Cleaning up a neglected horse in the winter...

[disneyhorse]

Hello!

I just bought back a pony that I sold last year. I always keep my horses impeccably clean and as close to show shape as I can year-round.

Well... this pony was not maintained to anywhere near my standards and it just breaks my heart to see her like this.

First of all, she is severely underweight. I'd guess her body condition score to be a "2". Don't worry, I am confident that I can slowly put the weight on her with a good feeding program.

My problem is that she is extremely furry (she is four this year, I had owned her the prior two years before that and hadn't seen her this furry those winters... and she did not come from far away, she was kept locally) so I am assuming she grew extra hair to compensate for the weight loss. On top of that,

I don't think she was housed in the most hygienic of places. She has disgusting skin all along her back (at this point I don't think it's progressed to "rain rot scabs" but probably pretty close and her legs are scabby and inflamed with scratches.

I am torn between body clipping her so I can treat the skin more effectively. It is "cold" for here... it has been in the '40s at night. She does live in an enclosed box stall that is deeply bedded, and I do have a couple of blankets that I can put on her. But I am worried about her being underweight and having trouble keeping warm.

I'm not sure my clippers can get through the nasty hair, it's super gummy at the skin.

If it were your horse, what would you do? I'd like to nip any fungus in the bud, as it can be hard to control once it takes over. Her little pasterns are really disgusting.

Thanks for any help you guys can offer...

Andrea

 

[Marty]

Don't you just want to knock the tarnation of these people? Believe me, I am so fed up to here with this you have no idea. I can imagine you are out of your mind over this. I feel for you, and her. Is there any place you can bath and clip her inside where its warm, then blanket the heck out of her. Normally I would say to heck with clipping, but in this case, I might be convinced to do it because she is ematiated and need a complete visual of what in fact is going on....mites could be feeding on her or related nasties which bothers me so you need to see to give you a heads up. It will have a lot to do with her recovery. Lisa taught me years ago that #8 blades are worth their weight in gold and leave a good amount of hair on the horse so that is the way I would go, only if you could do the bathing and clipping inside though. With a great stall, double blankets, deep bedding and plenty of hay to eat, and YOU my dear friend, she should keep warm.

 

[chandab]

No way would I clip where I live, but I'd seriously think about it where you live and use blankets. Do you have coarse clipper blades that would leave her lots of hair, but make it easier for you to clean her up and keep an eye on her skin condition.

I have a winter hood, if you'd be interested in it, PM me for details.

 

[disneyhorse]

Oh, the bathing and clipping is not a problem, my barn has hot water for baths (and a HydroSurge), a vacuum for drying, and our days are about in the 70s.

I'm just worried about her being cold after being clipped. I guess I can easily buy a couple #7 or #8 blades, good idea.

Thanks for the offer for the winter hood, Chandab, but my plan would be to only clip the areas needed and leave her head/neck/shoulders/chest furry, as those areas seem fairly healthy. I think it would look ridiculous but she's already pretty sorry-looking, I just want to do what's best for her.

Andrea

 

[~Lisa~]

I would clip her since she is stalled and you have blankets I have faith you will bring her back very quickly you are a good horsey mom

 

[ssshowhorses]

I would definelty be clipping!! Good luck getting her healthy, poor little girl

 

[MiLo Minis]

Never underestimate the value of a REALLY THOROUGH grooming! If necessary at this time of year I would clip ONLY those areas affected and a smidge around the edges of them to be sure to get to all of it. Don't clip her legs - you should be able to groom them as clean as possible and treat them. I would NOT blanket her afterwards as sun and fresh air will go a long way to clearing up a skin condition and blanketing will encourage growth and spread of a skin disease. Keep her dry and don't turn her out unless the weather is good. I would not bath her either as being moist will not do her skin any good and it is difficult to get them really dry at this time of year. Just clip what you have to and treat the condition once you know what you are dealing with. You can take a skin scraping in to your vet to have it tested so you know exactly how to treat it. Sorry you have been put in this position and I hope your poor little horse recovers quickly!

 

[Bess Kelly]

I'd bet that, this time of year, you'd see a good regrowth quickly. That said, the blankets would be needed at night possibly, since weight is down but, probably not during the day for now......not at 70. A good bath, long clip, good food, hey -- she'll be back to great very soon with your situation.

Besides, is there anything that makes a gal feel better than a "day at the spa"?????

It will really help her heal to have this type of attitude lift.

 

[Becky]

I wouldn't body clip a starved horse in the winter. She needs that extra hair to try to maintain body heat. She will get colder than a normal horse who has a layer of fat to stay warm. However, you could do some clipping. Head/neck, under the belly and lower legs. She would stay cool enough on warm days, but have plenty of hair that you wouldn't have to blanket at night.

Hope she improves quickly for you!

 

[billiethekid40]

I agree with those that say not to clip- or at least wait and see what a really good bath will do. Since you have warm water and blow dryer you should be able to give her a really through scrub and have a good look for pests in her coat and treat accordingly. I think a good clean coat, even if its long, will breathe better than a pile of blankets and you'll see better improvements in her skin that way.

 

[Miniv]

Andrea,

Frankly over the years I've always thought you had a lot of common sense about caring for our little equine. I would tell you to use some of your basic horse sense.....

 

[muffntuf]

Andrea sorry to hear this darn it! But this is tough. I had one come to my farm last year and she was terribly underweight and her coat was extra long and full to compensate. But no way was I going to clip her to get her clean. I just worked at it a bit at a time.

Granted you are warmer, but you would be committed to blanketing her for the winter. I am not so sure with being underweight the groceries you would put into her would either make more coarse hair and leave her in the same shape.

Using a 5 or 7 blade might get a bit off of her coat to help get the areas you are concerned about.

Good luck!

 

[supaspot]

she grew the long coat because she was cold , I would get the blower on her and give her a good groom,, be sure to treat her for lice they love to hide in those thick coats

 

[Charlotte]

Everyone has given a lot of good advice and it's so hard to know the best direction to take in this kind of situation.

With what you have described and the climate you have there I would go ahead and bathe (probably plan on two soapings and thorough rinsings with something like an antifungal/bacterial shampoo) her in her long coat....as early on a warm day as possible so that she could then be put out in the sun. Hopefully she could be dried completely before nightfall.

I don't like blanketing a horse with skin 'issues' if there is any way around it. that long hair will fluff up and provide better insulation if it is clean.

After bathing you can decide if you still need to remove some hair. If you do need to I would consider clipping WITH the hair growth to leave the hair as long as possible. I know, it doesn't look pretty, but at this point you are putting health over pretty. With the shorter hair you can better see and treat whatever her skin issues are.

I bet you have this young lady shaped up in no time. (Don't you know she is happy to be back in your care?)

Charlotte

 

[copperwood farm]

On some f the rescues I have delt with and with the cold weather... I would hot towel and groom like crazy, then show sheen/vetrolin shine and add some tea tree oil to the mix (or cowboy magic crud buster) and work it to the skin with your hands. Has done a great job for me in the past. Also if the belly hair is matted, just clip off the tips so you can wor in the mixture on the belly, in case of manure scald. hop ethis helps and good luck.

 

[Getitia]

We have been faced with similar situations in the past unfortunately.

Personally, I would not body clip her. With your knowledge on how to focus on the proper feeding and care- in a couple of months, the skin and hair will start to recover and not look so gross. Thank goodness she found her way back to you.

 

[disneyhorse]

Thanks guys... I will see what I can do giving her a thorough bath with a medicated shampoo and go from there.

Andrea

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I'm not sure my clippers can get through the nasty hair, it's super gummy at the skin.

My poor Arab would sometimes rub himself so raw that he got cellulitis and the skin would start weeping, resulting in a gummy, caked, nasty, impossible-to-groom area that was extremely sore and hard to treat. A bath would have been the right answer but it was too cold to get him wet when it happened so I found the best thing I could do was use hot wet towels to soften the hair and then a bottle of waterless shampoo to clean it. That got rid of the nasty gumminess and a lot of his pain from the stiffened hair and then I could clip and/or treat the underlying problem.

However, you could do some clipping. Head/neck, under the belly and lower legs. She would stay cool enough on warm days, but have plenty of hair that you wouldn't have to blanket at night.

Why would you clip the head/neck and under the belly if those areas are fine and your goal is to keep her warm?

If I had your temps I would bathe her really well with an antifungal shampoo during the warm part of the day, get her thoroughly dry and see what that did. Then I would probably treat the nasty areas with a topical spray with some tea tree oil in it and give her a week of good groomings before I decided if I needed to clip. You could certainly clip up her pasterns though, that wouldn't affect her overall body temp but would help clear up any scabs down there quicker.

Leia

 

[Dontworrybeappy]

The skin nasties around here seem to have more to do with dirt and junk keeping the skin from drying - a good bath and blow out would probably do more than clipping and blanketing - IMHO, blankets here in SoCal tend to keep the horses a little too warm, so she's likely to sweat, in a stall, even if just enough to keep her skin moist. Clean and DRY is better.

And since you have a blower (and a vac?) You'd be able to keep her clean and dry enough to heal up without losing the hair.

Before I had a blower and a vac, some of the wooly mares would get that skin yuckies... getting them clean to the skin and keeping them that way solved it in no time.

OTOH, I would definately clip her legs, at least the pasterns & up the back - that'll help you see what's going on there, help them stay clean and dry, and with the shavings her feet will be warm. Desitin is good for scratches, as it dries/draws... but it's heck to use with long hair!

 

[Charlotte]

Dontworrybeappy, Desitin! thank you for that suggestion. That hadn't crossed my mind in such cases. I use it for all kinds of human things. Duh!

Charlotte