Valuable Lesson From Trainer Mark Rashid’s Book… “Whole Heart, Whole Horse”
Coming Clean
It’s not as though I never heard of cleaning a horse’s sheath before. After many years of owning geldings…of course I have! But, as it turns out, I didn’t know enough. It wasn’t until I read renowned horse trainer Mark Rashid’s book Whole Heart, Whole Horse, that I learned about “smegma.” Smegma is a relatively round, rock hard object composed of dirt, dead skin cells and sweat. Also known as “beans.” Yuk! Sounds disgusting enough, but what I didn’t know, was how “beans” might affect behavior.
The Story of “Bill”
In his book, Mark told the story of a horse named Bill, that was exhibiting some unwanted behavior on the trail. Behavior that I was familiar with. Now, in the arena, Bill was quiet, willing and responsive. Out on the trail, his behavior was the same until they turned back and headed for home. Bill unexpectedly let out a loud snort, then shot himself into the air. After five minuets of bolting, jigging, side passing and leaping in the air, things weren’t getting any better. It was then that Mark remembered something Bill’s owner had said….
A Real Handful
“He can be a real handfull, especially when he’s coming home from a trail ride. Going out…not so bad, but once he knows he’s coming back…well, let’s just say it’s best if you have a deep seat.”
I’d been experiencing the same behavior from my horse “Denver” for quite some time. Now, Denver has never been exactly “mister calm”, but I’ve been trail riding with him for years, and even won a few hunter paces. His behavior had me flummoxed, so I continued to read Bill’s story with interest. As it turned out, their vet “Doc Brown” was scheduled to do Bill’s teeth. They discussed whether teeth problems could be causing the horse’s bad behavior, but Doc didn’t think so. It wasn’t until he began cleaning Bill’s sheath that the possible culprit appeared!
Beneath The Sheath
Doc removed three large beans from Bill’s sheath. “Dang! Poor bugger! I recon that could make him a little grumpy from time to time!”
No kidding! Perhaps I now had a clue as to what was making Denver “grumpy!” He was scheduled for his spring shots, so I thought I’d ask my vet, Dr. Andy Stas, for his opinion. He basically reiterated what I had learned from my research after reading Mark’s book. Sheath cleaning once or twice a year should be enough, but, problems can also occur with excessive sheath cleaning. There are normal, commensal bacteria on the skin and within the sheath, and when these are removed, it’s possible that abnormal bacteria or yeast (or overgrowths of normal bacteria) can take over. Moderation in all things!
So, as long as Andy was there, and could sedate Denver, why not check it out?
Oh Ya!
Poor Denver was suffering from the same fate as Bill. Andy pulled out several beans to the amazement of all (except Denver, of course!)
Have any of you experienced this?
I haven’t had a chance to do any trail riding with Denver since, but a quick trip around the farm did prove more relaxing than previously. So, we’ll see! If there are no long term positives, we’ll just stick with Dressage!
