# Sheath



## Taffieboy1 (3 February 2018)

So I never cleaned my horses sheaths generally however boy I have now gets quite mucky, so I do every now & again, was told good lashing of baby oil up there is great. Well I have found am having to clean it much more now have started doing the baby oil business, anyone else have to clean monthly or more ?


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## Red-1 (3 February 2018)

Yes, I find the more you wash them then the more they need washing. 

I once had one where someone had activated his sheath to need regular washing, I am talking a couple of times a week or else he had black goo down his legs. I gradually weaned him off it. Used very mild washing solution initially, then weaned him until damp fine cloth wiped round would suffice. Just did less and less. 

I never put anything in to finish. Baby oil wold make a mess IMO.


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## npage123 (3 February 2018)

Sheath-cleaning is quite an art to get right  

I don't know how to search for it but sheath-cleaning has been discussed quite a few times on this forum and I'm sure someone else will come along and provide a good link which explain the whole procedure in great detail, including how to locate and remove a dreaded bean, which is very important to do.

Like most things, you'll be getting a variety of opinions on how often it should be done.  Each horse is different and if you can get away with not having to do it regularly, then surely that's better.  For you and the horse.  

I personally wear nitrile/latex-free gloves underneath a Marigold glove, and use only KY gel to soften and loosen the smegma in the sheath, and I have 2 buckets of hot water handy.  I use one bucket of water whilst cleaning out the sheath with the KY gel, alternating between the KY gel into the sheath, then bringing out the loosened smegma each time and rinsing the loose bits of smegma off the glove into that first bucket.  Once I'm happy and it's all cleaned up, I use the second bucket of hot water to ensure all the loosened bits has been removed from the sheath.  The reason for using KY gel is that it's water-soluble and non-irritating, and it doesn't matter if some of it is left behind the sheath.  I don't like to use commercially made sheath cleaners, and would certainly not use baby oil.  I probably do the sheath cleaning once, sometimes twice a year, but certainly do it whenever I can smell a build-up of it when grooming and picking up the well-known scent, and always do it asap if there's evidence of smegma on the inside of the hindlegs.  And no matter how many pairs of gloves I wear, the smell of the stuff always somehow manage to cling to my hands which even washing my hands in bleach doesn't remove easily.  I know gloves are microporous but which they weren't for this job!

Hope you get a good link and advice soon


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## ester (3 February 2018)

On straw Frank seemed to need doing once every 6 months- and by needing I mean getting smelly black gunk down his back legs, I wouldn't be inclined to do much more than that and wouldn't use any product after I'd cleaned it. Recently he actually went a good few years without needing it doing (not on straw so I think he just got bit stuck up there which aggrevated things) until November last year but that was partly beause I had spotted something I needed to inspect more closely. 

I do advocate getting your hands on it intermittently if possible as it meant that I spotted some probably cancer very early on which was subsequently treated successfully several years ago with minimal effort (well nothing needed to be lopped off anyway).

I do use a small amount of the barrier animal health sheath cleaner to loosen but only because I have it as it doesn't go down very quicky, I'd opt for KY when I run out. It is always rinsed with plain water when finished.


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## Taffieboy1 (3 February 2018)

OK, so think no baby oil from now just the odd wipe with a warm cloth and hopefully I can wean him off this crazy cleaning routine too.


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## lamlyn2012 (4 February 2018)

I've read before about people using baby oil. It will cause bacteria to breed so never do it. I use a bit of Simple soap.


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## Carlosmum (4 February 2018)

I use fragrance free baby wipes and lubricant gel ( laming/calving lube)  much cheaper than ky!  Would never use baby oil or soap.  npage your method sounds ideal.. Will give it a go when the weather is a bit more suitable for an outdoor bath!


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## Chianti (11 February 2018)

I was told by the vet to use liquid paraffin, after he'd had to clean pony's sheath for me. He 'relaxes' while he's having his feed so about once a month I spread a little bit on his penis and that seems to stop the build up of the gunky stuff.


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