I have always had geldings, and I have never had problems with their you-know-whats getting dirty and cruddy, until now with Ta'ceyewi.  He has an appy multi-colored willy and it just stays sooo dirty.  I was talking to the vet the other day and she said that since his is lighter it will show crud and build up more, but just to keep it cleaned more.  Yesterday he got gelded (poor little booger, he handled it like a pro and is acting like nothing is different today)  and since he was already down, my vet looked at it and cleaned it and said it was about the dirtiest she had seen, and it had been cleaned about a month ago.  Has anyone found something to do to keep it cleaner?  Especially you other appy people, help!  Thanks!

"they" shouldn't be cleaned too often or the good bacteria will be destroyed.

 I have had a lot more cleaning issues with my geldings since we moved to Middle Tennessee with all this high heat and humidity.

 I check all of them for beans every 4-6 weeks and will remove those and just clean everyone out with a damp cloth but not that thorough.

I know when it's time to go bean hunting because anyone of them will start dropping and stay dropped - something that is not normal for any of them.

I try not to clean it very often, but I am worried about bad bacteria build up.  This little guy has major crud buildup all of the time!  He doesn't get a lot of beans or anything, it is just the crusty gunk on the outside.  Rascal, my Morab, has NEVER had a dirty one, and Mojo, my rescue mutt horse, has about a normal one.  Ta'c just gets so dirty, and I was wondering if there was a way to keep it cleaner.

 I dunno, but if you figure it out, let me know.  Solo's is nasty, it gets dirty all the time!

Walkin is right - you don't need to clean it more often even though it looks like you should.  The mottled skin will for some unGodly reason crud up more, but I still don't clean them (with excalibur) more than every few months.  Now I will check for beans and get those out, and when I'm hosing them off I'll stick the hose up there and rinse, but not really clean-clean.

 Ok, that sounds good.  So I don't need to worry about any health concerns or anything, it is just the way it is?  I guess I was scared it could be feed related or something.  With him being so young and so perfect I would feel horrible if I screw him up by being an inexperienced colt owner, I am learning though, thanks to you guys 

ugh.. This is why I will never own a gelding.. *sorry*

FocusCalmPatience:

ugh.. This is why I will never own a gelding.. *sorry*

Aw, now that's not fair, most (all the other guys I've had) don't have much of an issue, and mares can have a whole different set of gender related hygiene upkeep lol! 

My vet did recently recommend using mineral oil or baby oil for cleaning, as the soaps (like Excalibur) can cause nasty blistering if you don't get it all off.

As most know by now, I haven't been around horses in quite some time. When I did have horses, they were all mares and not ever a gelding. I never remember having to do anything special with the mares hygene. Then again, we only curried/brushed with rarely giving them baths way back when. But that's for another thread. :)

After reading this post, I got to wondering about this just in case I do get a gelding when I buy my Mustangs. Now wild Mustangs live their lives w/o having humans care for them as we know and I understand they are all stallions, not geldings. So what's up with having to clean the "willy" on a gelding? What conditions arise if it's left alone, etc.? What are "beans" exactly? LOL Hey when I don't know something I ask! ;)

Beans are little balls of crud that get just inside the tip that can cause serious problems if not cleaned out enough.  They can block his ability to urinate, cause infection, all kinds of stuff. 

I've seen horses with painful, blistered bellies because they got partially blocked and their stream was hitting their belly instead of the ground.  I have also known some horses that their owners tell me they have never, ever cleaned them and they did just fine. 

Apps have to have the beans cleaned out regularly though, their mottled skin (and I would imagine paints or white horses may be this way too, anything with pink skin) for some reason creates more crud.  As I stated before though, cleaning out the sack and cleaning out the beans is two different things.

Not a very pleasant subject, but necessary!

KY Jelly is what my vet uses to clean sheaths.  It works great.  Glop it on, let it set, wipe off with paper towels.  If you don't get it all it's ok. 

WantingtoRideAgain:

What are "beans" exactly? LOL Hey when I don't know something I ask! ;)

lol! Hey, what else is this forum for?  Txspots did a wonderful job explaining things.  I would like to add that a lot of geldings don't have issues with, um, that.  My 24yr old gelding I have had for 12 years has NEVER had any crud whatsoever.  The other geldings I have had didn't have issues other than the occasional regular bean. Ta'c, my colt, just has a dirty...  Mares may not have willy upkeep but their heat cycles are a major pain, and in my opinion it evens out if not tilting heavily in favor of geldings (Bailey, my new mare, is a good horse but her moods are REALLY annoying, and I have only had her for a week and a half)

As far as the wild mustang I haven't a clue.  I know that with a hoof they never need trimming bc they use the hoof the way it was meant to be used, and our domestic horses don't use theirs, so their is extra growth, and so a trim is needed.  I don't know if a horse moving around a lot or 'using' it more (stallion) would make a difference, though it seems highly possible that they do get beans, get the possible infection, and go down bc of it, and since they are wild no one really notices it. I mean, a deer (buck) anatomy would probably work the same way,  but no one does studies on whether they get beans and infections from them so.....like I said, I don't have a clue...

And when you DO get a horse, I would rec. a gelding, they are more constant, though don't block out a horse just bc of gender.  I have always had geldings, and was planning on getting a gelding, instead I found Bailey, something clicked, and now I am a mare owner. Go figure 

Thanks for the answers! True not a pleasant subject for some, but needed info. My dad will be here Monday and I'll have to ask him about Big Jim who I think was a gelding, yet not sure. I never remember him cleaning him at all, then again I was young and my memory isn't what it used to be! LOL If I do get geldings, I certainly will keep all this in mind.

Yes it's certainly possible that Mustangs succumb to many things we aren't aware of without extensive study. Although any study could be bad for the Mustang in and of itself! Yet I believe, they have developed different ways of dealing with things that we take care of with domesticated horses. Their rate of increasing numbers would lead me to think they don't die regularly from many things as compared to domesticated horses like with colic, neglect, etc. After all Mustangs have survived w/o human intervention/care for a very, very, very long time. And I take that as them being much smarter then us. LOL

Do owners of stallions also need to clean the "willy"? I wonder also if they are using "it" to mate if that then makes a difference. Also I think back to the days when there were only horses to ride to get around. Not sure how many native indians/cowboys were cleaning "willy's" while on a hunt or a drive or the like. So it could be possible then that us humans came up with this one day awhile back, then once we heard about it and were told we "have to" do this, it just became a thing that is done. Then because we do it, it's no longer a natural thing for the horse to take care of thus issues can arise. Hmmmm..... I'll have to ponder that one for a bit.

Suffice to say, no matter how much we think we know about any animal, their chances of surviving in the wild I think would be greater than with us. Now I don't mean no one should domesticate an animal, just saying we don't have the better instincts then what they have developed over time. And before I get attacked for this, remember in the wild there is a natural order of things. Us humans have to remember, we are depleting their habit more and more every coming decade. Large numbers of any species will naturally have their numbers adjusted to food, habit, disease, etc. Mother nature does pretty well without our intervention, yet our intervention often does more harm than good.

On the other hand, with so many interferring with species whose numbers were regulated by man hunting them for food, fanatics that think we should do things that allow their numbers to soar because of using steel instead of lead shot hunting waterfowl for instance, are actually setting them up to possible disaster. Also Mustangs will be slaughtered by the hundreds, perhaps thousands by "MAN" not Mother nature. And why? Because man thinks they have the right to kill animals that they believe are ruining land by foraging it or they want to use the land for other things or they think they know what's best. That just down right pisses me off!

Remember what "WE" did to the buffalo numbers and other now extinct species?!!? Will "WE" unknowingly or knowingly do the same to the Wild Mustang?!!? It's a real probability! History has shown us so much, yet we tend to ignore it because of money or us thinking we know better or just because by damn we want it our way and to hell with the repercussions of our decisions.....Didn't mean to write a book here, but I'm a very verbose woman whose mind tends to work in overdrive. LOL

One more thing to think about - some mares need a similar cleaning between their teats or else it can get very raw and painful.  Some self-clean naturally, but not all.