What Does Horse Smegma Look Like?

This accumulation of waxy material is called ‘smegma’. It may be black, grey or cream colored in normal horses and has a slightly greasy feel. It occasionally forms into bean-shaped lumps that lodge in the urethral fossa and sinus.

What causes horse smegma?

A male horse has a sheath that is a double fold of skin that covers the penis when it is drawn up inside the body. A sheath can and will get dirty and often a little stinky. The sheath has sebaceous glands that secrete sebum. When sebum mixes with dirt and sloughing skin cells it makes smegma.

How do I know if my horses sheath needs cleaning?

Signs your horse may have excess smegma and need his sheath cleaned include:

1. · visible smegma on outside of sheath, hind legs, or belly near the sheath.
2. change in urine stream.
3. apparent discomfort during urination or posturing to urinate.
4. swollen sheath or penis.
5. reluctance to urinate.

How do you prevent smegma in horses?

The penis shaft can be cleaned of flaky smegma, if your horse allows it, sometimes without water. Wear a pair of disposable gloves and gently lift the flakes away. Use warm water, if necessary, but no soap as this can irritate. Avoid aggressive scrubbing, which can cause abrasions and possible skin infection.

How many times a year should you clean the sheath of a horse?

1. Don’t FORGET to have your horse’s sheath cleaned. Many horses only need once or twice yearly cleaning but regular cleaning is important. Many people opt to have their horse’s sheath cleaned while they are sedated for their yearly dental exams.

What happens if you don’t clean a horse’s sheath?

Really dirty sheaths can cause secondary infection, dermatitis, and inflammation. While these conditions are generally not life threatening, it’s a good idea to practice proactive prevention. Medically speaking, it’s best if your horse has his sheath cleaned once a year.

How much does it cost to get a horse’s sheath cleaned?

Cindy recommends conditioning colts to be handled from their earliest imprinting sessions. Cleaning a nervous horse, slowly and patiently, may take one or two hours. Average cost? About $30 per horse.

How do I get rid of Cannon crud on my horse?

Regular grooming with a gentle rubber curry comb can help remove the build-up of excess skin debris. Periodic cleansing and removal of the crusty scales and debris with keratolytic (anti-dandruff) shampoos can be helpful in managing the condition too.

Do vets clean horses sheath?

Annual sheath cleanings performed by your veterinarian allows them to both A) Remove the buildup of potentially harmful smegma and B) Thoroughly inspect the sheath while your horse is relaxed and sedated.

How often should horse bedding be changed?

Soiled bedding should be removed from stalls daily and replaced with fresh bedding. Soiled bedding may equal 2 to 3 times the volume of manure, depending on management practices. Each stalled horse may require the removal of 60 to 70 pounds of waste per day.

What is the best sheath cleaner?

Use a commercial sheath cleaner, such as Excalibur or Equi-Pro. These products cut through the grease, have a pleasant odor, and make sheath cleaning easier. Warm water also helps cut grease—and your horse will like it better.

How often should a horse’s stall be cleaned?

every day
Ideally, horse stalls should be cleaned every day and kept as clean as possible. Since horses often lie down in their stalls at night, this behavior means that if you are not keeping the stalls clean, horses could be lying in their own urine or manure – and there’s nothing healthy about that!

How do you tell if your horse has a bean?

Some signs that your mare may have a ‘bean’ that needs removal is if she’s itchy and rubbing her tail a lot (but you know you’ve wormed her), or even bucking or kicking which is out of character. It depends on the individual mare as to whether you check her every six months or so, or much more regularly.

How often should a gelding’s sheath be cleaned?

How often should I clean the sheath? This will vary from horse to horse but, on average, every two to four weeks should be sufficient. Overcleaning should be avoided otherwise the normal bacteria are removed allowing fungal overgrowth to take place – a cursory wash is all that is required in most cases.

Can you use Dawn dish soap to clean horse sheath?

However, some horses are sensitive to it. If so, try cleaning with Dawn dish soap, baby shampoo or a gentle shampoo, like Corona, instead. Put a small amount in the palm of your hand and work into a lather before applying. Also be sure to rinse well with plenty of warm water.

Can I use baby shampoo to clean my horses sheath?

Low-sudsing commercial products designed for sheath-cleaning work well, as does baby shampoo. Plain water is also an option. Remember— you don’t want to upset the natural microbiome more than necessary, which can cause other problems. DON’T reach under your horse’s barrel suddenly.

Do mares get beans like geldings?

Yes, mares can get beans too. These are located at the bottom of her vulva, in between the creases. It’s good practice to routinely clean in between and around their teats as well, removing any hard, waxy build-up.

When should you not wash a horse?

It is okay to wash a horse with cold water during the summer. However, horses can get sick if washed with cold water during winter. So you should either avoid giving them baths during winter or only use warm water and then dry them off properly afterward.

Should you scrape water off a horse?

To scrape or not to scrape? Scraping water off your horse will not help to cool him down. This is because evaporation is much slower at removing heat compared to conduction — so when the water is scraped off, there is less capacity for conductive heat transfer to take place.

Is it OK not to rug a horse?

While it is true that wild and free-living horses survive without rugs, they move more than their domestic counterparts and can find their own shelter from bad weather. They also do not tend to live as long as domestic horses. Older domestic horses may therefore need extra warmth in cold, wet weather.

Do geldings need their sheaths cleaned?

While this may seem an innocent attempt to keep their horse ‘clean’, sheath washing is usually unnecessary and can result in the establishment of quite severe bacterial infection that can be very difficult to resolve.