Cleaning up a neglected horse in the winter...

[Dontworrybeappy]

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

No problem - and in the line of "embarrassing human products to buy in bulk for horse-use"...

Preparation H works great on wounds, and monistat works good on fungus... buy those along with desitin and enemas (for foals) and dare the checkout clerk to look you in the eye!

 

[HGFarm]

Oh Andrea, this makes me sick. I would not clip her either due to the body heat factor either and her terrible condition. She is going to need all the hair she can get to help stay warm and blankets help, but just are not like the 'real thing'.

I also purchased back a horse that was just covered in 'gummy' skin. I have NO idea when the last time he was actually groomed or brushed but it was disgusting. I am guessing the last time was when he left my place years before. A really good shampooing helped loosen stuff up- I scrubbed with a rubber brush with the shampoo and while he was still wet after he was rinsed, I was able to work a lot of it out with a metal curry comb- you know the old round type. Daily grooming was done like this- finishing up with a good rubber curry until he also put on some needed weight and it was warm enough later to clip.

I think if she is bathed a couple of times over the next month and curried this way (I could not even get the clippers through the gummy crap no matter how hard I tried) she will also have a chance to put on weight, get her scratches cleared up and see how she is doing at that point.

Here is an article I found on getting rid of the scratches...... It is not hard to get rid of once the horse is in a clean and DRY environment! It is just from nasty wet conditions and lack of cleanliness!

http://horses.about.com/od/commonproblems/p/greasyheel.htm

http://www.horses-and-horse-information.com/articles/0501scratching.shtml

Good luck with her- how horribly sad and I agree, I would just want to knock someone into next year for doing that to a horse. I hope you take before and after pics!

And I am sure under your care she will bloom again!

 

[Katiean]

We clip here when it starts hitting the 60's-70's. We would be showing very hairy horses if we waited until it got warmer. As long as she doesn't shiver she will be fine.

Oh yes, I did not read all of the posts so I don't know what everyone else said.

 

[HGFarm]

But this mare is not in show shape, she is dreadfully thin if she only rates a two. That sounds like next to dead to me! A blanket could work on a show horse that is in good health and weight perhaps, but I fear in her condition, her hair is not going to grow back in very fast either.... and as someone else said, you dont want her sweating under a blanket either. I would still stick with bathing and some good grooming.

 

[disneyhorse]

But this mare is not in show shape, she is dreadfully thin if she only rates a two. That sounds like next to dead to me! A blanket could work on a show horse that is in good health and weight perhaps, but I fear in her condition, her hair is not going to grow back in very fast either.... and as someone else said, you dont want her sweating under a blanket either. I would still stick with bathing and some good grooming.

Yeah, I normally wouldn't hesitate clipping in our climate... last year I show clipped a stallion of mine in JANUARY to go to Equine Affaire for a demo and he was totally fine.

But, he was in show shape with plenty of fat and muscle to keep him warm! It makes a huge difference!

I will not be clipping unless it looks like the skin is getting out of control.

And I'm not worried about scratches... being a draft horse person I've got LOTS of experience trying to control that! She's getting MTG right now on her legs, once it works up the scabs I'm going to try MicroTek gel since I've got it here and nothing else to use it on.

Thanks for all the help guys... it's just hard to think clearly when you are so desperate to hurry and try to help an animal. Because things like weight gain and fungus control take a pretty long time, there are no overnight cures!

Already she's much perkier... the first day or two she was pretty miserable but now she gets mad if she doesn't get her bucket of "mush" IMMEDIATELY along with her hay! I'm pretty sure she remembers that I pampered her!

Andrea

 

[HGFarm]

LOL Andrea! They get spoiled in their routines pretty fast dont they?! I am sure she will pick up her weight quickly with good feed... I bet she is full of worms too... if they didnt bother to feed her I am sure they didnt 'waste' money on wormer, etc... either! Poor girl. Glad to hear she is picking up and feeling better already- amazing what some decent food can do! She will blossom under your care- I bet you will see a huge difference in even 30 days! I am so sorry she ended up in a home like she did, but glad you were able to get her back.

 

[disneyhorse]

LOL Andrea! They get spoiled in their routines pretty fast dont they?! I am sure she will pick up her weight quickly with good feed... I bet she is full of worms too... if they didnt bother to feed her I am sure they didnt 'waste' money on wormer, etc... either! Poor girl. Glad to hear she is picking up and feeling better already- amazing what some decent food can do! She will blossom under your care- I bet you will see a huge difference in even 30 days! I am so sorry she ended up in a home like she did, but glad you were able to get her back.

The records given to me show she was vaccinated and dewormed, and her feet are not in bad shape. We don't live in an area where parasites are a big problem; she was kept in an individual pipe corral type stall so I'm not too worried about parasites.

Just the weight and skin issues to worry about, so all in all there's that...

Andrea