Sensitive subject for geldings! Cleaning

[nqt2003]

Ok - this is something i hadn't thought of until today - only had a mare before.

Was grooming mikey and he seemed very ... relaxed - as i was brushing his legs i noticed what looked like shavings on the relaxed part of his anatomy (OMG i'm not explaining this very well - just seems wrong to be posting about this! *laughs out loud* )

Anyway, he's not on shavings and wasn't at his previous home, and on closer inspection he seems quite dirty. Now i know you have to clean geldings but i have never had to do this before.
Should i get the vet out to show me the first time or just have a go?
What's the best way to do it and what should i use?

Thanks
(Feel very weird for having posted this )

[Pink's lady]

It's something all gelding owners need to think about, and stallions owners need the give it all a good scrub before every serving.

The flaky bits are dried smegna and can become uncomfortable as they build up. But the most important thing to check for is the 'bean' a hard ball of smegma that builds up in the urethral fossa (a pocket at the tip of the penis), which can build up and become very painful.

Do a search on here for 'sheath cleaning' and how to do it. It's not difficult and is part of our responsibilty to our horses. Here's (http://www.newrider.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=84652)on for an earlier question on it

[NoviceNic]

Lots of fors and againsts on this subject. Please read previous posts.

http://www.newrider.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=43309

Also a Mr Hand description is you decide for. :D

http://newrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46807 &highlight=sheath+cleaning

[entreat]

My boy gets the 'shavings' as you call them. But he's actually quite clean asside from those. he doesn't smell and doesn't have bean.

My TB gelding (R.I.P) had a horribly smelly willy! his smeg would build up heaps, and quickly too. He ideally needed a proper clean every 6 months, but I just gave him a quick clean every time he had it out. He was really good about it.

[jovi_y2k2]

i just let star run free and natural mainly because if i go anywhere near his netherreagions he will actually flip out and we've even tried under sedation! :rolleyes:

[sassyb]

i have had my gelding for nearly 7 years now, for the first year i kept on top of his cleaning regularaly, but havent touched his bits for years. I think unless it looks like it needs cleaning, it can be left well alone. I havent had any problems!:) :) :)

[summerguest]

I had my first gelding for 17 years and never cleaned his sheath as I valued my head, and he would have kicked it HARD! He never had a problem and nor have any of my other geldings that I haven't done too much cleaning with.
Saying that....I have seen a gelding whose sheath got infected ...and it wasn't pretty...and I expect rather painful. You can buy sheath cleaner now, guess that and rubber gloves and a co-operative horse, you might aswell give it a go to be on the safe side.

[palmerlover52]

I believe I heard on here about giving it a quick squirt with baby oil does the trick, when he's hanging low....don't know about the effectiveness though...and obviouslt wouldn't get rid of a bean.

[mogadoga]

Alex is clean and when he isnt hes bludy disgusting. I use warm water and a hand, with a glove!!
If theres bits that will not come off i use a tiny bit of sheath cleaner to ease it off. And rinse like mad.
But if everythings ok i leave it!!

[catscradle]

I have never cleaned my gelding's sheath. Have been told to leave well alone unless there is a problem. Feel guilty now:confused:

[Afellpony]

I've never cleaned any of my geldings bits other than squirt a bit of Sheathclean on them. Most of them weren't keen to be handled on 'that part of their body'.

[Harvey99]

There have been a lot of posts on this over the last 8 months.
I have to say that I have never cleaned my geldings sheath. Also my vet has always poo pooed the idea and said to leave well alone (unless there are any serious problems that need attending to). In all my 22+ years in the horse world I have never cleaned a geldings sheath. Excepting a quick wash down on the outside if he happens to have it out when I've been bathing/washing him.................

I wonder if its a modern idea? When I was young, no one ever did it, and vets did not advocate it. Now it seems almost fashionable to be doing certain things (sheath cleaning among them).

Are there any mature riders (old fogies like me even) on here who would like to comment on that? Did you ever come across sheath cleaning in your younger horsey days?

[Trace The Ace]

Well, I'm knocking on foggies door and as much as I can't comment on sheath cleaning in the good old days I would just like to say that if anyone ever feels a bit miserable have a read of this thread. :D

Cheered me up no end. At one point even got a little jealous that I couldn't join in the sheath cleaning debate :o . Love some of the more technical jargon used......:eek: Oh well, back to the grind. Thank you to all contributors of this thread.

[Siogfinsceal]

used to be a livery on our yard who was always cleanign the ponys bits lol. I don't believe in doing it let nature do its own thing! It does seem to be a new 'trend' allright -people never did it years ago and we never heard of horses having any problems because it wasnt done!

[Laura+Phantom]

I've never done it and i've had no problems with my 2 boys. Previous experience working at yards (where I had to do it) has shown me that the more you clean them the more they need to be cleaned!

[Maddison's girl]

I dont clean Snowys 'special parts' :D Never had any probs. I do try to take a sneaky peak when he's flashing just to make sure that all is ok.

[chewitmonster]

Silver had his first proper clean in about 2 years of me owning him a couple of weeks ago. He doesn't have a bean and isn't particularly dirty so I don't intend to do it much at all. He thoroughly enjoyed it though *cringe* he was pulling his 'bliss' face, reminding me of when I groom him on his withers! He likes the strangest things - falls asleep when I pull his mane as well! :rolleyes:

[CrisO]

The instructor up at the yard mentioned my share needs his sheath cleaned. I've always had mares so not something I had to deal with before. Anyway after reading this thread and the links thought that I would try the squirt of baby oil option first.
So a trip to Superdrug and one bottle of baby oil spray. Took it up there, let him have a good sniff. Sprayed it into the air a couple of times.
My idea was to work towards the sensitive area and I could appreciate he could be a little offended if I marched in and started spraying immediately. So tried one small squirt on his neck\shoulder. Suddenly he is in the corner, trembling, eyes wide with terror. Maybe the squirty option is not the best way to go with him. Guess I'll be taking the rubber gloves with me on Saturday.
He's really quite good about being handled if it's just my hands, I was just being wimpy about it.