Ridecamp: [RC] The Far Side: Sheath Cleaning

I also survived 26 years with my first horse - a gelding - I was 14 and
he was 4 when we first got "together" - WITHOUT ever even hearing about
sheath cleaning.  That is outrageous!!!  The vets (usually guys in them
thar days) must have trouble "handling" that category.  I think guys take
it personally.... right?  (cringe, cringe, cringe out there!  :)  Maybe
that's why circumcision evolved??  I know, I probably went too far, here,
but even I of horse-woman heart (i.e. a down-and-dirty type) am cringing
with some of these posts.  Sounds like Far Side - put the candles on the
table in the stall, dim the lights, play some horse-friendly music,
grease up, do some foreplay, then dive into the poor horse on a mission! 
The "truth" is somewhere in between, never hearing of it, and attacking
the poor guys!  They need to be kept clean, and that's that.  I don't
think any of them have grown opposible thumbs and hands to "take care of
their own business".

Kinda-queasy-Karen in PA


On Thu, 29 Aug 2002 11:44:48 -0700 "Typef" <typef@xxxxxxxxx> writes:
> Wow. It's really hard for me to admit that I have just come to 
> realize that
> I don't know as much about horses as I thought I did. My 35-year-old 
> gelding
> just died in February and not once has this conversation ever come 
> up in my
> lifetime or has anyone including my vet, ever mentioned to me that 
> there was
> such a thing as sheath cleaning. I've lived a sheltered life away 
> from other
> horse owners for the past 30 years just being a by-myself-backyard 
> rider and
> was a teenager before that. I never noticed anything dirty or out of 
> the
> ordinary with my gelding but I sure am wishing that my vet could 
> have
> brought the subject up. My horses have always gotten regular check 
> ups and
> vaccinations and teeth floated, etc. and you'd think that would be 
> something
> on the list of things he'd suggest, right?? I always relied on him 
> just like
> we do when we go to the doctor. I guess I don't have to worry about 
> since I
> don't have a gelding anymore but you guys sure got me wondering. 
> Boy, have I
> learned a lot, getting back into endurance riding and being on this 
> list!
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Carolyn Burgess" <carolyn_burgess@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2002 7:47 AM
> Subject: [RC] Sheath Cleaning
> 
> 
> > I have 3 geldings and do sheath cleaning as a side business.  I 
> have done
> > some very difficult horses, one who had been gelded at 10 with no
> > anesthesia.  He was very touchy and wouldn't let me near him.  On 
> a really
> > difficult horse, one that is trying to kick you, pick up the front 
> leg of
> > the side you are working on.  Some horses can't kick with the 
> front leg
> off
> > the ground, but some can.  But I haven't found one yet that can 
> kick you
> > with the rear leg on the same side that you have picked up the 
> front leg
> on.
> >
> > The tools of the trade are: a small bucket with tepid water, 
> sheath
> cleaner
> > and an old towel, cut into 6" squares.  I always use a cleaner, 
> usually
> > Excalibur.  But the trick with the cleaner is that they need to 
> be
> dissolved
> > in very warm water, then mixed into the bucket of tepid water.  I 
> like it
> to
> > be very soapy to help loosen the dirt and other junk that they get 
> up
> there.
> >   It is the junk in the sheath that is important, not the yellow 
> stuff
> that
> > sticks to the penis and can be peeled off.
> >
> > You can wash a horse even if they won't drop and even get the 
> beans out of
> > the penis without them dropping if you know what you are looking 
> for.  The
> > sheath has the front "pocket", but once you put your hand in and 
> keep
> going,
> > there is a second sphincter and another compartment, where they 
> hide their
> > penis.  That back compartment usually isn't as dirty as there 
> front one,
> but
> > does need to be cleaned. The beans are in a pouch that surrounds 
> the
> > urethra.  If you palpate the head of the penis you can feel the 
> beans
> under
> > the skin.  The biggest bean I ever got out was my newest horse, 
> who I got
> > last year.  When I did his sheath for the first time, one of the 
> beans was
> > the size of an golf ball.
> >
> > To make sure that you rinse well, either us a bucket of clean, 
> tepid water
> > with a clean towel or, just stick a hose up the sheath and rinse.
> >
> > Carolyn Burgess
> >
> >
> >
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