Sheath Cleaning

One of the pleasures of having a gelding is that you periodically have to clean out his sheath. The cavalry manual recommends doing this once per month in the warm part of the year and less frequently in the winter. The manual makes it sound like a simple and easy process, like giving them hay, or something. I can only wonder how they performed this task in the 19th century without the benefit of rubber gloves. It is a good idea to use warm water when cleaning the horse's sheath as you lessen the chances of being kicked into the next county. It a good idea, also, to stand well out of kicking range when initiating the cleaning.

While cleaning Cochise' sheath today, I put on a rubber glove and then an old sock over the top of that. The rubber glove protects my hand from the stench, and the sock acts as a wash cloth. Getting a handful of Excalibur sheath cleaner (it looks like green jello), I stuck my hand up into Cochise' sheath. His left rear leg cocked slightly but, fortunately, he relaxed and let me finish the job without getting violent. After softening up the smegma with the green jello, I then swabbed it out again with water. You are not supposed to use soap, as it dries out the skin inside the sheath. It is not a pleasant process and there is the ever present danger of the cocked and ready rear leg should you make an error in your technique.

However, since over 20 years of military service long ago stripped away any shred of personal dignity I ever had, the task was completed successfully and without incident.