# KY Jelly and sheath cleaning



## eatonbraynat (23 April 2011)

I had never cleaned my geldings sheath before, but my friend who does her horses a couple of times a year had a look for me. It is absolutely disgusting up there, i had a feel myself and it is covered in huge hard crusty lumps of black stuff that are really stuck fast.

I guess i need to clean it but the stuff we used wasnt working to loosen it off and i didnt want to pull any off in case it made him sore. 

I heard somewhere on net that if i put KY jelly up there every day for a few days it would loosen it all off then i could clean it with a wet warm sponge and hopefully the majority would come off.........Any opinions on this, as i really think it needs doing??


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## hellywelly1 (23 April 2011)

hey,

if you can get near him when he has it on display so to speak put baby oil on it


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## eatonbraynat (23 April 2011)

Is baby oil safe to leave up there tho??


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## hellywelly1 (23 April 2011)

i can only speak from my own experiences and not had any probs with it, others may say different so i will be keen to see there views


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## indie999 (23 April 2011)

Hi 

Yes KY would be perfect, anything unperfumed  non alcohol etc. Oilatum is expensive but good too. Ky is a water based gel so you may not find it oily enough, but it wont do any harm. I agree if it dangles put a wodge of it in your hand and try to cover it. Be very quick as it will disappear v fast!But dont go scrubbing or pull off the crusts. Warm water is fine. 

I usually use some ie soft cloths or an old clean flannel is fine too. Dont get too rigourous about this, just do it if need be a couple of times a year. It will keep clean if you just keep the worse off(well thats what I do anyway).


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## Chico Mio (23 April 2011)

The Story from Ms Hand herself


Step 1) Check to make sure there are no prospective boyfriends, elderly neighbours, or Brownie troops with a line of sight to the proceedings. Though of course they're probably going to show up unexpectedly ANYWAY once you're in the middle of things. Prepare a good explanation.

2) Trim your fingernails short. Assemble horse, hose, and your sense of humor (plus, ideally, Excalibur cleanser and perhaps thin rubber gloves).

3) Use hose (or damp sponge) to get the sheath and its inhabitant wet. Uh, that is, do this in a *civilized* fashion with due warning to the horse; he is apt to take offense if an icy-cold hose blasts unexpectedly into his personal regions

4) Now introduce your horse to Ms Hand . What I find safest is to stand facing the horse's head, with my shoulder and hip snugly against the horse's thigh and hip so that if he makes any suspicious move such as raising his leg, I can feel it right away and am in any case pressed so close that all he can do is shove, not really kick.

The horse should be held by an assistant or by your free hand, NOT tied fast to a post or to crossties. He may shift around a good bit if he's not happy with Ms Hand's antics, but don't be put off by that; as long as you are patient and gradual, and stick close to his side, he'll get over it.

Remember that it would be most unladylike of you to simply make a direct grab for your horse's Part. Give the horse a clue about what's on the program. Rest your hand against his belly, and then slide it back till you are entering The Home of the Actual Private Part. When you reach this first region of your destination, lube him up good with Excalibur or whatever you're using.

If the outer part of his sheath is really grungy you will feel little clods and nubblies of smegma peeling off as you grope around in there. Patiently and gently expedite their removal.

5) Thus far, you have probably only been in the outer part of the sheath. The Part Itself, you'll have noticed, is strangely absent. That's because it has retired shyly to its inner chambers. Roll up them thar sleeves and follow in after it

6) As you and Ms Hand wend your way deeper into the sheath, you will encounter what feels like a small portal that opens up into a chamber beyond. Being attentive to your horse's reaction, invite yourself in . You are now in the inner sanctum of The Actual Private Part. It's hiding in there towards the back, trying to pretend it isn't there. Say hi and wave to it .

No, really, work your finger back and forth around the sides of it. If the horse won't drop, this is your only shot at removing whatever dried smegma is clinging to the surface of the Part itself. So, gently explore around it, pulling out whatever crusty topsoil you find there. Use more water and more Excalibur if necessary to loosen attached gunk.

7) When Ms Hand and the Actual Private Part have gotten to know each other pretty well, and the Part feels squeaky clean all around, there remains only one task: checking for, and removing, the bean. The bean is a pale, kidney-shaped accumulation of smegma in a small pouch just inside the urethra. Not all horses accumulate a bean, but IME the majority do, even if they have no visible external smegma.

So: the equine urethra is fairly large diameter, and indeed will permit you to very gently insinuate one of your slimmer fingers inside the urethral opening. Do so, and explore upwards for what will feel like a lump or "pea" buried no more than, I dunno, perhaps 3/4" in from the opening. If you do encounter a bean, gently and sympathetically persuade it out with your finger.

This may require a little patience from BOTH Ms Hand AND the horse, but the horse will be happier and healthier once it's accomplished. In the rare event that the bean is too enormous for your finger to coax out, you might try what I did (in desperation) last month on the orange horse: Wrap thumb and index finger around the end of the Part and squeeze firmly to extrude the bean. Much to my surprise it worked and orange horse did NOT kill me for doing it and he does not seem to have suffered any permanent damage as a result ;-> I have never in my life seen another bean that enormous, though.

Now all that's left to do is make a graceful exit and rinse the area very thoroughly in apology for the liberties you've taken . A hose will be MUCH easier to use here than just a sponge and bucket, IME. Make sure to direct the water into the Part's inner retreat too, not merely the outer part of the sheath. This may require you to enfold the end of the hose in your hand and guide it up there personally.

9) Ta-**, you are done! Say, "Good horse" and feed him lots of carrots. Watch him make funny faces at the way your hands smell. Hmm. Well, perhaps there is ONE more step...

10) The only thing I know of that is at all effective in removing the lovely fragrance of smegma from your hands (fingernails arms elbows and wherever else it's gotten) is Excalibur. Even then, if you didn't use gloves you may find you've got an unusual personal perfume for a while. So, word to the wise, do NOT clean your horse's sheath just before an important job interview or first date
and of course, there is that one FINAL step...

11) Figure out how to explain all this to your mother (or the kid from next door, or the meter reader, or whoever else you've just realized has been standing in the barn doorway speechlessly watching the entire process.)

Now you can go and have a go... 

Copied from a now archived forum - I have no idea who the original author is.


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## eatonbraynat (23 April 2011)

Can you leave oilatum up there, i have loads of it as i have eczema!!!


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## Janah (23 April 2011)

Makes me laugh every time I read it, and so so true

Jane


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## indie999 (23 April 2011)

eatonbraynat said:



			Can you leave oilatum up there, i have loads of it as i have eczema!!!
		
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Oilatum is v expensive so just use it as on the bottle etc. ie it may need diluting ie if used for bathing. you dont need to wash the bath one off otherwise it defeats the object!Obviously dont go and put loads of shampoo up their.

The other stuff used for eczema and I use it to remove eye makeup is Hydromol. Most of these are paraffin based ointments. Hydromol is probably my favourite at the moment. 

Some baby oils and bubble baths are perfumed. Love the long cleaning instructions on this post! The young girl who liked riding my horse was mortified when I asked her to clean my geldings bits!


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## **Vanner** (23 April 2011)

Are we saying oilatum can be left on?

Do people leave baby oil in over night? - i'm thinking of doing this with my boy before a proper clean.


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## indie999 (23 April 2011)

Oilatum bath can be left on, dilute first though. It is used for eczema instead of using soap but put it in the warm water that you are washing the sheath with, dont apply it neat. You only need a little bit. The bottle will tell you how much to dilute. You dont need to rinse it off.  

Oilatum shampoo version this would need washing off. 

Personally Not a fan of baby oil due to the perfume in it. Udder cream is good too or vaseline even!

Hydromol ointment is currently used a lot for eczema. You can get it in tubs and apply it straight on and leave / or you can let it dissolve in warm water and wash the sheath. 

All these moisturisers do is help lift the scabs off. I really would only do this if the horse has a flakey sheath/Flies etc. My cob did get flies biting his sheath last year, he looked sore. The creams just helped put a barrier there as well as sooth it and Iam sure they were attracted to the build up of grime/smegma etc!


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## Perissa (23 April 2011)

I find that a good way of cleaning the hard lumpy crusty bits that are inside the sheath rather than on the part itself is to get a good syringe full of baby oil and squirt it inside the sheath, then leave it and the next day a lot of the goo will have either worked out or will be easy to wash/wipe off.

My boy 'relaxes' when being groomed so I get a good handful of KY and smear on and only use the baby oil if the inside of the sheath is really crusty!

My gelding is a lot more dirty than my stallion - even though my stallion has never covered.


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## Pedantic (23 April 2011)

I use baby oil, I do often wonder though how many babies they have to sqweeze to get the oil out of them, poor littlel blighters.....


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## E_Lister (23 April 2011)

Pedantic said:



			I use baby oil, I do often wonder though how many babies they have to sqweeze to get the oil out of them, poor littlel blighters.....
		
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No not no! If youu squeeze them the oil is all wrong. It is far better if you tickle them repeatedly, it comes out of the soles of their feet, ready for collection 

I love that Ms Hand story, I was just about to compliment your writing style Chico Mio!


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## Fii (23 April 2011)

KY will be fine, unless you try and explain that it's for a horse when you buy it


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## jroz (24 April 2011)

We just use excalibur sheath cleaner


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