Gelding heath question...

flarenuphope

laura+flare= gone
THIS IS A SERIOUS QUESTION:

We have a 9yr old tb gelding that has some sort of problem with his sheath.
About once a month he would become swollen (the sheath) and he would get this swollen pocket, kinda like fat tissue (its squishy), right in front of the sheath, usually the size of my hand. The first time we called out a vet, she cleaned it, got a large"bean" out, and only said that it's from him gaining wait, and that usually only older male horses get like that.
This has been happening off and on for about 6 months now, but instead of calling the vet my mom cleans it, and a day or two latter he's back to normal.
Also when he gets like that, swollen, he bucks when cantering.

This past Saturday we noticed he was swollen, so we cleaned his sheath on Sunday. When i checked on him Monday he was twice as swollen, and the knot like thing was twice as big too. So we cleaned him out again, and yesterday he was once again much bigger. We called the vet to see what she thought and all she told us to do was make sure he was clean down there, which we did. We also marked how big the knot like thing was.
Then today, he was still swollen, the knot about two inches longer than yesterday.

I've seen him go pee twice yesterday, but he didnt pee much either time, usually a horse pees like a waterfall :lmao:
he isnt in obvious pain, He just cringes(looks like he's about to kick) his back legs when we soak him.
We also left him in the stall (we have run-ins, and gates to close them in) one night to see if it would help, but it did nothing. :jameo:

Has any one ever had a problem like this with there gelding? Is there anything to help stop the swelling?
If any one has prior experience or knowledge about this i would greatly appreciate any help. I have a horse show this coming Sunday and i WAS going to use him, but if the swelling dosnt go down i wont.
thanks
 

Pasofever

Does my butt look big?
There is a difference in swelling and "fat" several of my geldings have "fat sheaths" but if he is swelling and having trouble peeing there is a problem..reclean him..Do you have to call the vet cant you debean him yourself? :huggy: Have fun

I would call the vet if he is bigger like you say...can you post a picture :whistle:
 
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saddlesore

Guest
Ah, so it is a SHEATH problem, not a HEATH problem. I thought perhaps you had a horse out on the heath, but there is no heath in this country, right?

I would have the vet out again. Better to pay for another vet call than to have the problem progress further, which always costs more in the long run. What concerns me is the cringing whilst peeing, and the fact that he pees less. You've already cleaned him several times, and removed the bean. If it's another bean, well, that's unusual that he's accumulated another in such a short time, IMO. It's abbeynormal.

Also, that much cleaning could cause irritation, resulting in an eczema-like condition. Get the vet out and put the poor guy out of his misery. That can't be fun :-(
 
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saddlesore

Guest
Pasofever said:
I would call the vet if he is bigger like you say...can you post a picture :whistle:

You trying to get Flare banned for posting dirty pictures?
:shocked:

That is just so unlike you. :lmao:
 

DQ2B

Active Member
It could be a metabolic issue, i.e. thyroid, insulin, inability to process sugars, too much protein or a selenium deficiency. Check his diet carefully, especially if he's overweight. The vet should be able to run some tests to rule out metabolic issues.
 

Drafthorselover

New Member
I have seen where geldings get stung or bit (on their sheath) and their sheath swells. I would also recommend having the vet back out... the swelling can cause them to not be able to urinate and the vet can give stuff to combat the swelling. Cold water hosing can help. Is the sheath hot where its swollen?
Drafthorselover
 
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saddlesore

Guest
Drafthorselover said:
I have seen where geldings get stung or bit (on their sheath) and their sheath swells. I would also recommend having the vet back out... the swelling can cause them to not be able to urinate and the vet can give stuff to combat the swelling. Cold water hosing can help. Is the sheath hot where its swollen?
Drafthorselover

True, that! In which case some azeum (hope I spelt that correctly) should take care of the swelling. This happened to one of my geldings, but the swelling went down straightaway after the azium (or however the h*ll it's spelt).

In any case, dial the doc, Flare. And let us know how it all goes. I'm sending vibes for the poor chappie.
 

flarenuphope

laura+flare= gone
thanks yall. I'll have my mom call the vet again today... though the vet, last time we talked with her, didnt seem too interested in coming out...
Today the swelling has gone down, but only the sheath. the knot thingy in front of it is about two inches longer. So today i put him in one of are grassy pastures, by hisself, to see if being away from all the dust will help( and so he can chow-down).

No he is not a "fat" horse, we are actually still trying to add some weight to him, hince the name we call him "Bones". aslo i COULD post a pic, just a full body one, so at least it would give you some sort of idea, but i'm not going up close :lmao:.
I'm pretty sure he wasnt stung, because it was gradual swelling, and i have washed him with cold water, but i dont think it helped.
thanks again!
 

appendixqh

Silence!!! I Kill You!!!
saddlesore said:
True, that! In which case some azeum (hope I spelt that correctly) should take care of the swelling. This happened to one of my geldings, but the swelling went down straightaway after the azium (or however the h*ll it's spelt).

In any case, dial the doc, Flare. And let us know how it all goes. I'm sending vibes for the poor chappie.


:yeahthat:
I have a gelding whos sheath swelled up yesterday...he was getting attacked by horse flies. I took "Swat" and put it on his sensitive region. It has helped...but it usually takes a couple of days to go away. Poor guys!
 

flarenuphope

laura+flare= gone
Took some pics, and a vid of him troting. I think he is moving just fine yall can judge for me. If you look at the pics you can see Where there is swelling.

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devinej

New Member
hmm you pics didn't work out.

so the swelling in front of the sheath, what is the exact location? is it on the underside of his belly or actually In his sheath on the belly side, or in the sheath on the loose side?

when you press on the swelling does it feel really hard, can you make a fingerprint in it, or is is squishy?
 

flarenuphope

laura+flare= gone
sorry i thought it would post the pics... lets try again! But the knot is on the under side of his belly, and when i press on it i can see indents from where i pressed.

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flarenuphope

laura+flare= gone
flarenuphope said:
sorry i thought it would post the pics... lets try again! But the knot is on the under side of his belly, and when i press on it i can see indents from where i pressed.

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arrrggggg let me try again...



 

devinej

New Member
could it be a hernia? you say it started out round and is now oblong?

a friend had a horse with a lump there - the horse had been stuck in a fence, really scraped up, and developed swelling there, and it cleared up in a couple of weeks with antibiotics.
has yours been on antibiotics? if its something infected causing the swelling, that might help.

my horse once had a lump there too, and it went away by itself after a couple weeks. but he wasn't really sore or anything, no sheath problems.
 

flarenuphope

laura+flare= gone
Well i went out and checked on him, and the swelling has gone down ALOT. i gave him some antibiotics(sp?) this morning and it seems to have helped.
 

Pasofever

Does my butt look big?
flarenuphope said:
Well i went out and checked on him, and the swelling has gone down ALOT. i gave him some antibiotics(sp?) this morning and it seems to have helped.

Naw takes longer then that to get in his system...it was going to go down by its self then.. :popcorn:
 
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