cob won't let me near his legs!

M

missdee

New User
Joined
5 June 2014
Messages
6
Visit site
I have a traditional cob and he is a total sweetheart but the last few months he has got really funny about me touching his legs. Some days he's totally fine, other days I can't get near them. He has a lot of feather so trying to clip it out to see if there's anything wrong underneath but he's built like a tank so if he isn't happy with me touching them there's no way I can get near them. It's not specifically one leg either, it's all four. At a total loss and can't stand the thought of him being uncomfortable. Anyone experienced this before? Any advice would be appreciated x
 
That's strange how he doesn't do it all the time? How long has he been like that? Perhaps a sedative off the vet will allow you to have a good look, sounds like something is bugging him. Could it be mud fever? Does he stamp his feet or chew his feathers? Or does he only react when you try and touch them?

I just wanted to say we had a pony that was fussy around his legs, back ones in particular and we fastened a rubber glove stuffed with newspaper to a stick and rubbed it on his legs so he got used to the feel (and we weren't at risk of being kicked) soon enough he was fine with people touching his legs. Hope you find out what it is, keep us updated!
 
Could it be due to mites? My cob can get itchy sore legs where feathered due to mites. I regularly wash his legs with antibacterial shampoo to clear the mites. As SB mentioned, would be worth sedating to investigate and then to start treatment.
 
What I found with my feathered lady when she had feather mites, that if you dug into the feather down to the skin, there were lots of sore, scabby even bleeding bits where she had bitten and rubbed at them, but from the surface, you could never tell! Definitely worth getting them looked at properly, even if it means calling the vet out, as Feather Mites are bloody horrible for them!
 
My young cob doesn/t like his feet handled, I pick his feet up several times a day, don't let him pull away, if he does I pick foot up again, praise on every foot, if a good session, he gets a treat after all four feet have been done, if he pulls feet away or fidgets, he gets growled at and put back where he was, he is so much better now, last time farrier came he was kicked by this youngster, never again, no horse of mine will ever kick out at people, but this youngster needs to learn patience, he can't move as and when he likes
 
Hes only started doing this since the new year, I've had him nearly 8 years and not had any trouble until now. He doesn't chew or stamp them which was why I'm so confuse! I was thinking maybe mites actually. Just so confused how some days he's fine other days he'll just about flatten you trying to get away and kick out. I'm going to call the vet tomorrow and see about getting him sedated cause he's getting in such a state trying to clip them. I know it's not a problem with the clippers cause you can turn them on and clip him everywhere else and he doesn't bat an eye! Thanks for all the advice everyone, I'll let you all know when I get a resolve! X
 
My coloured cob gets or rather has leg mites - I have found the only way to keep on top of it is to clip his legs regularly - which is not the solution for a traditional - I did try pig oil which works for a bit but it is so difficult to get through the feathers and on to the skin so I now get the Vet in to give him what I call the " mite" jab - (can't remember what they call it). Started doing this last year and it is goodbye to scabby knees and foot stamping. He is much happier.
 
Suspect OP that your cob is trying to tell you something........ traddie's are very honest horses at the end of the day and if yours has been fine up till now there's something he's not happy with for sure.

Firstly, may I ask what sort of clippers are you using? Are they regularly serviced? Are the blades recently sharpened? Are they oiled? Do you do his legs first, or leave them till last (when he's had more time to know what's coming and get stressy over it??). Are you using mains clippers, or battery/hand-held ones? Coz the reason I ask this is because my trad hates his legs being done with mains clippers, but when I've gone in quietly and had a breeze around with my Liveryman battery-pack ones, he has (when he's felt like it!) been better.

For now, so you can see what's going on, you might need the vet to come out and sedate so you can clip out his legs (or if you're not used to clipping have someone professional who does it a lot, standing by to do it). You need to see what's going on underneath all that feather so you might just have to bite the bullet and clip EVERYTHING off his legs. Don't worry, its not a crisis, it WILL grow back!!! You may find little black things underneath his heels and around his coronary band - that is mites! There is a lot on here about how to treat this: just a word of advice, and that is to be very very careful if you are considering pig oil and sulphur as if you've got white hair and pink skin you can get a very nasty reaction indeed - so just warning you as someone, somewhere, is bound to recommend it (am not criticising anyone's management please note).

What I do is to use pig oil (do patch test it first) mixed up with some Neem oil (which critters hate!) and some Tea Tree oil, and get a paintbrush and literally slop this mixture on his legs. But PLEASE patch test first if doing this on yours. You might need to shampoo the legs first if they're very sore and use a mild shampoo (I use bog standard Tea Tree Shampoo from supermarket); or you can use Nizoral which is a human shampoo but which is good. Or if his legs are very sore I'd apply something like Sudocrem.

Personally, depending on what you find when/if you clip: I'd be inclined to follow your vets advice in the first instance. I've not gone the Dectomax injections route myself so can't comment.

My vet recommended me, when my boy had mites badly, to give him a dose of Ivermectin-containing wormer - three separate doses, two weeks apart between each dose - so as to fully capture the full hatching cycle. But this is what MY vet used to treat MY horse, you need to ask yours what the best thing to do is with your horse basically IMO.

Going back to the clipping: I have a friend to clip my boy's legs (simply because she's a professional and does it quickly, and well), and for his legs what I do is to have some cubes in my pocket and as she's clipping, slowly drop cubes into a bucket and rattle them around at the bottom so he thinks "food" (all he EVER thinks about in fact!) and is distracted. You'll need to keep the supply in your pocket and keep dropping them in, don't give them all at once! We also put him near to the mare who is his field-mate so as to keep him as calm as possible.
 
Last edited:
A teenager I knew asked me to help her with her nice cob mare who wouldn't let her pick up a particular leg. I watched the mare carefully chewing the leg at every opportunity when lying down so wasn't over surprised when I found lots of scabs under the feathers. I would imagine it feels a bit like athletes foot does in us - itchy and sore in equal amounts. Get the vet and have it properly investigated under sedation.

Oh, and once the scabs were cleared up the mare still wouldn't pick up the hoof so while the owner was away on holiday and I was looking after the horse for her, I spent the week picking up the hoof out of sequence and since she didn't anticipate the leg (it was always done last previously) it fooled her into realising it was OK to cooperate. Job done!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top