Willy washing

Jessey

Well-Known Member
Dec 20, 2004
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Suffolk, UK
I can't remember if I have asked this before, but how essential to you consider willy washing to be? I have always routinely checked them and washed when grubby, probably ended up being every year or two, but I have never done Hank as his bits are, well, small and I'm not so sure a) I wouldn't hurt him as my hands aren't exactly dainty and b) if my body would contort enough to get down there and stay safe while doing it :p
 
I can't remember if I have asked this before, but how essential to you consider willy washing to be? I have always routinely checked them and washed when grubby, probably ended up being every year or two, but I have never done Hank as his bits are, well, small and I'm not so sure a) I wouldn't hurt him as my hands aren't exactly dainty and b) if my body would contort enough to get down there and stay safe while doing it :p

I used to do Kia’s when he was sedated for his teeth.

The wee fellas willy was quite dirty so the vet cleaned that whilst he was under you can see it in the pics.

I try and get them when they are relaxed with warm water but I used to settle for squirting with baby oil when they were having a pee for the most stubborn ones. Worked fine for me although some would say not advisable.

I did Kia’s once with aloe Vera in an oil form
 
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I actually employ the ‘winky washer’ to do ours now. She started advertising the service on FB a year or two ago, as a sideline income and it seems to have really taken off. I now see her advertising that she’s doing a day in a different county and has a couple of spaces left etc.

She advises no more than an annual clean for our two, but I know people who do it more often and some who never do it at all and I can’t honestly say I can tell any difference in the horses. The reason I got the winky washer in the first place was because Jack kept dropping and kicking his willy in the field - quite idly, not like it was really bothering him - but he turned out to be quite clean whereas it was Raf who had the beans.

I can imagine it would be difficult on a littley :oops:
 
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@Jessey you need one of those mechanics pits I reckon, althoughhow you’d stop him falling in I’m not sure :oops:
I could only do Oscar when he was sedated for his teeth, that’s the only time he’d hang out and let you near it!
So once twice a year for him, but I do know people who never do it and their horses don’t seem to be suffering for it.
 
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@Jessey you need one of those mechanics pits I reckon, althoughhow you’d stop him falling in I’m not sure :oops:
I could only do Oscar when he was sedated for his teeth, that’s the only time he’d hang out and let you near it!
So once twice a year for him, but I do know people who never do it and their horses don’t seem to be suffering for it.
:D :D now that made me chuckle, he'd have to stretch to reach over a pit :D

I've cleaned up the external bits when he was sedated and dropped, but never got up into the cavern above where they get really grotty or tried for a bean, he's just so little. Now you've got me wondering about something like a goat milking platform........... :D
 
I hardly ever did J's:oops:
I did Zi's not long ago. He as fine about it, I approached with caution and then once I realised he was okay I just got on with it.
 
I hardly ever did J's:oops:
I did Zi's not long ago. He as fine about it, I approached with caution and then once I realised he was okay I just got on with it.

Jack literally spread his legs and "assumed the pose" as soon as he saw the lady enter his stable with bucket and sponges ... he hates vets and is wary of physios, but clearly willy washers are welcome :p
 
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So we are very rare, but some of us have lost count of the times we’ve had to be intimately involved with our horses’ nether regions.
I have pictures to show how bad it gets, I’ve tried leaving for a year, I’ve tried doing it every day. We have compromised with every eight weeks generally (it falls in time with the farrier) and during the summer maybe the odd time in between. For us it’s required as my lad is extremely dirty and itchy with it. I couldn’t care about the dirt but it’s not fair on him with the itch.
He has a special cone in the field now which I allow supervised visitation with.
 
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So we are very rare, but some of us have lost count of the times we’ve had to be intimately involved with our horses’ nether regions.
I have pictures to show how bad it gets, I’ve tried leaving for a year, I’ve tried doing it every day. We have compromised with every eight weeks generally (it falls in time with the farrier) and during the summer maybe the odd time in between. For us it’s required as my lad is extremely dirty and itchy with it. I couldn’t care about the dirt but it’s not fair on him with the itch.
He has a special cone in the field now which I allow supervised visitation with.
Supervised visitation :eek: :D
 
Supervised visitation :eek::D
It’s sadly necessary. He was reunited earlier this year with a cone that had been banished following an incident where he used it to scratch an itch and then his fieldmate nibbled it a few years ago. Fieldmate has been away for almost four years now and it felt like time. It lasted two days. I then spent a long time trying to source a new cone (everywhere I went, I sized up prospective replacements....felt like a pimp!) now he’s only allowed limited time with it while i poo pick. He will come and basically invade my space until I provide access, and he regularly tries to use my wheelbarrow or poo picking scoop if I don’t comply.
I do love my horse‍♀️.
 
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Never done it - never had any signs of issues, so leave alone as nature intended as would be concerned about interfering with bacteria lavels & so on unneccessarily.

Obviously it's different if you have a problem :)
 
I didn't have Ale's done for 8 years, convinced myself it needed cleaning, got a professional in who said there was no bean and wasn't very grubby, no signs of ill health. So won't bother again unless he shows any problems in the future
 
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leave alone as nature intended

Interesting, because this is the thing that I've been told - geldings aren't 'as nature intended'. They don't service mares and they probably don't have the same secretions. That's why they need to be cleaned, so I've been informed - but maybe that's all hype, or just a theory that someone came up with and spread like it was gospel.
 
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I would be very keen to do as little as possible if horse allows. I’d want to check for a bean every six months at least and as long as he was dropping and peeing ok I’d leave well alone.
We are the exception to that rule and you have no idea the amount of smeg I deal with. Eight vets and counting have all been queried over it and none have ever been able to help. I even cornered professor knottenbelt about it at a talk he was giving!
 
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Interesting, because this is the thing that I've been told - geldings aren't 'as nature intended'. They don't service mares and they probably don't have the same secretions. That's why they need to be cleaned, so I've been informed - but maybe that's all hype, or just a theory that someone came up with and spread like it was gospel.

True - he may not be a stallion, but I'm still not comfortable with the idea of interfering with their natural healthy bacteria if you don't have to. It would be interesting to learn more about that theory though :) It sounds very much like you have to @Flipo's Mum! Rather you than me, I muat admit ...

But I'm of the 'less is more' approach in most areas's of horse management unless truly necessary - I won't use hibiscrub on a cut unless it's bad enough to need vet treatment!

Pete's not shy about getting his out or letting you have a feel for a bean, so trust no problems. The only time his sheath is a little swollen is as an early indicatior of a LGL episode.
 
I’ve booked someone to come at look at Mylo in a couple of weeks. He is showing no signs of any problems, but at 7 has never been checked.
I will be interested in how she manages him as he is a very sensitive sole!

I have been looking at picture on FB of the size of some of the beans she has got out of geldings who have shown no signs of discomfort. I will post a picture of Mylos bean if there is one.
Interestingly there are photos of beans from ‘working’ stallions on her website too.
 
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Never in over ten years did I clean chanters every now and again I would spray with baby oil.

Gingers just lets me pick the icky bits off but I have never cleaned either
 
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Ben gets periods where he is covered in smeg. It gets all down his legs and is pretty smelly. This is when I know it needs a good clean and when I do the smell and smeg goes away. It is pretty disgusting. I would say I have to do it at least 3 times per year, sometimes more.
 
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Buddy tends to drop his when he is being groomed and very relaxed, so you can take off some of the smeg lumps but that's about it. His wee is very clear so he drinks a lot and it goes through fine, so I tend to leave it alone.
 
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