Sheath cleaning fun.

[Nezzy]

My gelding has a very gross sheath. but not as bad as my hubby’s old Pink-skinned gelding used to have. I clean it every 4-6 months depending on how soon i think he needs it. Sometimes there is an odor, and by then, i know it’s due.

Got the water warmed, the chlorhexadine( not too much) into the water, the KY jelly. And the GLOVE. i have blue gloves that i wear. they go 2 inches past my wrist and they used to seem long enough. now i wish they were longer. i have used the OBGYN gloves, but i don’t like them, and i don’t think my gelding likes them either. And with my left hand, i am holding his leg back from kicking me in the head. Right arm is up the sheath.

I finally figured out that you really need to get all the way up in there and feel around for grunge. Not easy when holding back a kick. a few cookies help. ( him, not me) then it’s back up there. ugh. Blech. lots of gunk. i use wet papertowels that have been in the clean warm water. wipe out what i can and go back in with just my gloved hand. once i got most of the gunk out, and everything inside was feeling like smooth skin, he was no longer trying to kick me. ( well not as badly). still had two halves of the bean to get out. blech.

You know you love your horse when you opt to do this yourself instead of paying the vet. So finally all the crud is gone, i get a little more KY Jelly, make sure he’s all smooth and clean and give him his cookies.

Once he’s turned out, i had to clean up all that nasty stuff on the floor, put down shavings to soak it up plus the smell. clean up the barn, get myself home and scrub my arm with rubbing alcohol.

What i am wondering is- who is the first guy to ever consider cleaning a sheath? Things that make you go Hmmmm…

[SnicklefritzG]

I try to clean my horse’s sheath and privates a little bit each time he drops. It’s not working. He hates being touched there. lol.

How did you get your horse to stand for that? My horse is good about everything else in the world, just not sheath cleaning.

[Nezzy]

i cross-tie him and he’s usually good for anything. But he does try to kick me. so the right shoulder is next to him and the right arm is up there, and the left hand is on his leg, so i feel when he lifts it and push it back when he tries. i have just been very careful. My gelding will NEVER drop for cleaning. even if he does drop on occasion and i try to gently get anything off, he gets shy and pulls it up.

[Fox_Wood_Farm]

My gelding loves having his sheath cleaned more than just about anything. I seem to wind up with my arm up in there at least every other day and he prefers daily. Loves to be scratched from the inside. He will hike his hind leg out sideways like a dog to improve my access. And makes goofy faces and drools and wiggles his lips. Never seen another horse like that! I thought it was icky at first. But now it’s just one of his quirks!

[ReSomething]

We had a great thread on sheath cleaning, it actually started with the discovery of a HUGE bean and moved on to techniques. I went out, bought the stuff and cleaned the old guy probably for the first time in 10 years. He won’t drop either but he’s quite polite to me when I grub around up there at arm’s length. I just cannot get the right keywords to find the thread, darn it.

[mswillie]

[QUOTE=ReSomething;7652877]
We had a great thread on sheath cleaning, it actually started with the discovery of a HUGE bean and moved on to techniques. I went out, bought the stuff and cleaned the old guy probably for the first time in 10 years. He won’t drop either but he’s quite polite to me when I grub around up there at arm’s length. I just cannot get the right keywords to find the thread, darn it.[/QUOTE]

Was it this one: http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?410610-Holy-smegma!-Adventures-in-sheath-cleaning-(picture!!%29&highlight=bean

[ladymcts]

Um, before you ever get ANY amount of clorhex around genitalia again, you really should try it out yourself and see how you like it. I know I sure wouldn’t want it anywhere near my ladyparts. If you’re not so sure about that test, then next time you have an open cut, try putting it on that.

[ReSomething]

[QUOTE=mswillie;7652916]
Was it this one: http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?410610-Holy-smegma!-Adventures-in-sheath-cleaning-(picture!!%29&highlight=bean[/QUOTE]

Why yes! Thank you so much! I have to find the post number of the gal that explained how she did it and made it all so simple.

[GoForAGallop]

[QUOTE=Fox Wood Farm;7652863]
My gelding loves having his sheath cleaned more than just about anything. I seem to wind up with my arm up in there at least every other day and he prefers daily. Loves to be scratched from the inside. He will hike his hind leg out sideways like a dog to improve my access. And makes goofy faces and drools and wiggles his lips. Never seen another horse like that! I thought it was icky at first. But now it’s just one of his quirks![/QUOTE]

My guy is not so, uh, enthusiastic, but he likes it too. He was a stud for seven years, so I suspect just got used to it. He stands politely, drops when he sees the bucket of water, and only shuffles around a bit when I stick the hose up there.

Good thing, because he’s particularly dirty, for some reason. Maybe because he likes to lay flat out and take naps? In the warm months, I end up doing it just about monthly.

My little pony mule gelding stays spic and span, for whatever reason, although he’s also a big napper. Also a good thing, because the little sucker tries to cow kick me every time I stick a hand near there, so I have to either sneak attack him or wait for him to be doped up for something else.

[ryansgirl]

[QUOTE=ladymcts;7652939]
Um, before you ever get ANY amount of clorhex around genitalia again, you really should try it out yourself and see how you like it. I know I sure wouldn’t want it anywhere near my ladyparts. If you’re not so sure about that test, then next time you have an open cut, try putting it on that.[/QUOTE]

I was wondering why the OP was using chlorhexidine too. First time I’ve ever heard someone use it to clean a sheath. Absolutely not my thing to use - prefer generic KY Jelly with warm water or just warm water.

[QM2]

Chlorhex is VERY drying. We use it to dip umbilicals when the foals are born. Dries and shrivels them up in no time. No way would I use it on my horses’ sheath.

I use the same as my vet;

Betadine scrub
Rectal sleeves
Sheet cotton
Warm water

[skipollo]

Maybe I’m the odd one out, but sheath cleaning always seemed very normal to me because we’ve always done it, never had the vet come out for our boys. I just cleaned my young horse for the first time a week or so ago, and he stood like a champ. Didn’t bat an eyelash. Our other two stand pretty well too. We don’t even bother with the glove–just water, Excaliber, hose, sponge for getting the fine sandy-type stuff out. I rinse my arm off with the hose at the end and off we go!

[GottaQHFilly]

Reason number one I will never have a gelding.

[ryansgirl]

[QUOTE=skipollo;7653572]
Maybe I’m the odd one out, but sheath cleaning always seemed very normal to me because we’ve always done it, never had the vet come out for our boys. I just cleaned my young horse for the first time a week or so ago, and he stood like a champ. Didn’t bat an eyelash. Our other two stand pretty well too. We don’t even bother with the glove–just water, Excaliber, hose, sponge for getting the fine sandy-type stuff out. I rinse my arm off with the hose at the end and off we go![/QUOTE]

Agree. I don’t get what the issue is. I’ve never paid a vet to clean it (nor ever will). It’s really not a bid deal. Just part of owning a horse. And mares need to be cleaned too - they can get plenty of junk built up between their udders ;).

[Nezzy]

i was taught by a vet to use the chlorhexadine in a bucket of water with paper towels. a squirt in a big bucket. and ky jelly. i don’t use much and i thought it was what i was supposed to use, since i learned it from a vet years ago.

i never thought about using a vet either, but i always wondered if i was doing it right and had a vet show me and also verify if i did or dod not clean it out ok. With that certain horse, he usually had a cleanish sheath anyway.

The past few times i did it, i realized that i was never getting it down as well as i should have. now i KNOW i am doing it right. i am getting it all out.

[FalseImpression]

Our gelding drops every time he is in the x ties. Very easy to check him. My DD cleans him on a regular basis (Excalibur, warm water and plenty more to rinse well). “I” even had to do it once…never knew you could get your arm so far in there… wow… and I got a prize too.
He also lifts his leg to make it easier for us.
I clean our mare every week at least.

[Nezzy]

[QUOTE=GottaQHFilly;7653574]
Reason number one I will never have a gelding.[/QUOTE]

oh please. it’s nothing when you love your horse

[TornadoWarning]

Haha! I do this twice a year and just did it a few weeks ago. My old guy stands for it, but he doesn’t like it one bit. I just use ky and water (and a glove and cookies!). My first horse was such a kicker during the deed that I had to have a friend hold up a hind foot while I cleaned so he couldn’t kill me! He was a fighter.

I’ll bet people started doing it when they saw the poor horses peeing funny, and thought, well, I wonder if there’s something stuck in there.

[JackieBlue]

My horse loveslovesloves having his sheath cleaned. As another poster said, he’ll even stick his hind leg out to the side to improve my access. I use Cetaphil (or the more affordable generic). It softens everything up, doesn’t need rinsing, doesn’t leave an oily residue and can be easily microwaved or warmed in hot water in the winter.

[BruBoy]

I’m another one that has a gelding that LOVES it and hikes his leg up and contorts his lips around. I just use a big bucket of warm water, a sponge that fits in the palm of my hand and Ecolicious Smeg-U-Later.

I’ve given up wearing gloves because it grosses me out more to get water and smegma inside the glove and have my hand marinate in it. Blech!