowly move toward sheath area. Talk to him quietly. I work w/ my left hand with right hand over rump. If you can only rub exterior of sheath today, that’s a success. Lots of good boys/praise.

[Peggy]

What Marla said and keep at it every single day.

OR,

Better drugs? Or some combination of drugs and a good handler that can use some sort of restraint.

[endlessclimb]

If all else fails and you really need in there, a scotch hobble would do the trick.

Personally, I’d try some clicker training to get him to start associating it with good things. It might be really sensitive since it’s so dirty.

Do you have a heated wash rack? Any way you could put it on jet (with low water pressure of course, nothing painful) and warm water, so you can spray up there… he can kick away at the water stream without risk of injury to handler, and then when he quits kicking you can praise him to high heavens and make a big fuss out of him?

[sigrid.sijtsma]

can you touch it with your hands?.. just on the outside… i washed my horse with warm water, with a hoze i put soap on his whole body also on his belly and inside hind legs, and between his hindlegs…

he didnt care and it felt good… also you could give him some really nice food, just a bucket of carrots apples and muesli… so he can eat and feels good and not so watching you…

also when they are showered with warm water and are relaxed, it will hang out more…

My gelding wasnt used, and pulled it up high, but after a few times, it felt relieved for him, that i took it away, and then it was easy to do, just with a vaginal wipes, as they are good for that area. he let it hang more and with hand i could go in, and wipes the smegma away.

sometimes if you go near the area, and he wants to kick, you can leave your hand at the place, and say NO, and reward him with a treat if he accepts your hand, and stops kicking. and work that out in time, and in time go up to the place were you want to be, with rewards ofcourse.

and sometimes if their is someone with you, they can rubbing on a plce he likes a lot, so then he is distracted.

[Lusoluv]

I’d also apply something that you don’t have to rinse off. My last gelding would drop after a good grooming so I kept plain mineral oil in a squeeze bottle. Some people use a water soluble lubricant. In either case, they can be applied without touching the sheath and when it retracts, the horse’s body heat and movement cause the gunk to slide off quite well. You may have to do this a few times if he’s really filthy, but I never had to touch my guy. I just did this a few times a year.

[StormyDay]

I’d have the vet come out and sedate with the strong stuff and really get it cleaned. Sometimes they are uncomfortable from the buildup and they kick because of that. Also pieces that have been stuck on there for a while can actually hurt when they get peeled off.

Then I’d start spraying water up in there every time you are done with a sweaty workout. They will start to associate hose up there = itch relief. I’ve pretty much have had every gelding come around and tolerate cleaning once I use the hose as a reward after a good workout.

[Marla_100]

The external cleaning is just one part of sheath cleaning. There’s also checking for and removing the bean(s) that can clog up the movement of urine.
Even when I haven’t suspected any large beans, I find some.
every horse owner should learn how to train their horse to accept this. The process itself isn’t painful and the horse shouldn’t need to be sedated, ideally.

[luvmyhackney]

I’ll send you my pony. Only part of his body he is particular about. You can touch the area, but once trying to grasp, put fingers inside his sheath, it’s a fat nope. Like kick you, pull away, slam himself on the ground no. I pick my battles and it’s easier to sedate him. Thankfully he stays clean. Other two love it and have no issues.

[Marla_100]

oh a pony, well that’s a whole nuther thing… lol. They know they can do the theatrics and you go away. Little devils.

[punchy]

I start really slow too. I don’t try to get a good cleaning right away, but just start with a little bit and increase it over time. I use warm water and a small piece of sponge (or even a strong paper towel) and start with the top area that runs along their belly, where grease tends to accumulate; it’s not too invasive and it is more likely to feel good to them. Once they understand it doesn’t hurt and actually feels good, you can get farther up and into all the crevices without fuss.

[Haybert]

Can you have one of the legs tied up? Like a soft rope around the girth and lift the leg enough off the floor that kicking won’t be fun. Also pulling the tail around helps.

If you have a wide stirrup leather that works with the rope. I haven’t done it in a long time.

My horse is the opposite, he raises his leg with pleasure and almost nails me.

I think the rope is a safe way to start. I mean, you could go all clicker training on him, too. But the cowkicking is a dangerous thing and needs to be mitigated immediately, no matter how slow you go.

[PNWSunnyDay]

@endlessclimb

you have a heated wash rack? Any way you could put it on jet (with low water pressure of course, nothing painful) and warm water, so you can spray up there… he can kick away at the water stream without risk of injury to handler, and then when he quits kicking you can praise him to high heavens and make a big fuss out of him?

Exactly what I would suggest to get the immediate grossness flushed out. Then, work on desensitization every day like several others have said.

[Xanthoria]

I’ve found it helps to squirt baby oil on it the day before if he lets it hang out. It’ll really help soften things up for wash day.

[cayuse]

I have an aged pony who is like this. DO NOT TOUCH his business EVER! Full stop. No negotiation. I have tried for years to acclimate him to an occasional cleaning and it will not happen. He’s a sweet pony and will let me do anything else, but the sheath is off limits. The vet now does it with quite a bit of sedation because I lost the battle one too many times.

[horsepoor]

@StormyDay

Then I’d start spraying water up in there every time you are done with a sweaty workout. They will start to associate hose up there = itch relief. I’ve pretty much have had every gelding come around and tolerate cleaning once I use the hose as a reward after a good workout.

This has been my experience. My Welsh Cob came with the warning that he hates being touched anywhere near his sheath and even looking at it would get a warning kick. In fact, I almost didn’t buy him because the PPE vet was so put off by his behavior when examining him. I just did the hose off thing every time we rode, gradually going from spraying of legs there to around the sheath to in the sheath. Made no big deal of it, just kept at it slowly over days and weeks, and he now is quite accepting. Hosing the sheath out like that has made a huge difference in cleanliness. I can’t really get in and clean him without drugs but at least this keeps him from being disgusting in between vet visits. I’ve also been able to squirt a little mineral oil (my choice over baby oil as no fragrance or anything that might irritate) and let it sit before hosing and that helps too. I can see the difference now when he drops as I can’t do any of this in winter and he’s getting kind of yucky again.

[CowgirlCoffee]

My colt would cow-kick if I touched him anywhere close to his sheath. I started by using a dressage whip (I wanted to be out of the kick zone) to rub him under the belly, progressing towards his sheath. If he stayed still and didn’t kick, I would remove the whip and praise him. If he kicked out, the whip would remain in place (I’d move around with him) until he stopped. When he accepted the whip rubbing him on the outside of the sheath, then I progressed to the inside of the sheath (very gently of course). When I felt confident that he had accepted the touch of the whip, then I began the process over with my hand. He still doesn’t care for bean removal, but we are working on it!

[Laurierace]

Mineral oil and baby oil is the same thing plus or minus fragrance. Neither one is something I would use. Generic KY jelly is much better and much better for the horse

[horsepoor]

Mineral oil was approved by my vet but it isn’t used often, just once in awhile to loosen things up. I used to keep some of that generic ky stuff around too but didn’t find it very effective on the ones you just let sit (more for those you actively clean, but this guy isn’t that). But it is a good one to try and better if using often, I’d agree.