Fair warning, you’re about to get a bunch of crotch pics of Henry, so if you’re not okay with that, back away now.
I got out to the barn on Tuesday and everything seemed normal. Henry was turned out in the round pen, because it’s been raining non-stop here (I can hear the rain on the roof RIGHT NOW) and their turnouts are too slick. I brought him in, shoved him full of cookies, and started brushing him. I made it through the neck, the shoulder, the back, and was halfway down his belly before I caught something strange out of my peripheral.
Swollen junk. Awesome. The day before opening day for the N3D, naturally, because who needs low blood pressure and a stress-free life? I couldn’t find anything obvious… no scrapes or bites, no heat, sheath was cleaned in February, he didn’t seem to mind me poking and prodding it, temperature was normal, he was acting totally normal if even a bit more perky since they’ve been stallbound. I’ve dealt with this once or twice before in my life with other horses and moving around always helps, so I tacked him up and went out for an easy 30 minute walk/trot. When we got done it looked a little better, so I cold hosed it (my life is glamorous), gave him some bute, and asked BO to let me know how it looked the next morning.
Still swollen yesterday, although some of the edema seemed to have moved from the sheath to the belly. I couldn’t shake the visions of either a tree lodged in his sheath or some kind of rare South American weiner flu (because logic). So I texted the vet (poor man), included some pictures (you’re welcome), and we chatted. He wasn’t particularly concerned, but since he knows how crazy I am ($$$I’magreatclient$$$) he said he could come out that afternoon and check Henry out.
First he got drunk, then molested. The vet checked all around the outside and the inside, cleaned it again, but couldn’t find anything super obvious either. There was a little dimple on one side of his sheath that hadn’t been there the day before – it looked like maaaaaybe a sting or bite of some kind but it’s tough to tell. Overall nothing alarming going on, so a shot of Dex and $105 later, that was it.
Henry gets to go on long walks and have his junk cold hosed for a few days, and hopefully it’ll clear up. If not, I’m armed with more Dex.
Because if any horse in the world is going to have a weiner injury, of course it’s Henny.
breedrideevent.com 
Happens to my 23 year old Appy at least once a summer. Never bothers him but scares the hell out of me. I just clean it, hose it, and give him bute. Always looks worse than it is.
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I wasn’t worried about it either, until I invented a lot of ways that it might be bad. I figured if I had the vet come out, it would be nothing, but if I didn’t, he’d totally have a tree up in there. The closer we get to Coconino, the crazier I’m going to be.
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Awww, Henry. How awkward. Went through this last Summer over a bug bite.
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My friend’s horse did get stung on his sheath and it swelled so much he couldn’t pee. He walked with his hind end spread out, almost a waddle. He had to spend a couple days in the hospital and it was swollen for weeks after. I don’t blame you for calling the vet!
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That was my concern, really, wanted to make sure he could pee!
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ouch henry that looks really uncomfortable! poor guy
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When Dexter cut up his right hind leg, he managed to tear a small piece of skin on his sheath. I’m THAT horse owner that will pull off pieces of smegma when he drops a bit. Well, what I thought was a piece of smegma was actually a piece of skin and it started to bleed. It seems to have healed and looks fine now, but I had lots of horse junk pictures of my phone that day. So I totally understand.
On a more related note, bugs are a pain in the ass. I hope Henny is back to normal soon.
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Happens to my gelding quite frequently, mostly if he is on stall rest >1 week. The first time it happened it was unilateral and I freaked out too thinking it was some sort of bite and cold hosed it and poked around, but now it’s almost always bilateral and it usually goes away once he is back on turnout for a few days and can move around for extended periods.
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Considering how everything is flooding, they probably aren’t getting turned out again anytime soon! We’ll keep walking…
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“First he got drunk, then molested.” 😂😂😂😂
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South American wiener flu??!! I’m dying.
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It could be a thing. You never know.
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worst place to get a bug bite ever….poor buddy!
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So glad your boy is ok but …. sorry I laughed pretty much through this whole post. 🙂
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This used to happen to my horse Jasper seasonally. Never did find out the cause. If it makes you feel better, when my vet couldn’t figure it out, I trailered Jasper to the vet hospital (three hours away) so they could biopsy it. They also found no reason for it. The swelling used to travel down his belly too. I wound up selling him, so I don’t know if it continued every summer or not. So obviously this comment is not at all helpful to you. Misery likes company?
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Maybe we get to do a fun new thing every summer?
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I don’t understand why this was supposed to be weird? You seemed pretty calm and collected for someone whose horse may or may not have a highly contagious strain of south american weiner flu.
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Poor Henry always harassed in his nether regions
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Poor Henry!!!
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Poor Henny – getting groped on his man-junk!
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I instantly thought possible bug bite. Glad to hear it has resolved without (too much) effort/money.
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It’s still fat… edema has moved more into his belly than his sheath now. He seems to remain unbothered by it though.
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Izzy recently had a sarcoid on his sheath that took FOREVER to heal once it was treated. I took hundreds of photos of his junk to document the process. All in the name of science, right?! Hope Henry’s manhood heals quickly. :0)
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I would say “and this is why I have mares” but I have plenty of horse vagina pictures and also pictures of Dylan’s balls on my phone, so there is that.
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Sorry, Henny, but your mom wrote about this is the most comical of ways and I had a good laugh. But I’m glad you’re feeling better!
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