Sheath cleaning is a hygienic process occasionally needed by male horses, both
geldings and
stallions
A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated).
Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" neck ...
, wherein a caretaker, groom or veterinarian checks the horse's
sheath, the pocket of skin that protects the
penis of the horse when it is not in use for
urination
Urination, also known as micturition, is the release of urine from the urinary bladder through the urethra to the outside of the body. It is the urinary system's form of excretion. It is also known medically as micturition, voiding, uresis, ...
(or, in the case of stallions, breeding).
["Cut Through Smegma". ''Horse Journal'', August, 2007, p. 19–20.] This area may need to be cleaned, starting at a young age after breeding and the birth season, but particularly in geldings. Not only can
smegma, a waxy substance that includes dirt and dead skin cells, accumulate, but some geldings (and occasionally, stallions) may also form a "bean", a hardened ball of smegma inside the sheath or even the
urethra
The urethra (from Greek οὐρήθρα – ''ourḗthrā'') is a tube that connects the urinary bladder to the urinary meatus for the removal of urine from the body of both females and males. In human females and other primates, the urethra c ...
that, in extreme cases, can interfere with urine flow. Although a gelding retains the same beneficial microorganisms in the sheath as a stallion, they seem to accumulate smegma and other debris at a higher rate, probably because geldings rarely fully extrude the penis, and thus dirt and smegma build up in the folds of skin.
Thus, it is recommended that the sheath be cleaned once or twice a year.
[Crabbe, Barb. (2000).]
Cleaning a horse's sheath
. . ''Equisearch.com''. Reprinted from '' Horse & Rider,'' June, 2000. Accessed July 17, 2007. Cleaning the sheath is a specialized task requiring a mild cleaner with grease-cutting properties, generally designed specifically for the process, along with warm water and many clean (usually disposable) towels. Rubber gloves for the handler are recommended, as the job is rather smelly and messy.
Some horses object to sheath cleaning and require
sedation, others will tolerate it if the groom is careful and patient, though light sedation may help the horse "drop" for easier cleaning.
Ideally, the horse will be desensitized by careful training to tolerate the procedure. To begin, a gentle stream of warm water is run into the sheath from a hose or a large, needleless syringe. This will loosen and soften some of the material and make it easier to remove.
The process requires either that the horse "drop" his penis or that the groom reach up inside of the sheath to pull the penis gently from the sheath by the
glans
The glans (, plural "glandes" ; from the Latin word for "acorn") is a vascular structure located at the tip of the penis in male mammals or a homologous genital structure of the clitoris in female mammals.
Structure
The exterior structure ...
(head) in order to apply cleaner and carefully clean the entire region.
The "bean" is often found in the urethral diverticulum, a pocket adjacent to the opening of the urethra, so that area must also be checked. While a
veterinarian can clean a sheath, it is a medical procedure and can be done by any person who learns the proper method.
[Harris, Patricia (1998).]
Part 2: Sheath Cleaning Without Fuss
. Accessed January 14, 2014.
References
Horse management
Mammal penis
External links
{{Spoken Wikipedia, En-Horse_sheath_cleaning-article.ogg, date=2020-02-19