Stallion Hygiene question

[Candice]

I'm new to breeding and I don't want to sound stupid but I just don't know how to go about this. Last year when we purchased our horses our mares came to us already bred for this year. We then purchased our stallion for this years breeding season.

His genital area needs cleaning. The shaft is just crusted with nastiness. Is it normal for this to accumulate on a breeding stallion? What is the best way to get him clean? No, he is NOT cooperative. He's a very laid back guy but he does not want his business messed with and I really don't feel like having my face kicked in. Is there a way to do this without sedation? I had the perfect opportunity while the vet had him sedated for the dentist a while back, but by the time we got done in the big barn with our QH's, Little dude was already coming around.

I feel like I should know this, but I don't.

 

[txminipinto]

Most stallions keep their penis' pretty clean. I have 2 Jr. stallions here that stay clean. If he won't let you clean it without sedation, ask your vet to sedate him and show you how to properly clean it. As part of handling stallions, you need to train your boy to allow you to handle his penis and testicles for proper husbandry, especially if you plan to breed outside mares.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

IME he will clean it off himself as soon as he starts "working"

Rabbit is entering his 25th year of "active service" and I have never washed him off, not once- never been able to get near him with a bucket!!

Never washed off the Arabs either and we were breeding outside mares- almost all outside mares.

There were a lot less nasty things around back then, though!!

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

Most stallions keep their penis' pretty clean. I have 2 Jr. stallions here that stay clean. If he won't let you clean it without sedation, ask your vet to sedate him and show you how to properly clean it. As part of handling stallions, you need to train your boy to allow you to handle his penis and testicles for proper husbandry, especially if you plan to breed outside mares.

I completely agree with this statement. The last thing anyone wants is all that "crud" inside there mare ICK ICK ICK!

 

[jjnov]

I'm new to breeding and I don't want to sound stupid but I just don't know how to go about this. Last year when we purchased our horses our mares came to us already bred for this year. We then purchased our stallion for this years breeding season.

His genital area needs cleaning. The shaft is just crusted with nastiness. Is it normal for this to accumulate on a breeding stallion? What is the best way to get him clean? No, he is NOT cooperative. He's a very laid back guy but he does not want his business messed with and I really don't feel like having my face kicked in. Is there a way to do this without sedation? I had the perfect opportunity while the vet had him sedated for the dentist a while back, but by the time we got done in the big barn with our QH's, Little dude was already coming around.

I feel like I should know this, but I don't.

My friend and I try and play with them alot to get used to being touched down there. Now with the more older and experinced guys, we play with them to get them to extend it out and we wash and scrub it pretty good. And since your guy isnt going to let you do it easily, I would say sedate him, but to get ready for the next cleaning, take a short whip with a bag tied to the end and rub it all over him, or a cloth. And then once he gets use to something touching him down there, start using your hands and get him comfortable with that. ALOT of stallions enjoy this once they are used to it.

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

I think you're right to be concerned about it being "dirty" and wanting to do something to clean him up. I can possibly understand where as the owner of the stallion you may not want to or be able to clean him up prior to breeding. But as the owner of a mare, I'd darn well expect that he be clean - and not just superficially, but also cultered, EVA tested, etc. As someone who knows what it's like to have a mare get a uterin (sp) infection, believe me, a clean stallion is a must.

If you're in a hurry, have the vet sedate him. But at some point he needs to accept that you're going to touch him - even there! :new_shocked:

 

[wpsellwood]

have you tried twitching him?

 

[HaazeMinis]

When we bought our stallion as a younger 2 year old a couple of years ago he had never been touched "there" either, however with ALOT of patience and gentle handling in the general area he found it quite pleasant and would actually relax and drop a little for me in anticipation of his "massage" :bgrin. All this took place in a matter of 4 months. We got him in early November of 04, so he was ready to breed his first mares the following spring.

:

He was/is not the type of stallion that has ever attemped to kick or bite humans though so we did not have that to deal with either though. So in your case it might take alot more time and patience to do it without sedation and Pam (StarRidgeminis) is right, one way or the other he needs to get used to being handled down there.

:

Now, we always start our colts that are born here the same way. :bgrin The colts enjoy it alot and will actually drop for me as soon as I start gently rubbing on their sheath! :bgrin Boy can those little boys get DIRTY and YUCKY! :new_shocked: With them it takes a matter of days to get them to understand what I am doing so it does not take long for them. :bgrin

With the babies I dont really "scrub clean" them with anything really harsh, it is usually just some type of mineral oil after I massage and peel most of the crusties off and feel for beans which one of my colts did have :new_shocked: but, he was not born here and I got him at 4 months old. I had often wondered why this colt seemed to be rubbing/scratching alot and as soon as I removed all the "stuff" from inside his sheath and

removed the crusties he stopped rubbing and scratching!

: wink:

Good Luck

:

Jeri

 

[Rocky1]

I would have the vet sedate him, and clean him then and there and do all the neccesary tests to make sure he is clean for outside mares(and yours). Once out of it though I would try clicker training him, just start by petting his belly and getting closer and closer to his "boys". Once touching his boys click and give treat. He should learn pretty quickly that having you handle him gets rewards on both ends.....lol. Make sure your hands are nice and warm though- no need to "cold shower" him.

 

[Latika]

Before you go sedating your breeding stallion, try spraying some oil on his penis. just the same oil that you would normally feed him.

If he has it out, just spray it on and in a day or two you'll notice all the crusty's are gone.

I recently asked this similar question on another forum and this was the response i got. And it worked for me

My stallion doesnt mind me touching him "down there", but he wont let it out if i am anywhere near it.

 

[disneyhorse]

Getting used to having you touch "it" is a VERY important part of being a stallion. While it might not bother him to have it all crusty, if you breed mares you really SHOULD keep it clean.

If you breed to outside mares you MUST disinfect it. NOT properly cleaning is extremely negligent stallion management! (If I took my mare to be bred, I would expect proper hygiene!)

It's easy to be careless with the minis, I think a lot of stallion owners aren't very detail-oriented.

Go slow with him, eventually I think he will find it's a pleasurable experience to be cleaned! Just be sure to use warm water.

Andrea

 

[Warpony]

With the babies I dont really "scrub clean" them with anything really harsh, it is usually just some type of mineral oil after I massage and peel most of the crusties off and feel for beans

something i have always wondered, would baby oil be ok for this? I use KY jelly or a similar product (read "cheap store brand version of KY") to slather him up then rinse him with warm water but someone recently asked me if they could put baby oil on their big horse gelding and I went:

: "I dunno!"

 

[HaazeMinis]

With the babies I dont really "scrub clean" them with anything really harsh, it is usually just some type of mineral oil after I massage and peel most of the crusties off and feel for beans

something i have always wondered, would baby oil be ok for this? I use KY jelly or a similar product (read "cheap store brand version of KY") to slather him up then rinse him with warm water but someone recently asked me if they could put baby oil on their big horse gelding and I went:

: "I dunno!"

WarPony

I dont think using baby oil would be a good idea as it does have perfume for smell in it so I believe that that in its self could cause irritation one would think?

:

I usually just use mineral oil it is very cheap to buy. I dont use Ky because it is more gel consistancy so it gets "sticky".

Hope that helps...I could be wrong about using Baby oil...though?

:

Jeri

 

[Warpony]

WarPony

I dont think using baby oil would be a good idea as it does have perfume for smell in it so I believe that that in its self could cause irritation one would think?

:

I usually just use mineral oil it is very cheap to buy. I dont use Ky because it is more gel consistancy so it gets "sticky".

Hope that helps...I could be wrong about using Baby oil...though?

:

Jeri

That was pretty much what I thought, and what i told her, but I also said I really don't know.

I use the KY the same way I would use something like excalibur, so it all gets rinsed away. I've never put anything on them to leave on... but my colt seems to get dry skin, probably because he has it hanging out in the wind all the time.

: I may need to look into the mineral oil myself.

 

[sandra dittus]

I get all my supplies togather in easy reach, have my stallion tied to the washing post, then I have my helper bring a mare out so the stallion can see her. BINGO!! it works for me everytime.

Sandy

 

[Candice]

Thanks for the info. I'm not breeding him outside right now, but I still want him clean for my mares. Because of his difficult attitude about this I have made sure that I've handled our colt daily. Older horses have their pluses and minus' and one of the minus' sometimes is how well they were handled previously (or in his case "not handled").

Thanks again,

 

[rabbitsfizz]

The penis produces it's own lubricant which in turn acts as a natural cleanser,

Anything you can use is never going to be as good as this.

If you absolutely have to do it and an amazingly large number of stallion owners seem almost compulsivly obsessed to do so, I suggest you use the lubrigel used for foaling mares out.

Baby oil, soap, shampoo etc all dry as well as clean and this will interfere with the penis natural balance.

It is almost impossible for normal infections to live whilst the penis is actually withdrawn and, if you were just to leave it all alone, you would be amazed at the difference there will be in a months time, just form hormone levels rising and it being "out more" as it were.

At this time of year, when it has been inactive through the winter months, it is obviously going to be grotty.

Washing it now can actually cause more trouble than the "troubles" you see and imagine.

Nature can normally take care of all this with no help from us.

 

[joylee123]

I get all my supplies togather in easy reach, have my stallion tied to the washing post, then I have my helper bring a mare out so the stallion can see her. BINGO!! it works for me everytime.

Sandy

You sneaky Pete!! :bgrin :bgrin :bgrin

 

[Margo_C-T]

Over winter-the season of 'inactivity' in all sorts of ways-a stallion-in fact, any male horse-can get very nasty-and I am surely NOT going to stand by while a stallion with such a dirty member inserts all that crud into a mare!! When I was breeding, I would use simple warm water and tea tree sheath cleaner to thoroughly cleanse my stallion of all of that before breeding was begun. I would get my 'dedicated'-meaning disinfected first, then used ONLY for THAT STALLION for that season-buckets, disposable soft paper towels,and sheath cleaner-together, then tie the stallion inside a stout pipe gate, a mare on the other side--and set to quietly but thoroughly cleaning and RINSING 'himself'! I was taught not to use anything harsh/detergent-y,and to rinse, rinse, and rinse again. Once the initial thorough washing had been done, I washed only with warm water before breeding. I did the mares pretty much the same way-a thorough washing with a gentle and totally 'rinse-off-able" agent prior to any cover, then at each breeding, a dedicated or disposable tail wrap, and a thorough warm water wash and gentle pat-dry.

Yes, while running free in the wide world, horses darn sure didn't have mankind to wash their genitals before breeding; however, today's horses are SELDOM running free, and ranging through an 'uncontaminated' world! I don't believe it is either possible or desirable to try to truly 'disinfect' the genitals--use no strong 'cleaning' agents, do no hard scrubbing, as that can wreak havoc on the horse's natural defenses against disease and contamination. To me, the best course is a reasonable 'happy medium'. I never had a mare get a uterine infection while here.

BTW-certainly agree with a program of 'desensitizing' the horse, the younger the better, to all necessary handling(mares, too-many are surprised when the mare gives problems after foaling when the foal tries to nurse-desensitize them well ahead of time, avoid these potential problems!)

Margo