SWOLLEN SHEATH Could it be the heat?

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polly101

Member
Sep 25, 2009
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Shropshire
My lads sheath is swollen, not his willy but the bit where his willy is inside (oh dear does that make sense? must be the heat gone to my head)

I noticed last night it was a bit swollen but this morning is much more so.

I gave him a bit of a clean the other day but I tend to just leave him alone in that department! But im wondering if it is because of that and if I should give him a proper clean out tonight!!! but worried it may make it worse.

I'm also wondering if it could be due to the heat it is very hot and unfortunately I dont have much shelter from the sun for them and my stable is even hotter than outside. I have been applying fly repellant on him so i dont think it is flies he is not bothered when i touch there so dont think it is painful.

Anybody any ideas? I am thinking it may be just because he is so hot,
 
Cleaning it can make things worse - the friendly bacteria can be upset. We only ever used warm water on Joe - and didn't clean his very much, as it never really smelled or showed signs of needing attention.
It could be a fly bite? There are certainly plenty of them around atm. I wouldn't worry too much so long as he is moving ok and weeing ok and not showing any signs of distress over it.
 
Thanks trewsers, I am thinking i shouldnt have gone poking around in there ha :redface:

I have just read on internet that swollen sheath can be a sign of laminitis, Now I am beginning to panic, He has lami before I had him, which was about 4 years ago, He goes on to a bare patch at night with soaked hay for this reason, but yesterday he was out for 10 hours as i had a busy day at work, hope it isnt related to this :-(

I really should be doing some work and not scaring myself on google ha.!
 
Unless he's showing other lammi signs I still wouldn't worry too much - I presume he's fine in himself? Just keep an eye on it, that's what I would do - maybe if you are still worried tonight give vet a quick call and have a chat?
 
polly101 said:
Thanks trewsers, I am thinking i shouldnt have gone poking around in there ha :redface:

I have just read on internet that swollen sheath can be a sign of laminitis, Now I am beginning to panic, He has lami before I had him, which was about 4 years ago, He goes on to a bare patch at night with soaked hay for this reason, but yesterday he was out for 10 hours as i had a busy day at work, hope it isnt related to this :-(

I really should be doing some work and not scaring myself on google ha.!
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It can be a sign of toxin buildup which cn lead to lammi, Acorns did, but don't panic , just take him onto the bare bit for 24 hours with hay and see if it goes down, if so you know 10 hours on the grass is too long for him - could just be a fly bite, or irritation from your cleaning. We just leave ours alone or squirt a bit of baby oil on every now again and leave it to self clean.
 
By all means treat him for suspected lammi if you feel you should, but I suspect it is fly bites. Ziggy had a horribly swollen sheath last year when the flies got bad - double its normal size, scabby and sore and horrid. We made it worse to start with by using Sudocreme but found that aloe vera gel was the most soothing and helpful. It was back to normal within a week of careful gelling and spraying with fly spray.

He got another bite there this year which swelled, but the aloe vera gel soothed it down within a couple of days.
 
My lad gets attacked by midges, they always go for his sheath. The 1st year it happened I was worried sick, had the vet out as I was so alarmed by the swelling. I find Coopers Fly Repellent Plus is the only thing that works on his man bits. I am also having good results with Avon skin so soft.
 
Remember as well, its not the heat they may want relief from, its the flies and they only want shade...

I would think horsefly bite... but if it were me I would try and get them some shelter from the flies...
 
Oh strange I noticed the same with Chanters on Saturday when I was fly spraying him. He is not lami prone but all the same I stop strip grazing and cut it down:frown: It has looked a little better every day but you know what it is like I now can't remember what normal looks like on him.

I have been covering him in fly spray and checking morning and night. he does not seem uncomfortable at all.
 
Thanks for replies,

I think tomorrow I will keep him off the grass and see if that makes a difference, I do have another stable that i usually use for the mini shet that i can pop him in for the worst of the day, it's a bit smaller than i like for him but at least will be out of sun and flies and its cooler in there than his own stable.

I took a pic tonight to give you an idea, not sure if it may look normal to some of you but its definitely bigger that normal.

OBC Know what you mean, I kept looking at him today wondering if it is really swollen, we are opposite a nursing home, can just imagine all the old dears watching me from there windows.:bounce:

Trewsers - he is fine within himself, saw him have a wee seemed fine although a bit red on the end, so assuming flies!

Thanks for replies.

Thinking about It do have some left over coopers fly repellent!
 

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Yes that's exactly how Ziggy's looked, except his is black. Just the same shape of swelling.

One does get some odd looks when treating it!
 
No Ticks on bert, but he is more swollen today :unsure: he has also been in his stable today.

I also changed fly repellent this week from netex to one that is citronella based, im wondering if it could be some kind of reaction to this.

Either way im off to get a different repellent tomorrow and may even give vet a call :-(
 
Being stood in maybe why it's swelled up more, he's not moving about enough to keep it down. Have you tried scratch plus, or fly free? You can put them in his feed, and it should help keep the flies away.
You can get both in liquid form, which I recommend, as it's more palatable.
http://globalherbs.co.uk/products/flyfree/
 
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Pooh - that's nothing!! Jack's was MUCH bigger when he had an allergic reaction to something (never found out what) ... if we're going to start comparing sizes ...lol.

Seriously, Jack's was much more swollen and he also had swellings under his belly where fluid had collected. It went down fine but it took a couple of weeks.
 
Bodshi said:
Pooh - that's nothing!! Jack's was MUCH bigger when he had an allergic reaction to something (never found out what) ... if we're going to start comparing sizes ...lol.

Seriously, Jack's was much more swollen and he also had swellings under his belly where fluid had collected. It went down fine but it took a couple of weeks.
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You should have seen Shadow's after 10 days of being stuck in..

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