Hawk sheath cleaning Jan 13

That was the question I asked our employee, Cindy, as she and I headed out to clean blind Hawk's sheath this afternoon.  "Why am I always the one who gets to do this?," I asked.

She smiled but said nothing.

"Why doesn't Alayne ever do this?," I asked.

"Because Alayne is smart," she quickly said, emphasizing the last word.

Oh.

Hawk's private parts had seemed a little puffy and swollen, so I called our equine vet, Dr. Erin Taylor, this morning to get the dosing protocols to sedate Hawk for an exam and cleaning.

It's a two-drug regime and he was already sinking before I got the second drug on board.

As you can see from the photo above, the sedation worked … um … all too well.  That's one leaning horse.  Notice my right hand, pushing on Hawk and trying to hold him up.  It made me feel better, but one hand was not going to keep an 1,100 pound horse from toppling over on me if he chose to go down.  Cindy (who prefers not to have her photo taken) was holding Hawk's head up, because otherwise he was doing this:

Hawk with head in snow

Despite being completely gorked, he hardly dropped his penis, so I had to fish around and tug and pull and … oh never mind.

Let's just say that it actually looked pretty good and required only minor cleaning.  The swelling seemed to be nothing more than what Erin says often happens with these old geldings:  they get fat and pendulous "down there."

Alayne did come out to take these photos, though.

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15 responses to “Why Me?”

  1. Moon Rani Avatar
    Moon Rani

    Why you, Steve? Oh, you’re just lucky, I guess. And it weren’t for you, the world would be deprived of these great photos. Thanks, Steve. 😉

    Like

  2. Kelly Luchtman Avatar
    Kelly Luchtman

    Take heart, Steve. This looks good on a resume. 😉

    Like

  3. Janet in Cambridge Avatar
    Janet in Cambridge

    Sheath cleaning, ah, yes. So important, so underrated, so unappreciated (except by the horse). But to be called “fat and pendulous down there.” The ignominy.

    Like

  4. boundforglory Avatar
    boundforglory

    Someone (Alayne) has to have a steady hand on the camera and someone else (you, Steve) need an even steadier hand on the…uhhh…errrr… down under parts. 🙂

    Like

  5. Julien Sharp Avatar

    Lol, commenter Kelly Luchtman – my sentiments exactly! /snort

    Like

  6. Lisa Avatar
    Lisa

    Hawk says thanks, Steve, for the fresh clean feeling!

    Like

  7. Shirley * James/Portland, OR Avatar

    Alayne–I like the way you think!

    Like

  8. Debbie Avatar
    Debbie

    I have always suspected Alayne to be the brains and Steve the brawn…lol. Just kidding…I respect anyone willing to have a horse plop down on them for the sake of hygiene.

    Like

  9. Linda Avatar
    Linda

    Poor guy! Both of you.

    Like

  10. Angela Avatar
    Angela

    HA – Poor Hawk having his ailments relegated to the “down there” category. Sounds very mysterious. But with Steve’s work and care, he’ll make it fine.

    Like

  11. Beth Avatar
    Beth

    My dad had to wash my Pony Of America, Cory’s sheath. We never had to sedate him. He seemed to enjoy it. I was lucky to be too young at the time to do it on my own. Cory would sometimes do his own cleaning on the horse trailer hitch. I was also lucky to be too young to be the next person to hitch up the trailer to the pickup after Cory’s self cleaning. It was good to be young and small. Steve I’m sure my father feels for you.

    Like

  12. ginger Avatar
    ginger

    Excuse me for being a backseat driver, but wouldn’t it be better to have Hawk next to a barn wall when he started leaning? I’d think that just the cleaning part would keep you busy enough without having to worry about 1100lbs coming over on you! I guess you just like living dangerously! Nice team work! I hope Hawk feels refreshed.
    Warm hugs to all,
    ginger, Tobias & Tlingit

    Like

  13. Colleen & Sweet Kitty Erin Avatar
    Colleen & Sweet Kitty Erin

    Poor Steve, Smart Alayne, Helpful Cindy, Happy Hawk!

    Like

  14. charlene Avatar
    charlene

    Hi… just wondering if the around the sewlling was hard… I have the same thing with my gelding only that it is hard.

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  15. charlene Avatar
    charlene

    Hi again….I have had the vet out to look at the gelding and she cleaned it out… since then I have cleaned it out several time also… but still swollen and it is also hard… I am very worried. If anyone has any sugestions for me please share, it would be greatly apprecated.

    Like

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