Horse kicking at stomach/sheath?

[saitou_amaya]

Today when I got my horse out of his stall and put him in the cross ties, I noticed he seems very agitated. He is usually a very chill, happy gelding so this was unusual. He was then kicking at his stomach every couple minutes. Kind of like when a horse has flies on their belly but he seemed very uncomfortable and wouldn’t stop. At first I was worried about colic but it seems like he is kicking at his sheath. I’ve never seen this behavior before. He has no other signs of colic and is eating, drinking, and pooping.

When I tried to touch his sheath, he pinned his ears and seemed noticeably uncomfortable. I lunged him and he was bronc bucking, I’ve never seen him buck like this! I tried to examine his sheath closer to see what might be going on but he kept trying to kick. He is not a horse that usually let anyone clean his sheath without sedation (I know, I know, but it is one of his few bad qualities, he is usually perfect).

I think there may be something irritating his sheath or maybe something in there? It also looks like his sheath is pretty dirty. If he wasn’t kicking, I would try to clean it. Turnout was very muddy today from all the rain so maybe he has mud in there? The vet is already scheduled to come out Tuesday to float his teeth and clean his sheath while sedated. But this behavior is really unusual for him and I’m concerned. I called the vet and asked if he thinks this needs to be looked at this weekend or can wait til Tuesday when he will be here. He thinks it can wait since he is eating, drinking, pooping, and peeing. Has anyone ever seen something like this before?

[bingbingbing]

Sounds like a possible bean. But who knows. If he is agitated all of the time by whatever is going on, I would not wait to have the vet check him Tuesday.
If it is a bean making him that uncomfortable, they can lead to trouble urinating. When he pees does the stream come out normally? Not spraying or a smaller than normal stream?

[BigMama1]

I agree with bean other irritation or blockage. If he’s that uncomfortable now, don’t wait. Can you sedate him enough to give it a good clean yourself? If not, get your vet out today.

[DMK]

It’s Saturday, I can’t see this as a weekend emergency if his vitals are fine.

[candyappy]

As long as he is peeing normally and the sheath isn’t swollen you might get by without a vet call till Tuesday.

[saitou_amaya]

I went out to the barn this morning planning on calling the vet if he still seems uncomfortable. But he seemed better today. He did still kick up at his sheath a couple times but not over and over like last night. And he otherwise seemed calm and relaxed. No bronc bucking either!

He did eat, drink, poop, and pee all while I was there and seemed okay so I will probably wait til Tuesday. I’m not comfortable sedating him without a vet. He is 22 years old and has other medical issues.

[2DogsFarm]

If you can get someone to help you it is possible to clean his sheath w/o sedation.
Have helper hold up a front foot while you address the “parts”.
Horse cannot kick while standing on 3 legs.

[anon68314200]

I went thru similar recently. AFter having the vet out to sedate and thoroughly clean sheath we treated one month with Gastroguard and continue with Outlast. Took 2+ months for symptoms to clear but they horse is noticeable changed. Appears he had ulcers for a while but I did not catch on until the aisle behavior.

[BoyleHeightsKid]

I agree it sounds like a sheath cleaning is needed and probably a bean just inside the opening of the penis. I have a friend who’s gelding displayed the same behavior and would let out a squeal and try to kick if you went anywhere near it which was very out of character for him. Had the vet out to sedate/clean and the bean was so big it had the opening of his penis stretched out, poor boy

It sounds like he’s uncomfortable enough where cleaning it without sedation is probably not possible.

[endlessclimb]

If you’re touching their ouchy man parts, you bet your ass they can - they will at least try even if it’s half assed and poorly aimed. I’d scotch hobble before holding up a front foot for this, if it were literally life or death to get it done.

However, this does not sound life-or-death to me, so I’d wait until Tuesday for the vet instead of risking getting my teeth knocked in. Better living through chemistry.

[luvmyhackney]

I’ll send you my pony, he can still kick with one foot held. Total A-hole when cleaning his sheath.

Either drugs and/or twitch work well with a foot tied up.

And wear a helmet.

[saitou_amaya]

My horse has his vet appointment this morning. There was nothing wrong with his sheath or penis! There wasn’t even a bean. It was just very very dirty and had a lot of mud in there. It probably didn’t feel very comfortable. But he got a very thorough cleaning with the help of some sedation and it much happier now!

[endlessclimb]

Great news, hopefully that was it! Tell the dummy to quit rolling so thoroughly in the mud haha