Cant Stable Itchy Pony - WWYD?

J

Joyous70

Well-Known Member
Joined
4 August 2010
Messages
1,947
Visit site
As title really? my girl is really itchy at the moment, not sure if sweet itch, were covering all angles at the. She's fine out in the field and does not rub, electric fencing with posts & rail mainly.

If i bring her in and tie her up outside her stable, she is fine, but the minute i put her in her stable she will rub against the wall, which is now moving :eek: consequently im afraid to put her in, as i have seen these walls come down before, i think it will only take a period of a few minutes to bring the whole lot crashing down on her and her neighbour.

So i suppose what i really want to know, is there anyone else out there with an itchy pony that you don't or cannot bring in, im trying everything i can to stop the itch, but to no avail at the moment. What do you do with yours?
 
You need to find out why she's itching and then treat accordingly. It might just be that she needs a good bath.

If your stables are moving when being rubbed on I will would look at getting them strengthened, even a none itchy horse would be able to move them so I wouldn't feel happy using them until they had been reinforced.
 
3Beasties said:
You need to find out why she's itching and then treat accordingly. It might just be that she needs a good bath.

If your stables are moving when being rubbed on I will would look at getting them strengthened, even a none itchy horse would be able to move them so I wouldn't feel happy using them until they had been reinforced.
Click to expand...

Sorry probably a daft question but is there any leave in type shampoo available? she's not brill at being bathed, we are working on this, but as she's only 3 its all VERY scary for her, and im usually left on my own to try and do this. She seems fine being rubbed down with a damp sponge, but its the rinsing off thats the main issue.

I will speak to YO again about the walls, he insists theyre pinned, but i don't think they can be she's not really a big horse and she's not throwing herself at the wall.
 
I'd get your vet to do a skin biopsy. Its relatively in expensive and the results come back quickly. They inject a little local anaesthetic and almost hole punch a tiny full thickness piece of skin then pop a tiny stitch in which you can remove yourself later.
In the meantime a good fly sheet incase it is sweet itch and good bath in insecticidal shampoo.
Id also maybe look at your feed? try and feed as simply as possible, have you added anything new?
Itchy ponies are a nightmare and horrible to see! I hope you find the answer for your poor pony.
 
3Beasties said:
You need to find out why she's itching and then treat accordingly. It might just be that she needs a good bath.

If your stables are moving when being rubbed on I will would look at getting them strengthened, even a none itchy horse would be able to move them so I wouldn't feel happy using them until they had been reinforced.
Click to expand...

It's never that easy though. Mine is an itcher - with him it is related to grass, and he could do serious damage, if not to a stable then to himself if the stable is solid. I bred him and he has been worse than this at times, this is as good as it gets with him, a slightly irresistable urge to rub his neck or his bum.
He gets tied up outside (I have barn stabling so not bothered by the weather) to groom, tack up, feed, trim and he is kept on a starvation paddock so a good haynet goes a long way to distracting him.
He is very good at tying up and can have a rope long enough to enable him to eat out of a bucket on the floor without getting himslef into a pickle - he knows if he gets a leg over the rope he just has to wait and I will sort him out, no panic. But I am looking onto getting a log like they used to use in stalls - a weight on the end of the rope. The rope then goes through a tie ring and the weight takes the slack but allows them a lot of freedom to move their head.
He is never left in a stable after May until at least October but it works fine, the key is having him happy to be tied up for fairly long periods and being left there for short periods now and again.

I can pop my dogs home in the car (5 minutes) and be happy he won't get himself in a tangle - might find a door post to rub a little on but that is all.
 
poiuytrewq said:
I'd get your vet to do a skin biopsy. Its relatively in expensive and the results come back quickly. They inject a little local anaesthetic and almost hole punch a tiny full thickness piece of skin then pop a tiny stitch in which you can remove yourself later.
In the meantime a good fly sheet incase it is sweet itch and good bath in insecticidal shampoo.
Id also maybe look at your feed? try and feed as simply as possible, have you added anything new?
Itchy ponies are a nightmare and horrible to see! I hope you find the answer for your poor pony.
Click to expand...

I am getting her a fly sheet today, she is grey so it will help to keep her clean & keep the sun off her on hot days also. I will try and find a willing victim to help bath her! like i said earlier its mainly the rinsing off she doesn't like and proves incredibly difficult, as its the only time she wont stay tied up

As for feed shes out at grass and gets a few pony nuts as a treat, ie from my hand when we have finished doing any work.
 
poiuytrewq said:
I'd get your vet to do a skin biopsy. Its relatively in expensive and the results come back quickly. They inject a little local anaesthetic and almost hole punch a tiny full thickness piece of skin then pop a tiny stitch in which you can remove yourself later.
In the meantime a good fly sheet incase it is sweet itch and good bath in insecticidal shampoo.
Id also maybe look at your feed? try and feed as simply as possible, have you added anything new?
Itchy ponies are a nightmare and horrible to see! I hope you find the answer for your poor pony.
Click to expand...

JillA said:
It's never that easy though. Mine is an itcher - with him it is related to grass, and he could do serious damage, if not to a stable then to himself if the stable is solid. I bred him and he has been worse than this at times, this is as good as it gets with him, a slightly irresistable urge to rub his neck or his bum.
He gets tied up outside (I have barn stabling so not bothered by the weather) to groom, tack up, feed, trim and he is kept on a starvation paddock so a good haynet goes a long way to distracting him.
He is very good at tying up and can have a rope long enough to enable him to eat out of a bucket on the floor without getting himslef into a pickle - he knows if he gets a leg over the rope he just has to wait and I will sort him out, no panic. But I am looking onto getting a log like they used to use in stalls - a weight on the end of the rope. The rope then goes through a tie ring and the weight takes the slack but allows them a lot of freedom to move their head.
He is never left in a stable after May until at least October but it works fine, the key is having him happy to be tied up for fairly long periods and being left there for short periods now and again.

I can pop my dogs home in the car (5 minutes) and be happy he won't get himself in a tangle - might find a door post to rub a little on but that is all.
Click to expand...

My old boy was an itchy boy, found out he had a bacterial skin infection, this was after he knocked down his stable wall by rubbing so hard on the door frame!!! She is only 3 but very good at being tied up, im gradually walking away out of sight and leaving her for a few minutes each time, but where other people can see her, so it think its going to have to be a case of keep her out as much as possible. i would like to see the log on a rope if you have any pictures :)
 
I haven't managed to find one yet, but basically it is round chunk of wood with a hole through the middle, and the rough edges smoothed off. The lead rope goes through the hole and a knot is tied underneath so it can't slip right through, then the rope goes through the tie ring to the headcollar. The weight of the log dropping to the floor takes up any slack as the horse raises its head to the level of the tie ring, but allows the head to move the length of the lead rope by pulling the log up to the tie ring - if you can follow that :D
 
JillA said:
I haven't managed to find one yet, but basically it is round chunk of wood with a hole through the middle, and the rough edges smoothed off. The lead rope goes through the hole and a knot is tied underneath so it can't slip right through, then the rope goes through the tie ring to the headcollar. The weight of the log dropping to the floor takes up any slack as the horse raises its head to the level of the tie ring, but allows the head to move the length of the lead rope by pulling the log up to the tie ring - if you can follow that :D
Click to expand...

:D I think i've followed that - thank you x
 
Try the 'Love the Skin' bathing stuff think it's made by NAF. It's a liquid you add to water and apply with a cloth, like a hot cloth wash and I don't think it needs rinsing out.

If it turns out to be a regular thing then pony will have to get used to being bathed ideally. My (then three year old) pony hated baths but I literally hosed him down from four feet away, he wasn't impressed but after several baths I can now bath him as normal. Was a bit drastic I know but he soon learned to accept it
 
WelshD said:
Try the 'Love the Skin' bathing stuff think it's made by NAF. It's a liquid you add to water and apply with a cloth, like a hot cloth wash and I don't think it needs rinsing out.

If it turns out to be a regular thing then pony will have to get used to being bathed ideally. My (then three year old) pony hated baths but I literally hosed him down from four feet away, he wasn't impressed but after several baths I can now bath him as normal. Was a bit drastic I know but he soon learned to accept it
Click to expand...

Brill thanks for that - i'll have a look at it

I am trying to get her used to being bathed, but have only had her since November, so now is really the first opportunity ive had to introduce her to bathing, she hates the hose pipe, but will tolerate a damp sponge, however, if the sponge is sopping wet she will run round you on circles while you try to risne her off :rolleyes: i have tried tying her up, but he pulls back, tries to rear and breaks the twine, unfortunately the floor where we have to bath is concrete and slippy, so i am trying to avoid any accidents, which is why i hold her on a long lead rope at the moment :o
 
I did see one of the wooden blocks for sale on a charity stall at a horse show last year - they wanted £20 for it. Might be worth looking out for one at horsy car boot sales or something like that?
 
Mine cost me around $80 NZ - 40 pounds! I had it specially made. I asked the local wood turners club to make it - fortunately one of the old guys knew exactly what I wanted.

Rope goes through the log and is tied at the bottom with a quick release knot - adjust the length so that the log can't snag on anything when the horse and rope is close to the tie ring.

TieUpLog003.jpg
TieUpLog002.jpg
TieUpLog001.jpg


Height 5" - 13cms
Dia 5½ - 14cms
Hole Dia ¾" widenning to 1¼" 2 - 3cm - this needs to be at least the width of the rope used but not too wide otherwise the knot can be pulled through
Weight 1.6kg
 
Last edited:
Tnavas said:
Mine cost me around $80 NZ - 40 pounds! I had it specially made. I asked the local wood turners club to make it - fortunately one of the old guys knew exactly what I wanted.

Rope goes through the log and is tied at the bottom with a quick release knot - adjust the length so that the log can't snag on anything when the horse and rope is close to the tie ring.

TieUpLog003.jpg
TieUpLog002.jpg
TieUpLog001.jpg


Height 5" - 13cms
Dia 5½ - 14cms
Hole Dia ¾" widenning to 1¼" 2 - 3cm - this needs to be at least the width of the rope used but not too wide otherwise the knot can be pulled through
Weight 1.6kg
Click to expand...

That is absolutely fantastic, thank you for posting that
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top