# Erm... maybe time to clean sheath?



## Poco1220 (Apr 6, 2010)

It should definitely be done. If you are not comfortable doing it then call and schedule for the vet to do so.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## LuckyRVT (Nov 4, 2011)

scrub a dub dub! this is embarrassing but i love cleaning sheaths...they come out so clean it makes you feel accomplished! (i work in the veterinary field) sometimes horses have to be sedated and dont forget to check for a bean!  light soap and water should do the trick!


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## Beauseant (Oct 22, 2010)

Umm..that is icky!:shock: But don't feel bad, it's not nearly as icky as our boy's part. 

I don't know what he does with that thing when we aren't around, but it is ALWAYS filthy. He gets hay on it, gravel on it, mud on it.....:?....don't ask me how cuz I don't know....not sure i WANT to know. then he gets this dried flaky stuff on "it", also. 

Once I SWEAR there was sand on it....but that is impossible as there's no sand within hundreds of miles of us....but it did look like sand.

SOOOO....because he's a filthy pig, we have to clean it at least once a week. We dont' do the bean check though....we leave that to the vet when she comes for the spring vaccinations.


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## Gallop On (May 1, 2011)

Beauseant said:


> Umm..that is icky!:shock: But don't feel bad, it's not nearly as icky as our boy's part.
> 
> I don't know what he does with that thing when we aren't around, but it is ALWAYS filthy. He gets hay on it, gravel on it, mud on it.....:?....don't ask me how cuz I don't know....not sure i WANT to know. then he gets this dried flaky stuff on "it", also.
> 
> ...


LOL... :rofl: 

Mud? On his sheath? :rofl:

So, how do you personally clean the outside if you don't get the bean?


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## Gallop On (May 1, 2011)

LuckyRVT said:


> scrub a dub dub! this is embarrassing but i love cleaning sheaths...they come out so clean it makes you feel accomplished! (i work in the veterinary field) sometimes horses have to be sedated and dont forget to check for a bean!  light soap and water should do the trick!


Lol, yes, I will scrub it tomorrow. :lol: But whenever he drops, if I try to pick off all of the dry spegma (I think thats what it is called?) he sucks it back in... how do I get him to... well, not suck it back up into its chambers?


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

Just reach in after it. You realize that to get the bean you're aiming for internal structures, not the outside gunk that your pictures show, right?


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## danastark (Jul 17, 2008)

My big, draft cross gelding has the dirtiest sheath ever! Even the vet said he's never seen a horse produce so much gunk..... he gets it on the insides of his hind legs even!!! Yikes! Our POA also has a filthy sheath. When he had surgery for cancer in his sheath area this summer, they scrubbed him pink but when we came back for another treatment 3 wks later, he was disgusting again...... ugghhhhhhh. I'm always sure a non-horsey neighbor will drive by when I have my hand shoved up there! 

I do put on a glove and rub KY jelly up there the day before and that softens things up and makes your job much easier! What would the neighbor think of that!!


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

I have my horses' teeth floated & sheath cleaned (because they're sedated anyways) yearly. This past spring, vet said the boys didn't really need their teeth done due to the power float last spring so he left & said he wouldn't bother charging me for a farm visit unless I wanted their sheathes done, nah, you can go I said. So I did it, no big deal, just gotta catch them after you worked them hard, they don't seem to mind as much. By the way, you're posting the wrong picture of what you're supposed to clean, you stick a gloved finger inside & get the bean out.


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## Gallop On (May 1, 2011)

bubba13 said:


> Just reach in after it. You realize that to get the bean you're aiming for internal structures, not the outside gunk that your pictures show, right?





waresbear said:


> I have my horses' teeth floated & sheath cleaned (because they're sedated anyways) yearly. This past spring, vet said the boys didn't really need their teeth done due to the power float last spring so he left & said he wouldn't bother charging me for a farm visit unless I wanted their sheathes done, nah, you can go I said. So I did it, no big deal, just gotta catch them after you worked them hard, they don't seem to mind as much. By the way, you're posting the wrong picture of what you're supposed to clean, you stick a gloved finger inside & get the bean out.


I know the bean is shoved up "in" them, but I though I might as well clean the outside if I already have to reach my hand up their.


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## ChingazMyBoy (Apr 16, 2009)

I agree, it is needed for a horses heath. Make sure you get the bean out, if you have a particularly unhelpful horse or your unsure how to do it, get someone else to give you a hand or your vet. It's always better to be safe then sorry, specially for the first couple of times. 

Good luck.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

OOOOh you just wanna clean the outside? Ok, that's easy peasy. They don't even need to drop for that. When bathing (I have a hot water connection so makes it easier), reach up with the hose & rinse it out, then sponge up there with sheath cleaner or horse shampoo (I've used it for decades & never a problem) and scrub it out then hose it out. I do this every bath. My boys have clean winkies.


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

I have to do this soon too but I've so been putting it off


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## Klassic Superstar (Nov 30, 2009)

Really funny story about this topic, when I was 12 and at horse camp in Canada we had a health class everyday and this was one of the "hands on" lessons...they braught a gelding out and explained what was to be done and asked for a volunteer...I was day dreaming or something cause next thing i k ew the whole group had backed up like 10 feet so it looked like I wanted to do it....as a 12 year old and your not really even into boys yet it's so icky haha I know look back and laugh about it but oh man was I embarrassed and Ughh lol too funny, but comes with owning geldings!


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## Beauseant (Oct 22, 2010)

We don't really have any ttrouble getting our boy to let his "thing" out....he does it every time we groom him....but if you really want it out, scratch his butt. Seriously, this is gross, but when you scratch his butt, it really comes out of hiding...and sometimes he'll even move "it"...you know ... i have no idea why he is such a pervert. He is gelded...:?

We put socks on our hands which work as washcloths
and use warm water to remove the various things he's usually got stuck on there. I don't use soap generally for fear of irritating "it". 

What kind of soap/cleaner do you all use? Anyone ever use excalibur?


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## kait18 (Oct 11, 2011)

alright now i feel extremely dumb... i clean the inside but what is the bean???


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## Gallop On (May 1, 2011)

"Ok, here's the scoop. Male horses secrete a lubricant from their sheaths called smegma. Some horses produce a lot of it while others seem to have very little - it's all on an individual basis. This is the "stuff" you clean off of his penis, though it's usually dried on it. Smegma is very thick, kind of like half-dried handcream (and smells NASTY). It can collect and get trapped in the groove around the urethra. Thus creating a "bean" because the shape of the groove also shapes the smegma."

^^^ Quoted from off the internet


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## Gallop On (May 1, 2011)

Quick question, Do I have to use a kind of jelly? Or oil? I know I probably should if I have a latex glove on as that might be uncomfortable, but if I stick my finger up their to remove the bean, without a glove, do I need jelly?


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## kait18 (Oct 11, 2011)

ahh... well thats the crap that comes out lol never knew it had a name... very interesting


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

Some people are using "sheath cleaning" to clean (like this one eZall Sheath Cleaner - Horse.com). Thank God I have mares so don't really care about. 

BTW just curious... How often you supposed to do that? I clean my mares udders once/week during warm season (and yeah, I wipe their butts clean too with the sponge when I do it  ).


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

You DO realize that MS and HS girls are gonna find this post and your pictures?!? ROFL!!
We just talked about this on another post, so I'll re-direct you. 
http://www.horseforum.com/horse-grooming/how-often-should-you-sheath-clean-93794/
To be short and sweet, just do it, and clean a little at a time, do it often and he'll get used to it. Although it's not likely for a gelding/stallion to be seriously injured in or around his...stuff... you don't want to see your Vet hurt. MY Vet was kicked--NOT MY HORSE!!--and the gelding was sedated when he kicked her with BOTH hind feet as she was cleaning his sheath. You would want you horse attended to, especially if he had an injury or laceration there. She was considering giving up treating horses, as a result--same horse owner's mare had previously bit her in the face. (I told her to do so, but she could keep treataing my GOOD horses.)
I routinely clean my gelding's sheaths--always have, I've been kicked at once or twice over the years (warnings) but never hit--mostly they ignore me, but I never linger. The dirtiest sheaths are on geldings who pee without dropping down. The stallion owners here will tell you that their stallions have pretty clean sheaths.


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## Gallop On (May 1, 2011)

Corporal said:


> You DO realize that _*MS and HS girls*_ are gonna find this post and your pictures?!? ROFL!!
> We just talked about this on another post, so I'll re-direct you.
> http://www.horseforum.com/horse-grooming/how-often-should-you-sheath-clean-93794/
> To be short and sweet, just do it, and clean a little at a time, do it often and he'll get used to it. Although it's not likely for a gelding/stallion to be seriously injured in or around his...stuff... you don't want to see your Vet hurt. MY Vet was kicked--NOT MY HORSE!!--and the gelding was sedated when he kicked her with BOTH hind feet as she was cleaning his sheath. You would want you horse attended to, especially if he had an injury or laceration there. She was considering giving up treating horses, as a result--same horse owner's mare had previously bit her in the face. (I told her to do so, but she could keep treataing my GOOD horses.)
> I routinely clean my gelding's sheaths--always have, I've been kicked at once or twice over the years (warnings) but never hit--mostly they ignore me, but I never linger. The dirtiest sheaths are on geldings who pee without dropping down. The stallion owners here will tell you that their stallions have pretty clean sheaths.


Wait, who are they?


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## Gallop On (May 1, 2011)

Okay, so today when my horse was tied up and I was grooming him I took what you guys told me to heart, and... I rolled up my sleeves when he dropped, and stuck my hand up their, pulled back the fold, and removed a bean. Well, half of a bean. I then removed the other half and let it be. Each one the size of a almond... :shock: My hands like totally stunk afterwards... Ill be using gloves next time :lol: Oh, and he only lifted his leg. Thats all!


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

You really should use a glove, not only for your sanitary reasons, but also for the horse's, you could be introducing some nasty bacteria and/or accidently nick him with your fingernail. Buy a box of latex gloves and keep them handy, will prolly last you a lifetime.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

This video is pretty good, although I'm sure some geldings are not that calm:


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## Gallop On (May 1, 2011)

waresbear said:


> You really should use a glove, not only for your sanitary reasons, but also for the horse's, you could be introducing some nasty bacteria and/or accidently nick him with your fingernail. Buy a box of latex gloves and keep them handy, will prolly last you a lifetime.


Lol, I dont have finger nails... unfortunatly I chew mine off :shock: Which is pretty bad considering I just stuck my hand up into my horse... Eww!!!  Yup, next time I will be using latex gloves! I dont want to ask my parents to get me K-Y jelly though... They would, well, they would think I was... a freak. :lol: But yeah, for his sake, and my sake, Il be using gloves next time. :shock:


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## Gallop On (May 1, 2011)

bsms said:


> This video is pretty good, although I'm sure some geldings are not that calm:
> 
> Clean A Horse Sheath - part 2 of 2 - YouTube


By far the best video I have watched on cleaning their sheaths.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

Just to clarify, the bean isn't just the random goop that is up inside the sheath. The bean is actually inside a pouch at the end of the penis. Maybe I shouldn't even have mentioned it, but I will because for years I didn't know where to find the bean. 

I used to reach in and clean the smegma, but never actually knew where to find the bean until a friend showed me a couple years ago. So, um, I just thought I would mention that. It's kind of enlightening when you actually realize where it hides. All those years I never knew any better. :shock:

I was inspired to clean all 3 of my horses today. The 18 yr old gelding (yuck city), the 16 month old gelding (surprisingly dirty) and the 17 yr old mare (wow, udder smegma is just as nasty as the sheath smegma, who knew!). 

I didn't go for the bean on either gelding because neither one dropped. I usually clean sheaths when I think they are grungy and look for the bean when the horse is dropped and relaxed when the opportunity arises. Usually that doesn't happen when I am de-goobering the sheath.


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## Gallop On (May 1, 2011)

trailhorserider said:


> Just to clarify, the bean isn't just the random goop that is up inside the sheath. The bean is actually inside a pouch at the end of the penis. Maybe I shouldn't even have mentioned it, but I will because for years I didn't know where to find the bean.
> 
> I used to reach in and clean the smegma, but never actually knew where to find the bean until a friend showed me a couple years ago. So, um, I just thought I would mention that. It's kind of enlightening when you actually realize where it hides. All those years I never knew any better. :shock:
> 
> ...


Oh...  I didnt know that. So I have to really reach up in their? Cause this big goop was right as you folded the pouch aside, if you stuck your finger in their you could pull it out... >.< Nasty. Is the bean hard? Cause this stuff that I got out was, well, soft... like silly putty... EWW >.<


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

This site has a pretty good description of the steps involved in doing a thorough sheath cleaning, and is fairly amusing to read as well: http://www.equusite.com/articles/health/healthSheathCleaning.shtml

1.) Check to make sure there are no prospective boyfriends, elderly neighbors, or Brownie troops with a line of sight to the proceedings. Though of course they're probably going to show up unexpectedly ANYWAY once you're in the middle of things. Prepare a good explanation.


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## Beauseant (Oct 22, 2010)

ICKY!

Just wanted to ask: Ummm....we are supposed to clean our mare's udders????

How in the world do we do that? Is there a video on youtube for that, also?

We have NEVER cleaned her udders in the two years we had her. Now I am freaking out thinking things are growing in there...

Can someone walk me through udder cleaning step by step?


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

Reach up, dodge kicks, find goop, extract.


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## Gallop On (May 1, 2011)

bubba13 said:


> Reach up, dodge kicks, find goop, extract.


:shock: Nasty.


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## Allison Finch (Oct 21, 2009)

Gallop On said:


> Oh...  I didnt know that. So I have to really reach up in their? Cause this big goop was right as you folded the pouch aside, if you stuck your finger in their you could pull it out... >.< Nasty. Is the bean hard? Cause this stuff that I got out was, well, soft... like silly putty... EWW >.<



:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

I just had to laugh here!! Yes, it is sometimes worth the money to have a vet do it!! LOL!


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## SarahAnn (Oct 22, 2011)

Just a quick question. How are people getting kicked while cleaning sheaths? When I do it, I go from the side, not from the back... It sounds like people are cleaning them from the back? Am I getting this all wrong?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

No, it's from the side, but a horse can sure kick out that way when it wants to.


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## SarahAnn (Oct 22, 2011)

With both feet?!?! Acrobatic horses these folks have ;-) My guys have always been very good about it, so I was just curious. My stallion likes it a little too much to be honest. When I groom him I swear he looks at me like "ohhh is it time to clean my sheath? Pleeeeeeaaasseeee?!" Haha
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Gallop On (May 1, 2011)

Allison Finch said:


> :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
> 
> I just had to laugh here!! Yes, it is sometimes worth the money to have a vet do it!! LOL!


I think you are right, I will be having my vet look into this... :hide: I wont be reaching my hand up "into" him... :shock:



SarahAnn said:


> Just a quick question. How are people getting kicked while cleaning sheaths? When I do it, I go from the side, not from the back... It sounds like people are cleaning them from the back? Am I getting this all wrong?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I don't get it either... The place where I was he couldn't reach me...


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## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

Horses can kick forward as well as back, and sideways! They've got a pretty good range with those hind legs so where ever you are standing, you need to watch them. My coach snapped her leg clean in half across the femur being 'cow kicked', so they can certainly get some power up even kicking forwards.


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## goneriding (Jun 6, 2011)

A dab of liquid Dawn dish soap in warm water works well. I don't wear gloves because I can't feel everything. Make sure you rinse. It is alot cheaper than sheath cleaning products. Watch how he pees. Does it spray straight or is it spraying oddly/wide? Another way to tell if he has a bean. Under saddle he may start getting irritable, maybe offering up a buck or two when he normally doesn't.


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## SarahAnn (Oct 22, 2011)

I know a horse can kick in all different ways- but kick you with both feet while cleaning the sheath? Explain to me how a horse can kick with 2 feet while cleaning its sheath...
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

^^For myself, one leg would be enough to make me unhappy.


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## SarahAnn (Oct 22, 2011)

Oh yeah, agreed bsms! Someone wrote in an earlier post that someone got kicked with both feet while cleaning the sheath. That's what started my questioning how in the heck that can happen!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## SarahAnn (Oct 22, 2011)

Corporal said:


> You DO realize that MS and HS girls are gonna find this post and your pictures?!? ROFL!!
> We just talked about this on another post, so I'll re-direct you.
> http://www.horseforum.com/horse-grooming/how-often-should-you-sheath-clean-93794/
> To be short and sweet, just do it, and clean a little at a time, do it often and he'll get used to it. Although it's not likely for a gelding/stallion to be seriously injured in or around his...stuff... you don't want to see your Vet hurt. MY Vet was kicked--NOT MY HORSE!!--and the gelding was sedated when he kicked her with BOTH hind feet as she was cleaning his sheath. You would want you horse attended to, especially if he had an injury or laceration there. She was considering giving up treating horses, as a result--same horse owner's mare had previously bit her in the face. (I told her to do so, but she could keep treataing my GOOD horses.)
> I routinely clean my gelding's sheaths--always have, I've been kicked at once or twice over the years (warnings) but never hit--mostly they ignore me, but I never linger. The dirtiest sheaths are on geldings who pee without dropping down. The stallion owners here will tell you that their stallions have pretty clean sheaths.


THIS. Is. INSANE. BOTH FEET?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

Sorry, didn't see the bit about both feet.... interesting?


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## SarahAnn (Oct 22, 2011)

Hahaha that's what I mean, the woman must have been doing the reach around! It gave me a good laugh anyway 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Gallop On (May 1, 2011)

Corporal said:


> You DO realize that MS and HS girls are gonna find this post and your pictures?!? ROFL!!
> We just talked about this on another post, so I'll re-direct you.
> http://www.horseforum.com/horse-grooming/how-often-should-you-sheath-clean-93794/
> To be short and sweet, just do it, and clean a little at a time, do it often and he'll get used to it. Although it's not likely for a gelding/stallion to be seriously injured in or around his...stuff... you don't want to see your Vet hurt. MY Vet was kicked--NOT MY HORSE!!--and the gelding was sedated when he kicked her with BOTH hind feet as she was cleaning his sheath. You would want you horse attended to, especially if he had an injury or laceration there. She was considering giving up treating horses, as a result--same horse owner's mare had previously bit her in the face. (I told her to do so, but she could keep treataing my GOOD horses.)
> I routinely clean my gelding's sheaths--always have, I've been kicked at once or twice over the years (warnings) but never hit--mostly they ignore me, but I never linger. The dirtiest sheaths are on geldings who pee without dropping down. The stallion owners here will tell you that their stallions have pretty clean sheaths.


Was he laying down when sedated?


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## Gallop On (May 1, 2011)

SarahAnn said:


> THIS. Is. INSANE. BOTH FEET?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I'm probably wrong beyond measure, but if the horse was sedated, wouldn't he be lying down? (Correct me if I am wrong!) And if he was lying down, his back feet could seriously go everywhere. So maybe that's how the vet got kicked with both feet?

While teaching my horse to lye down, he would occasionally roll, and if you didn't get out of the way of those back feet quick enough, then your screwed.


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

Generally you just lightly sedate them, rather than knock them out, to clean the sheath.










Helps to both relax them and get them to drop the penis.


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## Courtney (May 20, 2011)

This thread cracked me up! When I had my young gelding, I swear sheath cleaning was his favorite part. Just to get him used to having that part of his anatomy handled, I would sponge him off every couple days with warm water and gently remove the biggest pieces of 'stuff'. As soon as he saw me coming with a bucket of water, he would drop and just wait. He was twisted, that boy of mine.

Just imagine how fun it was to explain to another boarder WHY he dropped his penis and nickered at her when she went to the field with a bucket of grain for her horses. *rolls eyes*


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## goneriding (Jun 6, 2011)

What do you do with miniatures, have them step up on a block? Now that is a Kodak moment.


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)




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## usandpets (Jan 1, 2011)

I get a kick out of reading peoples reactions to threads like these. "Eww! You touch them where?" LOL

My wife tickles her boy where his belly button is and he drops out. Our other boy, when I reach in to clean, he drops out. He might enjoy it too much. 

The first time my wife's horse was cleaned, we had the vet do it. After we acquired two more boys and seeing what the vet charges, we decided to do it on our own. You just need to get them used to being touched there and then they won't kick out. Start with a cue stick and touch/rub them in that area. At first they may lift a leg or kick out. Just hold the stick there until they stand still and relax. Then take the stick away and rub their neck to reward them. 

Someone asked how to clean mares. Definitely much easier but they may kick out too. Do the same as the boys with the stick to desensitize. Then reach up between the udders/teats and remove the smegma. 

Warm water works but I usually just try to work it loose and remove it. Sometimes our horses turn and look at us like "What are you doing? Oh, that again." I try to check them once a month and remove what I can. 

Someone mentioned if he doesn't pee straight or sprays, he might have a bean. If your horse, boy or girl, is rubbing their butt to itch it, they may need cleaning. Geldings can have their sheath get infected or swell up if left too long between cleanings.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Gallop On (May 1, 2011)

bubba13 said:


> Generally you just lightly sedate them, rather than knock them out, to clean the sheath.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Whats wrong with the first horses eyes!?


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## goneriding (Jun 6, 2011)

He doesn't have one and he looks like he's about to fall over!


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## PerchiesKisses (Dec 6, 2010)

I ask my gelding to bow a few times and he just drops nice and easy. Then I clean everything... if he happens to suck it in again I ask him to bow again and he drops like clockwork lol


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## mustangsrwild (Nov 28, 2011)

Ummmmm, I had a gelding that would always drop during a hoof trim. I'm guessing he always had his sheath checked during this time???? So one day when it seemed he was having trouble peeing, I called the vet for an early visit before clinic hours, as I was advised on a forum it was a serious problem. 

I had never cleaned or had a sheath cleaned as I had only had mares. But I got a soft leather glove and started picking up his hinds, cleaning his hooves. 
When he dropped, I stroked him on the inside of his hocks and slowly worked my way to the end of his sheath. He was LUUUUUVVVVING it! (ick!)

At that moment, the vet stepped in the barn and commented on what a good job I had done, as he grabbed ole Tex's sheath. THE LOOK on that gelding's face was priceless as the vet wouldn't let him retract and proceeded to dig 3 large beans out very quickly. I'll never forget that morn!


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## copper peny (Apr 22, 2015)

I have a black and white gelding and he is very easy to check and clean. All you need is a shake of grain in a bucket and he drops on a dime......I think he had been checked or cleaned at the time of feeding so maybe that's why he reacts like he does when eating......


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