SHEATH RELIEF

A reader is concerned about her gelding’s excessive smegma production and the health risk it could pose.

BY Barb Crabbe, DVM

Q. My 17 year old Morgan gelding produces a profuse amount of smegma. It’s a maroon/brownish color that’s very soft and runs down his legs. His sheath even swells from time to time. Other than this, he’s in great health. I’ve had my local veterinarian perform blood work on him including a complete blood counts, basic chemistries, and thyroid levels. He shows no outward signs of Cushing’s disease, his urine appears and smells normal, and there are no abnormalities within his sheath or on his penis. He is stalled at night, out on a pasture during the day, and eats a diet of grass hay, and Strategy pellets. I actually have to watch his weight because he’s such an easy keeper. Even with monthly cleaning using KY jelly, warm water, and paper towels, I can’t seem to decrease these secretions. Could there be something seriously wrong? Do you have any suggestions for how I might solve this problem?

A - You’ve certainly done your homework on smegma production. Given the scenario you’ve described and the test you’ve had performed, I doubt that you need to be concerned about a serious health issue. In fact, I suspect your concern and good care could be causing you some troubles. Geldings and Stallions produce smegma to help maintain proper lubrication and a healthy environment within their sheaths. Just like in a gastrointestinal tract, this healthy environment needs normal bacteria to maintain balance. Although it’s imperative to clean your horses’ sheath from time to time (most importantly removing the bean or material that accumulates at the end of his penis that can obstruct urine flow), it’s equally important that you don’t upset the natural balance. Monthly cleaning may be too much – even with material as benign as KY jelly and warm water.  If you regularly eliminate the normal bacteria, your gelding will naturally produce more – a situation that can become a vicious cycle. The more you clean, the more he secrets until you’re faced with the unpleasant scenario you’ve described where his smegma production is so prolific it’s running down his legs.

To address this problem, I’d suggest you begin with a little “benign neglect.” Stop cleaning the inside of his sheath with anything for six months. Use a hose to clean his legs and belly, and even the outer rim of his sheath after he’s had a workout, but don’t go deeply inside the sheath or around the shaft of his penis. Initially, he’s going to produce a lot of smegma and it maybe hard for you to resist removing it but as long as you don’t, he will begin to reestablish a normal balance. After six months, perform a good cleaning with a commercially available sheath cleaner that will easily cut through the greasy secretions. Then wait another six month before doing it again. I am willing to bet your gelding will resolve this problem. I have seen this scenario happen time and time again in my practice.

You mentioned your gelding is an easy keeper. If he is over weight he is more likely to accumulate more smegma because of fat deposits around his sheath. He’s also less likely to drop his penis fully when he urinates which can cause he is sheath to become irritated. Making sure to keep his weight under control will help minimize smegma secretions.  Good luck and thank you for writing in.