im sorry but every time I have clicked on this thread, my eye wants to stop the OP’s first sentence as above! LOLOLOL!
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I prefer to put the KY generic in, go for a ride or turn them out for a while, then go in and loosen and follow up with the hose. Much less of an ordeal to let body heat and motion work things loose.
[QUOTE=Fox Wood Farm;7658012]
im sorry but every time I have clicked on this thread, my eye wants to stop the OP’s first sentence as above! LOLOLOL![/QUOTE]
OMG NOO!!! My hubby has a very clean non-sheathed area.
those who have geldings who love it, i envy you! it would be so much easier if i was not fighting that kicking leg.
[QUOTE=Nezzy;7658604]
those who have geldings who love it, i envy you! it would be so much easier if i was not fighting that kicking leg.[/QUOTE]
Mine has almost fallen over more than once while flinging his leg out to enable me. Sometimes he likes it too much…
apologies to mr nezzy…
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I usually baby oil it the day before and then just clean with warm water. I clean all the boys in the barn - that’s 16 of them! We have some that need it every two weeks or so, and some that go 3 months or so before they need it again. I’ve probably cleaned 100s of sheaths, and I gave up on gloves. Easier to feel things without them! LOL. Most of the ones I’ve cleaned tolerate it to varying degrees - only dealt with one that never really gave it up and was absolutely horrible each time. I’ve learned that with most of them patience, and being sure its pain free (warm water, non irritating cleaning agent, NO PICKING WHEN IT’S DRY!) - they will eventually learn it’s just another thing they have to tolerate, at least. I would never use chlorhexadine in there!
The things we do for these beasts…but then again, oh the things we ask them to do!
I do not use Excalibur ---- It is too liquid and slides right off my hand. I DO feel embarrassed when I go to the Dollar Value store and buy 6 tubes of generic lube. I can only imagine what the clerk is thinking.
I have never greased a gelding up and then gone for a ride. Great idea.
I press my hip up against his gaskin so I can feel the first twitch of his leg moving. If he starts to lift his leg to kick I just move in toward him and push him over so he puts his leg down again. Do not move away; gives him more room to get that leg swinging.
I worked for a vet for years and we always used Chlorhexidine to clean the sheaths (I was the token sheath cleaner). A little squirt of Chlorhex in warm water and soaked cotton worked great. I ALWAYS wore gloves because the smell of a bad one is nauseating, but it was pretty funny how each horse handled it differently. I remember one gelding that wouldn’t stop nuzzling my back while I was doing it and then tried to follow me around after - slightly awkward, lol.
I know this is a very old thread, bumped up recently, but I’d like to reiterate that a clean sheath isn’t truly clean until you remove the bean.
Many clients will say “Oh I clean his sheath every time I bathe him”. But when I ask if they’ve noticed if horse accumulates a bean I usually get a blank stare.
Putting a hose ‘up there’ does not equal cleaning a sheath.
And now I’ll put my soapbox away. Thanks for listening.
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My gelding is fine with me getting my arm up his sheath and cleaning whatever I can get out of there (I am also one who does not use gloves for this!) but do not touch the weenie!! So I usually have the vet get the bean out. Occasionally I can catch him down and avoid the kick when I grab and pop the bean, but not often. Having a chestnut though I would rather have the vet take a look at his weenie annually for cancer check.
My new horse loves it, but my old horse… we tried at first, and we couldn’t get anywhere near! He was horribly dirty, so we gave him a little dormosedan (tranq) and waited… and he still tried (and very nearly succeeded several times) to kick our heads off! We had to put a twitch on him and have someone hold his back leg, but he was still trying to kick. It took a long while, but we got him clean. It was a shortish lease, so we luckily only had to do it once.
I have a gelding that will not drop unless he’s sedated so the vet does the cleaning when teeth floating is done.
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Ditto this. My gelding was very polite about his refusal RE: sheath cleaning, but it a very decisive ‘no’. He was pretty prim - didn’t drop casually for the most part (maybe a handful of times in the ten years I had him, beyond sedation events. Even sedated, he tended to stay pretty tucked away).
I made it a point that any time he was sedated for something (generally it was teeth, but occasionally there was some other situation that required it) I’d go ahead and clean him then. He was pretty tidy so infrequent sheath cleaning was sufficient, but I think it would’ve been an issue if he was one of the ones that tended to be dirtier.
I don’t know why it’s so important to have them drop. I think I’ve had one or two drop over the years, but frankly, I think it’s easier if they stay ‘recessed’. Yeah, it requires a little more finesse. If they drop and you’re lucky enough to be ready to clean with the lube, sponge/ gauze and warm water, go for it. But I wouldn’t postpone the session simply because they’re not ‘relaxed’.
Some geldings may fight because they have a big bean or one that is making a sore spot there.
Then any touching makes it burn, so not happy for anyone messing with his sore spot.
Or they had a sore spot before and are anticipating it hurting.
It is best then to sedate them and get that checked out without needing to force the issue.
Our gelding that eventually had penile squamous cell carcinoma may have been getting sore before it was obvious.
He was always polite about cleaning, but started to get itchy and a bit skittish before the cancer broke out and was obvious there was a problem there.
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Lol…I read your 1st sentence as my gelding has a gross sheath, but not as bad as my hubby’s. (Period).
I was thinking “poor nezzy…I’d hate for my husband to have that issue.”
Hahahaha!! yeah i probably could have worded that better.
I know this might be considered an unpopular opinion based on the content of this thread - I don’t clean my horse’s sheath unless there’s a medical reason for doing so. I came across this recently and I think it would be worth the read since this thread has been brought back… “Contrary to popular belief, cleaning a horse’s penis and the sheath containing it (the prepuce) is rarely necessary. In fact, the aggressive cleaning methods promoted by many well-meaning horsepeople often do more harm than good.”
https://aaep.org/horsehealth/why-and-how-do-i-clean-my-horses-sheath
The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) discourages sheath cleaning as a practice, especially when the process includes the use of harsh chemical cleansers like chlorohexadine. If the horse seems to be having trouble urinating or has discharge that seems abnormal or excessive, involve your veterinarian. Scrubbing the area yourself may just aggravate an underlying issue.
I just put baby oil on and pick off the gunk and remove bean. No need to wash off if horse gets fractious.
I just put some plain ol’ water based lubricant up there, then remove excess gunk once it’s all softened up. My one horse had gotten funky lately. A bit Smelly and dirty, but no signs of infection, discharge, or anything Abnormal. Just dirty. No bean though, just a little gunk there.
I don’t know that he was uncomfortable with his “situation up there” but it had been a year so I figured I’d check him. He stays pretty clean aside from the front part of his sheath.
