28/07/2024
I am getting a lot of messages about horse swellings lately as I am sure vets are as well. Here are some ideas that help. When has your horse had his last cleaning? If you are one of my clients I usually will see you an MINIMUM of 2x a year. That can help a lot of things with your horse from becoming a problem or an emergency. I usually tell you all about your horse and his skin type, and we have bean discussions. If your horse gets beans, I recommend seeing me at a minimum of 2x a year that way the bean remains a manageable size. If I pull a larger bean out of your horse, we have a more serious discussion about your horses needs and we need to keep him from making another monster bean like that. But back to swelling issues, beans can make him swell, and it is usually larger than a quarter from my experience. If I see your horse a minimum of 2x a year I have a teeny tiny small itty bitty percent chance he has made a bean larger thank a quarter. Is he p*eing normally? Check his stall for his normal p*e spots and if there is less than his normal, his bean can cause him to p*e a smaller amount more often than one big large p*e. Some horses display signs of it taking a moment to p*e. Usually there is something a bit uncomfortable he is working around or moving around. If he has seen me often we talk about his needs. I have pulled MONSTER beans out of horses. Look at my page and you will see some big big beans. Its crazy how horses manage it and live with them (up until they meet me haha!) Beans bother them, yes but the p***s is quite resilient and can still function mostly from my experience. The lesson is have any new horse checked by me or a professional. Have the big bean makers kept on a regular schedule, minimum 2x a year.
Bugs! Is one of the main reasons I see swellings and irritation. Let face it your horses sheath is stinky, oily, dirty, and absolutely delicious to flies and gnats-noseeums. If your horse has a dirty sheath like EVERY horse has after this hot summer we are coming out of, the bugs will make him miserable. You will see him biting at his sheath, scratching it on anything available and tail rubbing ect. Now is your chance to examine his sheath. Gently look around to see if you see irritation, bug bites, puncture marks from a spider or stinging insect. The way to help your horse if you suspect this is his problem is to rinse him like I show you at his appointments with me. I show you how to take the nozzle off the hose and flush up the front doorstep of his sheath to get cool water up inside. This will help flush out some of that delicious dirt and oil that the bugs are attracted to! Give him a long flush a couple times a day. Aim for 5-10 min. The cool water also reduces swelling and the percussion of the water will also bring the swelling down.
Summer sores will cause swellings. The bugs are irritating his sheath tremendously and the inflammation it causes will cause them to swell. Look at my article about summer sores here. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=763215255806396&id=100063537852223&mibextid=UyTHkb
Upon your examination note if there is heat and what the swelling feels like. Is it soft and moveable like a water balloon or is it hard and stodgy as bread dough? Is it on one side or both, or just the bottom? If there is heat there usually is something I recommend you contact your vet for, it often is something else going on with your horse and as a result he has heat. If there is no heat, start thinking about your horse lately.
Has his diet changed suddenly? Sometimes different feeds, starches and sugars added to your feeds can cause inflammation within his body because he has to process those changes. Is he out eating rich sugary grass or clover? Sometimes a lot of Alfalfa can make some horses retain water and fluid. Or for instance I had a horse get a visit from the grandkids and that day he got fed a whole bag of cookies!
Has his lifestyle changed lately? Is he stuck inside with a lameness, abscess, rainy weather and he is not out and moving like he usually does? Is he older and has more aches and pains? If he is sitting still and not moving usually horses will collect edema fluid in the lowest part of their body, ex the hind legs, the sheath, the belly. This should go down with cold flushing, and resuming his normal activity. Usually a good trot will return him to normal, if he is in the physical condition to go for a trot.
Has he had any chemicals around his sheath? Horses private parts are very delicate, and some things are not meant to be in or around his privates! I hear the craziest things that people use on their horses and it can very much cause irritation. Only neutral and natural things should be on in or around his privates. Water is the best option. If your horse is bothered by bugs, flush him! If you apply come fly spray on his delicate sheath skin he can very much swell up. Tacky ointments or creams can attract dirt and bother his sheath. Any product your put in your horse should me monitored and rinsed off and not left up in there. I hear of baby oil, mineral oil, dish detergent, vaseline, coconut oil, and the list goes on of products that people think are sheath cleaners and my rule of if you wont use it on your privates then for heavens sake do not use it on your horse.
Take a notebook and write a timeline of what you noticed and when so you can monitor these changes. It also doesnt hurt to take a photo of his normal sheath and keep a record so you know and can compare to what is not his usual size. This can help you care for him and can nail down what might be causing his issue. Not how many days your horse has a swelling. Usually acute swellings go down within a week or so if you solve his acute issue, or if the bugs finally leave him alone. See my summer sore article on insect management of your property.
If the swelling lasts for weeks to months we have some other things to consider. Some breeds of horses have large sheaths. Pasos, big Qh fellas, Walkers, Warmbloods get big sheaths from their genes. Some horses get larger sheaths with age, the fellas in late teens to 20s tend to have bigger sheaths.
Most often I see horses with metabolic issues and long time swellings. The fuller sheath is usually a symptom of Cushings, Insulin Resistance and these are discussions you need to have with your vet. Get a metabolic panel pulled and find out where your horse lies on the scale. Sometimes I see horses that are very overweight and the swollen sheath is a precurser that there will be potential metabolic issues in his future. Best to involve your vet. Look back at photos of him and ususally you can spot a weight gain with and increase of his body condition score. Some food changes with high starch and sugar can cause swellings, as can rich pasture grass can set off an already sensitive fella.
Horses with heart conditions can have swollen sheaths longer term. As do horses with cellulitis. Please have a good relationship with your vet and the care for your horse.
These are just some thoughts, I may add to this article later! If I have not seen your horse in a while, book a time with me. I travel a lot and what is best if you see I am coming your way, book the time with me so we can have a good report card instead of waiting and it potentially being an emergency. I try to help everyone I can and I love seeing fellas stay comfortable and not have problems. Its something that can happen to a lot of horses right now!
Because of costs I cannot travel to some places as often. I live on the east coast and for me to get to some cities it takes a lot of time to get to some places. I go where I have a lot of horses to fill my day most often. You can help by sharing for me with your friends and that can increase the chance of me being able to come see your horse, or there may be a trip fee to come. I really do the best I can but some days I live on the road!
