Why is my horses sheath swollen?

Question

I bought my new horse 1 month ago, and at vet check, his sheath was swollen. The vet said it was probably irritation from bugs.

After a week of owning him, him sheath was still large and rock hard. We cleaned it and the swelling went down. But the next day was hard and swollen again. When we touch his sheath or around it he tries to kick out and it seems to bother him a little, but lately he seems fine with it. He was gelded about 6 months ago and I'm not sure if that had anything to do with his sensitivity.

Has this every happened to anyone else's horse? And is there anything to treat it?

Answer 1

Definitely ask the vet again. Your horse could have fly larva in his sheath or even a burr that's scraping and causing an irritation or infection.  

Answer 2

Don't mess around with this yourself. If your vet isn't coming up with an answer, seek out another vet for a second opinion. Applying chemicals, cleaning, poking around, washing, using fly spray near this problem are all potentially dangerous without solid vet advice.

When dealing with any horse's medical issue, just pretend the organs involved are your own and ask yourself what you'd want someone taking care of you to do.

Answer 3

Sounds like an infection.  Ask the vet again as this can escalate into something horrible if not treated soon.  Any pus or discharge? These are indications of infection, also pain which he obviously has and temperature, have you checked that?

Answer 4

Sounds like a habronema issue, fly larvae which infiltrates the skin and causes irritation and inflammation. Fly larvae has likely penetrated the f******n and interior lining of your gelding's sheath. It's a problem more common than most are aware of and the only effective way to treat it is to kill the larvae and ivermectin is most effective in doing that.

There are two things I recommend to treat it.

First, apply ivermectrin wormer paste topically to the sheath and interior lining. Larvae can infiltrate the loose fold of skin in the sheath after eggs are deposited on his p***s so it is important to apply ivermectrin wormer paste topically to the interior lining as well as the exterior f******n. Applied topically the ivermectrin paste will kill larvae near or exposed to the skin surface.

Second, treat the horse internally with ivermectrin wormer and continue to treat monthly with ivermectrin wormer throughout the fly season. That will kill fly larvae when it enters the skin before it can cause irritation and inflammation.

Here is how serious the habronema condition can get when fly larvae penetrates the f******n:

http://www.fmv.utl.pt/atlas/ap_genital_m...

Answer 5

I would have the vet come out and do blood work, it shouldn't be like that. One thing to check out hence the blood work is to see if he is insulin resistant - swollen sheath is a classic sign. You could try swapping him to a low carb diet and that in itself may be enough to bring down the swelling. If it's allergies to bug bites, he should be on something like Tri-Hist. Can he urinate properly? If not, that can lead to all types of life threatening issues.

Answer 6

Well if your newly gelded horse is still having this problem and you have cleaned the sheath out. This also means grabbing his private part so to speak when he drops it out, (usually when relaxed) and scrubbing that to.

If this does not resolve the swelling, he may need antibiotics, and to have the procedure rechecked.  Possible infection could be going on up inside of him.

Hope this helps-Barb

Answer 7

I think you should have the vet out again. Since he was swollen again right after you cleaned him, there is something else going on besides being dirty. He could have an infection of some type. He is probably sensitive because he is in pain.  

Answer 8

That's what the vet is there for.  It can't hurt to call and see what the vet thinks.  If nothing else, you may need the vet to sedate the horse in order to get a good look at it...I wouldn't wait.

Answer 9

The first thing i would do if i were you is continue cleaning it when the swelling is down, and put fly spray around the area (be careful that it doesn't get ON the sheath, but around.) Make sure to put fly spray on it EVERY day!!

It is possible that your horse did not heal correctly when he was gelded and resulted in infection... my horse was just gelded last week and he is the same way at this point.

Also make sure your horse is out of his stall as long as he has this kind of swelling. Make sure he is in a pasture or paddock.. some place where he can move around. (moving around will bring down the swelling) At this point i wouldn't worry about contacting the vet again.

wait a week or so, and if the swelling hasn't gone down and stayed down... then contact the vet and if she says that its just bugs again... ask her why she thinks that, and if she has any tips on keeping the bugs away from the area.

Good Luck!

Answer 10

Actually, this happened to one of the horses in my barn...his sheath randomly swelled a bunch, so we gave him some bute every day for a few days (I think we gave him 1 gram everyday mixed with a scoop of A&M). It went down after a while and recovered, but if it's an ongoing problem, yes contact the vet again...the lesson horse that we had that got this only had it for four days or so, so it may have been different.

I hope this helps a bit!!