T buckle nightmare

[Lovewelshies]

Looking for ideas its not my mini this time though, it my welsh sec a charm she's a pain in the butt, now we're coming into autumn its time for her rug, however she has other ideas for the last three days shes got stuck on the round bale net in the paddock by the t-buckle fastener on her chest first day she ripped the buckle clean off, second day got stuck managed to get the rug off and then attacked the rug by ripping all the linning out, so day three new rug when i get there to bring her in shes ripped that to shreds so this morning i take a new rug with clip fasterns and she gets stuck and rips the clip off. So now i dont know what to try next any help would be great im think of trying to make so kind of cover, i will add that shes a real madam and think she is doing this just to get the rug off due to her being able to get her head collar off by wraping the lead rope behind her ears and using it to slip the head collar off so shes also cant be tied

 

[JanBKS]

Why does she need a blanket on ?, I have 13 horses none wear a blanket I give extra hay when its cold, some are in there middle to late 20's.

If you have to have a blanket why don't you switch off the T Buckle for wide Velcro, and make a flap one one side with Velcro to go over the first strips, its hard to describe it, but that may work better than the T Buckle.

As far as her getting her halter off, put a slip rope on her and thread that threw the ring on the halter she may get the halter off but she will still be tied, try that but make sure you can watch her until she figures it out she cant get loose even if she gets the halter off.

Horse's are healthier when not blanketed, they grow the amount of fur for the weather conditions. JMHO

 

[chandab]

If she's unclipped and not shivering, leave her blanket free. It's rather early in the season to start blanketing, and she seems to be telling you, she doesn't need/want a blanket. Normal healthy horses rarely need a blanket. Even my little stallion that sometimes needs a blanket, I wait to start until way into winter.

 

[amysue]

It sounds like she does not care to wear a blanket (some don't) unless she is clipped, she really doesn't need one. Even with the fancy velcro covers or closed front blankets, my draft ponies just shred blankets. Once I put them on....It is like they think they're on fire and they HAVE to get them off NOW. I have had some success with keeping bkankets on clipped ponies who hate clothes by custom ordering closed front blankets with big velcro belly bands and led strap hardware on the inside of the rug (so they're harder to rip off) one still needed a lycra belly wrap over the blanket secured with duct tape to keep her from undoing the velcro.

 

[Cayuse]

Can you stitch up the front of the blanket to convert it into a closed front style and then take off the buckles? I have done this and it works pretty well. A blanket repair shop should be able to do it for you. I am lucky that my husband has access to a heavier weight sewing machine so he has done this for me.

I have a section A welsh pony too

 

[Miniv]

Ditto to the above posts about not needing a blanket/rug.......One way to tell if she's cold is to put your hand up into her "armpit". If she feels warm, she's okay.

Welsh ponies are a hardy breed. They're used to harsh winters from generations back. If your pony has a natural coat (not clipped), a blanket/rug will interfere with the natural insulation their coat provides.

Does she have shelter to get out of the wind/rain combination? THAT is when a horse feels the cold more than any other time, just from my observation.

We also increase their hay in the cold winter months. Hay more than anything warms them from the INSIDE OUT.

 

[madmax]

A wide belly band will help secure the blanket on. As for the T buckle, I made covers for the buckle in the past using Velcro and flat webbing material. I hand sewed the Velcro with a very large needle and tooth floss;webbing was just long enough to wrap around the buckle and the T part could not get caught on things.

I had a young horse once that hated blankets and he could take it off with all the buckles still fastened. using a belly band with a large (wide) velcro stopped him, and with the Velcro fastened on the inside of the blanket he could not pull it loose.

Hope you can work it out, you did not say if the horse is clipped or not. All of mine only wear their natural winter coat now for the winter (they look like yaks but stay warm)except for my 33 year old mare that sometimes needs help staying warm and then I put a fleece lined blanket on her so her hair can still stand up.

 

[Lovewelshies]

Wow! thank u all so many replies and some great ideas, i really dont like to rug her but she is prone to mud fever and really feels the cold and she dithers when wet, she is such a wus she walks backwards round the paddock when it rains, when i bought her she was in a heavy weight and it was November and she still had her summer coat they said it was for showing, shes 7 now and was 3 when i bought her shes not clipped and is stabled at night, i would like to just not bother with the rug but worry that if the mud fever spreads around her body it will be to cold wet ect to use medicated shampoo to treat her has i dont have running water at the stables ive put pick at the bottom of the mud fever she also gets it under her belly but dont have pics of that these pics were last year end of October

 

[Miniv]

You've got me with a new one......"Mud Fever". What is that?

 

[chandab]

You've got me with a new one......"Mud Fever". What is that?

I think it's another name for "scratches", the creeping crud that gets their fetlocks, but can sometimes expand (may also include rain rot).

 

[amysue]

I know that it is a skin ailment. I am not certain if it is bacterial or fungal, or a combination of both. I believe it is similar to scratches as Chanda said, or greasy heel as I've herd it referred to. What I am more unsure of is how wearing a rug prevents this. I understand how it would help with rain rot (unless she sweats under it, which could make fungal problems worse). Maybe keep her off wet ground, or dump sand or gravel in her paddock to facilitate drainage, maybe keep her fetlocks clipped so as to allow the skin to breathe? I know sensitive skin problems are no fun.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

It is my understanding that the fungus for that lives in decaying matter. I would get rid of those leaves in her paddock. I had that one year on a horse; it was new to me. I washed his feet in fungal shampoo a few times and it went away. It wouldn't be too hard to just wash her feet. A couple of buckets of water, one for her to stand each foot in while you wash and one to rinse.

Velcro instead of buckle. Those t buckles don't stay fastened worth a darn. You might even try lacing it with boot strings.

Good luck.

 

[Miniv]

From the pictures, it looks like she has already clipped the fetlocks....

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Mud fever is the same as "Pastern Dermatitis" or 'Greasy Heel" , unfortunately unless you can keep her off the wet ground during the colder months it can be a bit of a battle. I have a TB with four white socks who suffers each year. I dont have stables so for me I have to constantly wash and clean the area. The most important thing to remember is to thoroughly dry the legs each time after treatment and before applying ointment. I use a cream here called "white healer" basically a zinc cream .

I agree with Marsha in regards to the leaves, Decaying matter is also a cause of mud fever and will be contributing to the issue.

I have seen and heard of bandaging in severe cases when out in the yard during the day.

In regards to the rug, I use a car washing sponge and actually put the buckle into the middle of the sponge. Helps to stop rubbing and helps to eliminate the rug Houdini.

Agree to check under her arms, If she is cold and she doesnt have sufficient cover from weather conditions - Then Rug her

My minis dont wear any rugs , they grow a winter coat better than any rug ive seen , however I do rug both of my TBs throughout winter.

 

[Lovewelshies]

They way in which the vet explained to me was that mudfever is a term used for many ailments causing dermatitis that leads to inflamation, irritation and infection of the equine legs and under belly, he said my mare has a organism on the skin that feeds from the natural waste skin cells ect.. However when the skin is subject to wet conditions it becomes weakened and a bacteria enters causing mudfever, what happens to my mare is that the skin scabs and then falls away taking the hair with it, so the pictures are when the scabs have fallen off and the skin is healing. The first winter i had her the vet told me to soak the legs and use hibiscrub shampoo and pick all the scabs off and clip the legs then apply zinc cream or baby bum cream this took four weeks of box rest and treatment before the skin recovered, the second winter it appeared in September before the weather was wet enough for mud and the vet put it down to feather mites again i picked off the scabs put her on box rest for four weeks but treated with limeplus which i made up with water and dipped her legs in and this stuff stank of rotten eggs. The year after this i just brought her in on box rest never touched it and the scabs fell off and hair was already coming back has the fell of and there was no puss no blood, so last year i moved to a new place the one on the pictures with the leaves so first year with the woods and trees and when she started with the signs rubbing back legs on everything i brought her in for two weeks and let it sort itself out and healing was even quicker, i also bought mudfever talc and now put that on before turnout and its great so far im hoping it will prevent the mudfever this winter, the belly was only affected the first two years and if it speads to the topline it is called rainrot and this is what i am worried about if i had to treat her whole body with no hot water and leaving her wetin cold weather, its been 3 days now with no rug and shes caked in mud and doesn't seem to be drying but its sunny now so hopefully she will be when i go down to bring her in, also the vet said to only groom with a rubber curry comb so i dont break or scratch the skin

 

[Lovewelshies]

Spoke to soon its raining again, also forgot to mention her hoofs also suffer see the pick below

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I have had a few dealings with skin issues. I've gone so far as to have a skin biopsy, which led to a regimen of antibiotics, as the biopsy showed massive bacteria. I have bathed with recommended shampoos, rinsed with white vinegar, covered, stalled, changed diet and administered cortizone treatments. There are a hundred miracle cures advertised. Herbal supplements. Allergy shots. No one has ever solved this, to my knowledge. I actually put down a horse that was so miserable he could not bear to have his skin touched. I think the stress also caused his laminitis. He is the only horse I've had that got "scratches". There was no decayed organic stuff in his area and no unusual wet conditions. Once I clipped the hair and treated the skin, it never came back. But he went on to have more serious skin problems.

I hope you and your horse are the lucky ones to find a solution! If so, please share it!!

 

[chandab]

I have had a few dealings with skin issues. I've gone so far as to have a skin biopsy, which led to a regimen of antibiotics, as the biopsy showed massive bacteria. I have bathed with recommended shampoos, rinsed with white vinegar, covered, stalled, changed diet and administered cortizone treatments. There are a hundred miracle cures advertised. Herbal supplements. Allergy shots. No one has ever solved this, to my knowledge. I actually put down a horse that was so miserable he could not bear to have his skin touched. I think the stress also caused his laminitis. He is the only horse I've had that got "scratches". There was no decayed organic stuff in his area and no unusual wet conditions. Once I clipped the hair and treated the skin, it never came back. But he went on to have more serious skin problems.

I hope you and your horse are the lucky ones to find a solution! If so, please share it!!

How old was your horse Marsha?I ask because one of the reasons my gelding was eventually tested for Cushings was recurrent hard to cure skin issues, mostly parasites, but also other skin irritations. Once he was on an appropriate dose of pergolide, and managed, most if not all of those issues went away. My gelding was only 12 when he was finally diagnosed with Cushings, but had a sketchy past before I got him.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

How old was your horse Marsha?

I ask because one of the reasons my gelding was eventually tested for Cushings was recurrent hard to cure skin issues, mostly parasites, but also other skin irritations. Once he was on an appropriate dose of pergolide, and managed, most if not all of those issues went away. My gelding was only 12 when he was finally diagnosed with Cushings, but had a sketchy past before I got him.

He was only 6. He had just had a tetanus and rabies vaccination and I have always believed that this triggered the skin thing. He had no problems before that. Maybe a coincidence, maybe not... Anyway, I don't do vaccinations any longer. If I'm going to gamble, I'd rather gamble on the slight chance of disease. He had absolutely no indications of Cushings. That is exciting news, though, that treatment for Cushings helped your horse's skin condition!! Maybe there is something useful in that treatment besides just for Cushings horses. There are so many articles and so much research about the skin disorders; it is a huge issue for horse owners.

 

[chandab]

He was only 6. He had just had a tetanus and rabies vaccination and I have always believed that this triggered the skin thing. He had no problems before that. Maybe a coincidence, maybe not... Anyway, I don't do vaccinations any longer. If I'm going to gamble, I'd rather gamble on the slight chance of disease. He had absolutely no indications of Cushings. That is exciting news, though, that treatment for Cushings helped your horse's skin condition!! Maybe there is something useful in that treatment besides just for Cushings horses. There are so many articles and so much research about the skin disorders; it is a huge issue for horse owners.

Cushing's has an affect on many body functions, his happened to manifest in his skin; so, not one of the "usual" signs you see, but blood work confirmed Cushing's.I do minimal vaccination, pretty much just tetanus and sleeping sickness, and not every year, once they have their initial series. Seems to be working just fine; but we are homebodies so not exposed to much.