Sheath cleaning

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Sheath cleaning is a vital part of owning a horse which is all too often forgotten about or treated with a ‘if it ain't broke don’t fix it’ attitude, however, how do you know if its broke or not without checking?

We generally recommend getting your horses sheath clean 6-12 monthly, depending on the horses individual needs, this allows us to remove any smegma build up and beans as well as checking for any abnormalities.

Naturally, any male horse would be a stallion who would be covering mares. This process generally keeps the horse clean and bean free! This is why if I am booked to clean a covering stallion they are generally very clean as everything is being used as nature intended.

During the warmer months when the flies come out, it is even more important to ensure your boys are cleaned regularly. Flies are attracted to the excess smegma in the sheath, they then lay eggs in there which hatch into maggots which start eating away at the smegma and even the horses flesh. This is so uncomfortable for the horse, they can even display colic like symptoms when this is happening.

If you suspect your horse may have fly strike please get in touch, we will try and get you booked in asap or will refer you to someone who can help sooner.

All we use is clean water and a water based lube, this softens up any hardened smegma and allows us to remove it as comfortably as possible.
We advise staying away from any products advertised as a ‘sheath cleaner’ as in our experience they are far too harsh and will upset the ph balance, only creating more problems! They can also contain ingredients which could cause irritation if any is left behind.

Thats fine! We do a lot of horses for the first time or who haven’t liked it previously.
A lot of the time they may have a fidget to start with but soon settle down, if we need to then we can hold up a front leg and/or distract with a likit or feed.

We always aim to create a nice experience for your horse, sheath cleaning is a regular thing so we don’t want that to have to be a stressful occasion every time.

Most of the horses we clean who ‘don’t like it’ are horses who have large beans which will be uncomfortable, we don’t blame them for not wanting a stranger to start messing with them when they’re already uncomfortable! 

If needed we are happy to work with your horse under sedation but this is rarely necessary.

Having a professional come out for sheath cleaning also acts as a health check, we clean a lot of horses so we know what feels normal!

We will inform you of any lumps/bumps etc if found so you can keep an eye on them and if necessary get a vets opinion.