Feathers, itching, stomping, biting - what now

[Horsekaren]

For those of you with traditional feathered horses two questions.

1 - if they are traditional horses, with natural feathers why i why are they so much of a pain for a horse to live with he also has a few sores under the feathers.

2- Summer time itching! his legs are soooooo itchy, what can i try?

He has had detromax injections but didn't really see any difference.
I have also tried the following-
-pesky pesk wash
-anti itch shampoo
-pig oil (can use this in summer)
-stinky stuff
-feather mite powder
-fly shampoos
-insect repellents


Just this morning i have put some Front line spot on on his legs and dock to see if they does anything.

I'm not sure what else is left to try?
I really dont want to clip him, not because i like them but because i know he will hate having them clipped, will need a very strong sedation and if clipping doesnt work he will then be able to rub his legs raw without the protection of the feathers.

Is it possibe to cut them with scissors to thin them or will this always end in disaster?

 

[SEL]

I 110% share your pain! Every time I looked into the field yesterday poor Militaire was itching and biting. He has hurt his stifle by crossing his back legs to itch them against each other. He's terrified of clippers (has come through sedation with them) and won't even let me near his feathers with the scissors at the moment. I'm thinking very heavy sedation and clipping at this rate.

Try scissors because we found with my friend's coloured cob that if we got the bulk of the hair off then she could get in with shampoo (head & shoulders) plus flea spray and it really helped. I did try a dog flea collar on each leg with M last year - but I think his feathers are so thick the mites have too much to hide in.

I had an allergic reaction to something on my foot and it itched like h*** so I have a lot of sympathy with my poor boy.

 

[HBB]

The only routine that worked for me was to wash the whole pony in dermoline insecticidal shampoo, paying particular attention to feather and making sure the whole pony is covered in lather, I used a full 1 litre bottle. Comb through the feather and try and remove any build up of scabby bits. Once feather is dry, part it and spray the skin with frontline. Next day cover in Shapley's MTG, from above the knee down. This process has to be repeated religiously, I used to do it once a month all year round.

 

[Nasicus]

I have to clip them off my mare year round, as she itches, bites, rubs and stamps till they're raw and bleeding. Still does with them shaved but to a lesser extent, cost me just over £300 last year after she mangled them in such a short amount of time she ended up with skin infections (skin scrapes, antibiotics, bute, lime wash, fuciderm gel or something like that).

I'd cut the bulk off with scissors to start, if you're patient you can do a decent job with it, and then work up to trying with a quiet, cordless pair of clippers, taking it slowly. Mines terrified of the clippers but we get it done with patience and plenty of breaks. I started with a pair of Liveryman Element clippers, relatively quiet, don't get too hot and aren't sharp and pointy so you won't accidentally poke them with the blades going around the lumpy bits.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

wild horses don't have feather Exmoors for example, have a small amount in winter but lose it in the summer.

I have a Fell and he has mites. He's had the jaggs which helped a bit, pig oil and sulfur which helped a bit- I've not tried Frontline. The last two weeks he's had several shampoos with Rosemary and Neem Shampoo from the NeemTeam and thats really helped alot (complete lather-leave on for 15 mins). I have just ordered some Lime Dip Equine (Hyperdrug) as it seems this can also be very effective (smelly, can discolour white feather temporarily) .
I am a veterinary ectoparasitologist and work with mites (though not Chorioptes, have worked a lot with Psoroptes and Dermanyssus) so I have some idea of what should kill them but its delivery of whatever you use to all the mites that is difficult. Plus they will generally become reinfected easily-either from contaminated horse clothing, bedding, stables and even other horses that might be asymptomatic carriers.

alot of the stuff you buy thats anti-mite is usually benzyl benzoate based or essential oil based-all of which will kill mites if delivered effectively, its just that last bit thats hard.

 

[Leo Walker]

I've just done mine yesterday. Shampoo with Dermoline, make sure its the right ratio and left on for 5 to 10 mins. Then shampoo with a conditioning shampoo and get your fingers in and get all the dead scurfy skin up. I'm lucky, mine doesnt have sores but he does get dead skin trapped by the feather.

Once hes dry I spray with Frontline and Deosect. Leave to dry. Then neem oil. I make sure this gets right down to the skin and really rub it in. I then comb out all the feathers carefully. This takes out all the dead hair and skin and makes sure the oil is all the way through.

I had his legs clipped the first time. This allowed me to make sure there were no nasty sores lurking and get a really good look at his legs. He had to be heavily sedated and topped up during. If hes kept clipped hes easy to manage but despite a lot of work I have never managed to over come the issues with his front legs and I refuse to IV sedate him every month.

The above regime I do about once a month and it keeps him itch free. I also keep him on wood pellets. I found straw an absolute nightmare for mites!

 

[be positive]

Traditional is a fairly recent term and has little to do with being natural, the so called traditional cobs are being bred to have more and more hair which is really not in their best interests, being hairy seems to take priority over almost everything else to most of the "breeders" term used loosely as there are a few responsible studs who do take care in what they produce but the majority are just churned out with no real thought and very little care.

I have had a few here over the years and have clipped their legs and tidied the manes and tails for ease of care and their comfort, most get used to clippers if you take time and are not too bothered about a really smart finish and it does allow treatment if they are itchy and hot, my natives apart from the Dales have no feather, the Dales has very soft feather that is easy to deal with and has given no trouble summer or winter, it is the coarse tough hair that is worst to get through.

 

[Archangel]

I use Selsun shampoo on the feathers, leave on for 15 minutes before rinsing. Repeat after 10 days. It is a devil of a job to get right down to the skin, the feathers really do stop the water getting in. Deosect rest of horse and repeat after 10 days. I apply green oils to any sore places.

Selsun is expensive - I used 2 bottles each time. I would never dream of buying expensive shampoo like that for myself #horsepeoplewhataretheylike

 

[Beausmate]

Mites don't last too long in the environment, they love to stay on the host. If you only use topical stuff on the legs, then you will never get rid of them. You need to do the whole leg and under the belly, as the mites are transferred there when the horse lies down.

OH's pony arrived with itchy legs, belly and flanks. She had Dectomax (two jabs, two weeks apart) and I sedated her and took the feather off, using scissors to remove the bulk, then running clippers over. It was the only way to treat the skin problems. Her legs are a mess - think Nora Batty's stockings - and she wasn't happy about them being touched, even lightly. Feather off, sore bits cleaned up, grease and infection cleared from the folds and neem wash rubbed well in twice weekly for three weeks, and so far so good.

It has been three months and I'm letting the hair grow back to help prevent mud getting into the deep creases in her skin. Poor pony had probably been itchy for years.

I'd hit him again with the Dectomax, as soon as the itching comes back, do it again. Don't leave it too long, or you will be back to square one.