This inches-big accumulation developed by a Shetland pony within months shows the need for regular equine genital checks, the person who removed it has warned.
Stephanie of Equi-Bean, who removed the 8cm matter from 28-year-old Hamish’s sheath, told H&H it had built up in the eight months since she had last seen him.
“I was quite amazed he’d grown it,” she said. “I think it’s important to share how quickly it had grown as I know for definite it wasn’t there last time.”
Stephanie, who learned her trade in a former job as a veterinary assistant, said the hard accumulation from the top of Hamish’s penis as it withdrew into the sheath was so large it stopped him dropping his penis at all.
“He could relax the muscle all he wanted but it wasn’t going to come through that, he’s almost plugged himself, bless him,” she said. “His owner messaged me later so say he’d dropped it out like normal every day after I’d been.”
Stephanie said she gets huge satisfaction from hearing how much more comfortable horses are once she has seen them.
“It’s so important for their comfort and wellbeing; ; a lot of clients tell me that after treatment, their horses are striding out better, they’re more comfortable and flexible,” she said. “It’s a glamorous job! But that’s what drives me.”
Stephanie said she believes the improvement in horses’ movement is owing to the fact that the presence of a “bean”, a build-up of smegma and/or dead skin, can be uncomfortable, and with its removal, the horse is more comfortable using its hindquarters properly.
And it is not just geldings; she also sees mares for genital hygiene, removing build-ups of similar tissue from the clitoral cavity.
“Mares can also get flaky skin near their teats, and be shorter-striding because it stretches and pinches,” she said. “With the cavity, I can feel if it’s really tight and painful, then when I start taking out [the build-up] the cavity doubles in size as the horse relaxes and I know it’s feeling better.
“I never set out to do this as a career, but weird and wonderful as it is, I quite enjoy it.”
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‘I’ve got my boy back’: sheath bean removal transforms horse’s life
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Meet the ‘Bean Queen’: why cleaning sheaths is important and the delights of the job
Horse & Hound spoke to Tracey Freeman, who makes a living cleaning sheaths across the country
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