Cumbria Clean-A-Bean Equine Sheath Cleaning

23/05/2022

This is not a post I thought I’d ever be writing, at least not for a very long time. It is with great sadness that I am ceasing my services. I truly hope it’s only temporarily, but I really can’t predict when/if I will be able to get back to normal service. I can’t stress how difficult it has been to come to this decision. I want to give a big apology to all my past and present clients who have waited so patiently for me to return to work, but unfortunately it’s just not possible at this time. Especially as my list of clients who are waiting is increasing daily.

It’s been an absolutely incredible few years, and I’ve met some amazing horses and their wonderful owners. I will genuinely miss every single aspect of this job. Thank you so very much to everyone for their support. It means so much to me. Reading through the wonderful feedback and the messages I’ve received makes writing this so much harder. I can only hope I will return soon and pick up where I left off. I genuinely can’t wait to be writing that post for this page ☺️

Thank you again to every single one of you ❤️

David x

22/04/2022

Quick availability update, and some upcoming routes:
Unfortunately I’m still closed to most new bookings, but I can take details of anyone in the areas listed below, where space is still available.

Also, an added delay to everyone on my waiting list whilst I recover from a nasty bacterial infection. Hoping to be back to work ASAP, but I’m expected to be out of action for the next 1-2 weeks as I can’t really bend down very well 😅

Upcoming routes that I have people waiting for: These are routes where no time or date has been set, but I have people in these areas waiting for an appointment in my inbox. More space may become available if the time/date doesn’t suit everyone once it’s decided; so do feel free to message me with any interest and I can let you know more details once a route is arranged.

Dumfries & Galloway (a few spaces remaining)
Lancaster area (currently full - might be cancellations)
Penrith area (currently full - might be cancellations)
Whitehaven area (half full)
Millom area (half full)
Keswick area (half full)
Appleby area (plenty of space)

To avoid disappointment, dates won’t be set until I know I’m all clear health-wise, and I’m 100% certain I can provide a high standard of service :)

01/04/2022

Edit: I’ve had a few messages about this post and just wanted to confirm, it is definitely an April fools post. Appreciate the messages of thanks and curiosity nevertheless ❤️😂
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Great early start this morning at Brockbrough Zoo and Wildlife Sanctuary, just outside of Fletton-by-sands. Starting with the Elephant enclosure, we’ve already removed this incredible 2.36kg bean from Colin, one of the zoo’s older African Savanna Elephants.

Male elephants (bulls) that’s are not used in breeding programmes often suffer similar issues to stallions and/or geldings. Whilst elephants will often use their trunk to remove their own bean, old age and reduced flexibility means human intervention is required.

Symptoms can include:
-Non-allergic pe**le edema (swelling of the p***s)
-'Belly whipping' (lashing their sides with their trunk)
-Manet Syndrome (Aggression towards 19th century art)
-Urethral compression or obstruction (Reduction in urine flow and frequency)*

*A healthy male African Savannah should urinate at a minimum rate of 2 PPPM (paddling pools per minute) anything less is cause for concern and a sign of a bean causing urethral compression.

Generally, elephants are much less accepting of sheath cleaning, compared to horses. Elephants have excellent short term and long term memory; and the ability to recognise human faces even after extended periods of time. Therefore a new sheath cleaner, or an elaborate disguise, MUST be used each year. This is my second year at Brockbrough Zoo.

If you’d like to know more about ge***al hygiene in Elephants, I highly recommend taking a look at Dr Allison Scott’s research, as well as her most recent publication, ‘That’s not my trunk’.

31/03/2022

Lancaster area!
Sunday 10th April
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Edit: This route is now fully booked. I will advertise any cancellations, so please do let me know if you are interested and I can let you know if a space becomes available. If there’s enough interest I can organise a second trip at a later date ✌️

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£25 per clean - everything provided, and travel costs are included in the price.

This post is especially for those of you I met from the North Lancashire Bridleways Society a few weeks ago. Not everyone had Facebook, but hopefully they will catch wind of this trip 🤞

28/03/2022

Unfortunately I will not be taking any new bookings for the next few weeks. Those in my inbox waiting for appointments will be seen ASAP; and I may put the odd post up if spaces become available on existing routes. I’m trying to avoid an inevitable backlog as my inbox is already getting full with the warmer weather on the way.
Thank you all for your patience and understanding ❤️

20/03/2022

One giant bean from todays trip!

The top piece you see had outgrown the urethral fossa and was thankfully spotted by his owner. The rest was all internal. The skin was incredibly tight around it, but thankfully the bean was very soft and was able to be broken into smaller pieces without causing any discomfort. Photos definitely don’t do this one justice. It was HUGE when pieced back together!! This is just the larger bits that were removed. Smaller pieces didn’t make it into the photo.

17/03/2022

Edit: only afternoon slots remaining
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I've had a cancellation this Sunday (20th March), so I'll be heading down to the Millom area earlier than expected. There are still a few slots left if you'd like to get your horse booked in.

£25 each including all travel costs.
Hot and Cold water supplied.
Fully insured, trained by a veterinary surgeon and a member of the British grooms association.
Non-invasive water based lubricant cleans with electronic warm water sheath flush system. Cleaning whilst maintaining your horses natural sheath PH and healthy bacterial flora is my priority.

Removal of beans, sm**ma, pe**le crust, dead skin and grime as standard. Nervous horses welcome ❤

Send me a message for more information :)

12/03/2022

Enjoyed a superb evening with North Lancashire Bridleways Society this week.
We covered a breakdown of the p***s anatomy, retraction/extension double fold system/mechanism demo, common wild vs domestic cleaning arguments, why we clean, do’s and don’ts, biosecurity, squamous cell carcinoma and current research links with EPV triggers as well as many other common equine ge***al ailments connected to sheath hygiene; including the ever common swollen sheath! 30 minute talk soon went over an hour, and some great discussions afterwards!

Thank you all for having me at your meeting. It was a superb experience ❤️

Ps. Thank you for the photos, Susan :)

20/02/2022

Huge thanks for everyone’s patience. Definitely on the mend now and hoping to resume normal service very soon. I haven’t forgotten anyone, and I will be in touch once I have routes and dates arranged 😁

Thanks again everyone ✌️

07/02/2022

Covid update:
I’m still testing positive, and now my partner Jennifer is also now testing positive. As of Wednesday I will technically be free to get back to work, regardless. For the safety of all my clients, I will not return to work until my household is Covid free. The risk is too great, and this variant seems to be very contagious. This isn’t a decision taken lightly; especially being self employed.
Thank you for everyone’s patience and understanding.

Can’t wait to get back to work!
🐴 🍆🚿

31/01/2022

I’ve tested positive on one of my daily lateral flow tests, yesterday afternoon. Symptoms present, so I’m not going to question it’s accuracy.

I’m pretty sure I have contacted everyone who had appointments booked with me for this week. If you’re booked in, and you haven’t heard from me; please do get in touch.

If you are on the waiting list for upcoming appointments, things will likely be delayed an extra 7 days or so. Apologies 😞

I’ll get new appointments arranged for everyone ASAP and will work extra hours to make sure we clear any backlog as quickly as possible✌️

Thank you all 😁

30/01/2022

Attempting to preserve the contents of some of todays cleans for an upcoming presentation. I can promise you all that I don’t usually take home a bag of horse sm**ma. Especially not to rinse in our bidet with a sieve from the kitchen…
I also wouldn’t normally forget it’s there and accidentally kick it over the bathroom floor…

Anyway, I just thought it would be interesting to share the images as usually anything I remove is covered in dirty lubricant and is partially obscured. With the exception of the bean, what you see in the photo was from 2 horses that hadn’t been cleaned in sometime. Large masses of sm**ma layered with dead skin. These were so large that they heavily obstructed the sheath opening and would make it uncomfortable when the horse dropped or retracted their p***s; especially when the g***s and lamina are also heavily crusted and have to pass through this restricted space. Hopefully this makes a big difference for them :)

22/01/2022

Edit: fully booked, thank you! Feel free to drop me a message if you’re around that area and I’ll keep in touch in case I end up with spare time or a cancellation 😁
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Dumfries route - Sunday 30th January

I have a handful of afternoon slots available that day. Message the page to book a clean.

£25 per gelding including travel.

Hot and cold water supplied.
Fully insured BGA member.
Trained by a veterinary surgeon.
Lubricant cleans only, no soaps or irritants!
Unique electric warm water sheath flush.
Full sheath clean and bean removal.
Member of The Bean Team UK - Sheath Cleaning Specialists

17/01/2022

Lovely day down at Flookburgh, Ulverston, Barrow and Walney today.
It was great to see Prince again after a year had flown by. Glad he approves of the new leaflets too! ❤️

Thank you to everyone new and old who booked in with me 😁

16/01/2022

EDIT: Now fully booked. Feel free to PM me in case anything changes and I’m able to fit you in on the route. Thank you all 😁
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Last minute space now available along either of these routes - I can deviate to an extent 👍
Tomorrow! (Monday 17th)
Space for 1-3 Geldings only, around 3pm.
£25 per gelding including travel.
PM to book ☺️

15/01/2022

EDIT: Fully booked, thank you all ❤️
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Morning cancellation - a slot has become available between Carlisle and Kirkcudbright. Anywhere along this route shown.
Tomorrow (Sunday 16th)
Space for 1-3 geldings. PM to book
£25 per gelding including travel ✌️

13/01/2022

DUMFRIES - BARROW - ULVERSTON - FLOOKBURGH

I have a couple of upcoming sheath cleaning days with only a hand-full of spots remaining:

Dumfries route - January 16th (Sunday)
Barrow/Ulverston/Flookburgh - January 17th (Monday)

Message the page to book and I’ll get back to you by the end of the day at the latest 🙂

£25 per gelding including travel.

Hot and cold water supplied.
Fully insured BGA member.
Trained by a veterinary surgeon.
Lubricant cleans only, no soaps or irritants!
Unique electric warm water sheath flush.
Full sheath clean and bean removal.
Member of The Bean Team UK - Sheath Cleaning Specialists

23/12/2021

EDIT: Route now filled, thank you, but please get in touch if you’d like your name down for the next Dumfries route 🙂
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Sheath cleaning:
Dumfries route - December 27th
This route is nearly full. Just a couple of slots remaining.
Message the page to book 🙂

£25 per gelding including travel.

Hot and cold water supplied.
Fully insured BGA member.
Trained by a veterinary surgeon.
Lubricant cleans only, no soaps or irritants!
Unique electric warm water sheath flush.
Full sheath clean and bean removal.
Member of The Bean Team UK - Sheath Cleaning Specialists

21/12/2021

This was a single bean removed from a gelding this week. It was split into two pieces to be safely removed. Definitely going to bring some relief!

Apologies to those of you patiently waiting for appointments. I’m working through the backlog as fast as possible after quite a few weeks of ill health. Thank you to everyone for being so patient and understanding ❤️

08/11/2021

Productive day down in Ulverston and surrounding areas, yesterday! Quite a few interesting cases, including a very patient wee mini Shetland who had an extremely large bean; considering his overall size. Not to mention these huge deposits of very smelly sm**ma! Hopefully a nice fresh start for him now.

29/10/2021

Tonight I’ve been at the Penrith winter droving festival to offer free sheath cleaning 🙌

25/10/2021

Dumfries area - Monday 1st of November
PM to book 😁
£25 per gelding including travel.

Hot and cold water supplied.
Fully insured BGA member.
Trained by a veterinary surgeon.
Lubricant cleans only, no soaps or irritants!
Unique electric warm water sheath flush.
Full sheath clean and bean removal.
Member of The Bean Team UK - Sheath Cleaning Specialists

23/10/2021

Sheath cleaning in Walney, Barrow, Ulverston and surrounding areas. Sunday 7th November - some afternoon appointments available still.

£25 per gelding including travel.

Hot and cold water supplied.
Fully insured BGA member.
Trained by a veterinary surgeon.
Lubricant cleans only, no soaps or irritants!
Unique electric warm water sheath flush.
Full sheath clean and bean removal.
Member of the The Bean Team UK

22/10/2021

We’ve made a very serious and boring leaflet. It’s huge! Don’t read it. Don’t complete the sheath cleaning word search for 20% discount on your next booking, and definitely don’t play the sheath cleaning drinking game…far too boring.
I’ll leave a few behind when I visit yards, just in case you need to burn one for warmth, or swat a horse-fly. I’m sorry to burden anybody with these awfully dull leaflets. 😴😂

14/10/2021

Quite distressing photos shared by Liz at Equine Hygiene UK. We see all kinds of skin abnormalities in sheaths and pe**le skin on a weekly basis. Many that require veterinary examination, but this is a particularly nasty example. It’s so important to clean and check at least once a year, if not twice a year. Prevention and early intervention is key.

“A horse has never died from a dirty sheath”
That’s a statement I get tired of reading and hearing, because it couldn’t be more wrong. 😢

I've been umming and ahhing about putting this post up as the images are quite distressing, so I've decided to post it in black and white.

The actual full colour images are in the comments, but I must warn you, they are pretty gruesome and upsetting.

Why post them then?

Well, my primary aim is to raise awareness of pe**le tumours, which can occur in any horse, but typically I see this in older boys, often with pink pe**le skin.

The most common type of tumour in this area is called squamous cell carcinoma and one of the most common causes is thought to be the effects of excess sm**ma on the skin over time.

This pony was 22 years old and the owner had not seen his p***s drop down for a long time. They were not aware of the importance of regular sheath cleaning, believing that geldings were largely self cleaning.

What you cannot appreciate from the photo is the putrid smell the tumour was emitting, the flies all over it or the pony's pitiful attempts at urination, which consisted of short, sideways sq**rts of urine straight onto his hind legs.

This visit really got to me, and I left with a heavy heart that day. I tried my best to clean him up a bit, but even the lightest touch made him bleed. I could only advise urgent veterinary intervention, although I feared his options may have been limited at this stage.

If one good thing were to come out of this situation, I would hope that by sharing this it may help even just one horse by prompting its owner to check their boys and make sure they are clean and comfortable.

* Remember, "a quick sq**rt with baby oil" can exacerbate the presence of tumours, especially on pink pe**le skin as oil can intensify the UV rays of the sun causing irreparable damage to skin cells.*

03/10/2021

Great day down around the Ulverston area today. Some really big beans removed from some very patient geldings. Shame the rain waited to stop only until after I’d finished for the day 🤷🏼‍♂️

27/09/2021

Sheath cleaning in Walney, Barrow, Ulverston and surrounding.
This Sunday afternoon, October 3rd.
£25 per gelding including travel.
Hot and cold water supplied.

Fully insured BGA member.
Trained by a veterinary surgeon.
Lubricant cleans only, no soaps or irritants!
Unique electric warm water sheath flush.
Full sheath clean and bean removal.

20/09/2021

Sheath cleaning in Walney, Barrow, Ulverston and surrounding.
Sheath cleaning available in this area Sunday October 3rd. PM if interested ✌️😁

Fully insured BGA member.
Trained by a veterinary surgeon.
Lubricant cleans only, no soaps or irritants!
Unique electric warm water sheath flush.
Full sheath clean and bean removal.

20/09/2021

Edit: Fully booked, thank you all!
Happy to add anyone to the waiting list for our October trip in the Dumfries area, TBA.
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Sheath Cleaning
Sunday 26th August
Couple of afternoon slots available in the Dumfries area.
PM if interested ✌️😁

20/09/2021

For those of you who have not met me yet, here’s a small bio from The Bean Team UK page 😁