Feel like SUCH a bad mummy tonight =[

[SusieT]

alligator40-benign neglect is not necessarily a good thing you know..
I have horses living out at the moment, variety between clipped, rugged, unclipped, old and slightly less old. I'm very much not a mollycoddle, feed them supplements, hard feed them person. But a dirty horse will predispose to lice and skin trauma. Lice to anaemia. Skin trauma to infection, e.g. a mild skin infection. It is easily solved by more bedding, and a clean horse with healthy skin and coat is generally a well cared for horse.
I don't see the 'uproar of my posts' (does that even make sense??). I simply pointed out this is not an acceptable state, OP realises that, I defended my view to others, hence the increased number of posts.
I have yet to have a horse (including box walkers, who spray poo everywhere..) not have a dry bed in the morning, because there is enough bedding in there to soak up any urine. Poo stains, not much you can do about them really, I'll give you that.

 

[mymare]

Ok now I'm really panicing. I watched my shetland pony roll in a sheep sh it earlier, do you think he'll die now? I should have brought him home for a good soak in some Radox!

 

[Cedars]

mymare, he'll probably survive the night, but you need to get there first thing in the AM with a big bottle of bleach, preferably the 'aqua' not the 'lemon' scent, and really scrub him off.

I'd be getting up early, if I were you! xx

 

[mymare]

Ok will do - I only have Domestos, will that be ok? (it also gets rid of limescale.....in case he has any..)

 

[Cedars]

Erm, yes, but I wouldnt mix it with any water, I would just pour it straight on.

 

[AnnaL]

My lad is permanently covered in poo stains- he uses his poo piles as a pillow for goodness sake. He's mucked out daily, sometimes twice, and he always has a big clean bed.

But he always lies in the cr@ppy corner- that's just horses for you unfortunately!

 

[mymare]

Ok, have got the bleach ready, shower cap and 2 pairs Speedo goggles (one for him, and one for me). He'll be squeaky clean by the time I'm finished with him!

 

[dozzie]

SusieT any horse can get lice- clean or dirty. If they are in the vicinity of another horse with lice they may get them too. It has nothing to do with clean or dirty horses. Lying in pee will not predispose a horse to catching lice!There are no lice in the pee to catch. Lice dont live in pee they live on nice warm bodies!

 

[Auslander]

My lad is permanently covered in poo stains- he uses his poo piles as a pillow for goodness sake. He's mucked out daily, sometimes twice, and he always has a big clean bed.

But he always lies in the cr@ppy corner- that's just horses for you unfortunately!

They're like little DIY hot water bottles!

 

[xxMozlarxx]

Then make it a bigger bed.. It's obviously not soaking down to the base (or the base is too close to the surface). Does your horse not wee in one spot generally? To be that matted she must be lying in wee all the time. Being young is not an excuse to neglect basic healthcare.
Give her more bedding and the problem will cease. Money on it. No it takes a couple of minutes to soak down, but I don't know any horses who wee then lie down straight away.

Where do you live??? Cloud cuckoo land?? Get real!!!

 

[christi]

My lad is permanently covered in poo stains- he uses his poo piles as a pillow for goodness sake. He's mucked out daily, sometimes twice, and he always has a big clean bed.

But he always lies in the cr@ppy corner- that's just horses for you unfortunately!

What like this poo pile that greets me in the mornings

 

[melandjazz]

Out of all the 18 horses at work that stay in overnight, not one has a dry bed in the morning. It wouldnt matter how many bags of shavings you put in it will always be messy and damp in the morning.

also my horse doesnt get groomed everyday, she'd rather be dirty then clean any day. I do groom before i ride and if i dont ride then at least once a week just to check her over, But with all the rain and mud withen seconds of been out shes rolled.

 

[Samantha008]

I have to say, that i have a disgusting horse that takes me about 5x longer to muck out than any other horse on the yard. Shes just gross...buries all her poo and completely soaks her bedding, and shes on equisorb!!!

However on the other hand, my mare is looking very shaggy and yes shes rugged cos shes a bit of a wimp and yes theres mud on her legs and feet. But id never dream of letting her get crusty wee and dreadlocks hanging ffrom her. I have too much pride for one thing and 10 mins every now and again to whip around with a brush isnt that much to ask for? surely?! Im glad you did something about it OP!!!!

 

[Dottyfordylan]

They're like little DIY hot water bottles!

i actually haven't laughed that hard for ages...out loud too! Brilliant!!

 

[Ellies_mum2]

My youngster lives out and comes in every day for a feed and a check over. Her coat is frequently matted and filthy from where she has rolled in the foulest muddiest part of the field. If I groom her she will go out and find more $h1t to roll in. Seems to me she does it for a reason

 

[Spring Feather]

If I remember right Puzzle is a fluffy cobby type youngster? Everyone who has youngsters knows that their fluff really is like fluff and not like the coarser hair on mature horses. This fluff really doesn't take much to get matted if you aren't on top of it daily. It's hardly life threatening and so you haven't had much time recently, I'm sure she will survive.

 

[stroppy]

alligator40-benign neglect is not necessarily a good thing you know..
I have horses living out at the moment, variety between clipped, rugged, unclipped, old and slightly less old. I'm very much not a mollycoddle, feed them supplements, hard feed them person. But a dirty horse will predispose to lice and skin trauma. Lice to anaemia. Skin trauma to infection, e.g. a mild skin infection. It is easily solved by more bedding, and a clean horse with healthy skin and coat is generally a well cared for horse.
I don't see the 'uproar of my posts' (does that even make sense??). I simply pointed out this is not an acceptable state, OP realises that, I defended my view to others, hence the increased number of posts.
I have yet to have a horse (including box walkers, who spray poo everywhere..) not have a dry bed in the morning, because there is enough bedding in there to soak up any urine. Poo stains, not much you can do about them really, I'll give you that.

OMG get over yourself, you jumped up moron! if you think that is neglect you are majorly mis guided! its a horse not a china doll!! i guess yours live in bubble wrap and have never seen a field!

FH sorry for calling your horse an 'it'

 

[Toast]

Evidently SusieT mucks out her horses in the middle of the night after every wee like a good horse owner.
Come on guys shape up.. your just not doing it right.
x

 

[SusieT]

Enough bedding=wee goes to bottom...simple enough to understand surely?

 

[tasteofchristmaschaos]

Yes, but when horses kick their beds around, as some do, you will end up with small wet patches of shavings at the top of the bed.

 

[Cedars]

Lol thanks all.

I feel bad but you're right that she is SUPER hairy, and it's baby fluff so it's an extra nightmare. But yes I did chop off all the matts and hopefully she's more comfortable now bless her.

Thanks for all your shared stories they really help! Xx

 

[AnnaL]

What like this poo pile that greets me in the mornings

I wish he was that neat Christi! He poos everywhere, buries it, rolls in it, paws at it. A habit i thought he might grow out of as he matures, but seemingly not!

 

[hairycob]

SusieT I will lend you my 4yo. Every morning I go in & he has dug huge holes in his lovely deep straw bed so there is wet wee soaked straw on the top with dry underneath. It's quite clear that these are the places he prefers to lie. To top that most of his poo will be well mashed into those bits as well. I've tried him on straw & wood pellets & he's a filthy hooligan on anything. He doesn't box walk, he just digs holes (& yes he does have ad lib hay to keep him occupied & yes he is out at least 12 hours per day & he can rub noses with the horse in the next stable through the partition between the very large stables). There is plenty of straw, I do a full muck out daily & leave a lightweight rug on to keep him clean in his stable (he's a poobald with lot's of white). Neck, head & legs are still minging though. I don't think my old mare would have lain on a poo to save her life, you just have to realise they aren't all the same.

 

[el_Snowflakes]

Sorry but she shouldn't have wet shavings to lie in at all, beds should be kept clean and dry, at all times. Wet needs to soak away, either by drainage if on mats or a thick bed of something.
Now that you know this is a problem you need to be particularly on top of this problem.

this is a pretty ridiculous statement by most peoples standards! My horse is mucked out everyday but the floor of her bed still gets wet. Im not advocating horses living in dirty stables (at all!) but unfortunatly it isnt always possible for the bed to be bone dry.

 

[lexiedhb]

Thankies to all the " horses should never lay in wee they will obviously die" people- given me a right chuckle!!
Do you believe horses melt if they are turned out in rain or snow too?????

 

[Lady La La]

Just to give the "horsey'z should never have to lie in dirty beds" brigade a heart attack...

Id like to introduce Brodie:

Who spends most of his time... Lying in his own sh**t...

& no... I dont groom him every night... and yes his hair probably is matted...

Ets, He lives out, with a stable door always left open for him & he seems to prefere lying in poo to pretty much anything else

 

[benson21]

I feel an invention coming on.........equine nappies!!!!!!

 

[Hippona]

seems like you and susieT should get in the real world TBH...

many horses/ponies dont get mollicoddled 24/7 and quite rightly too.

mine live as ponies should...never getting their muddy legs washed in winter.
never getting brushed in winter, except their saddle/bridle patches if rugged, only checked once per week, fed hay once per day, never fed hard feed unless ridden, wormed on the 1st september, and then again the 1st march...my ponies have survived year after year, despite my obvious tactics to kill them...

flamehead....if puzzle looks well..and by that i mean weightwise, then dont fret..she'll survive laying in a little bit of p155 believe me

You've just described 2 of mine.....the native hairies. They're not worked much....so they don't get clipped. Out during the day- in at night. Wet muddy horses can't and shouldn't be groomed. They get a general eye cast over them, feet picked out and a prod under the hair to make sure I can feel ribs.

When ridden the mud is taken off the important bits. They are happy and healthy. No- for sure they wouldn't make it onto a shampoo advert right now....but give it a couple of months

The mare especially is a minger....she's on rubber matting with straw-which actually is better than shavings as the wee just runs straight out of the door rather than soaking up in the shavings. Basically- if she doesnt **** on it- she eats it.......and is more than happy to lie in it........

Primped and preened and overgroomed horses are actually no better off....it just makes YOU feel better

 

[AmyMay]

Anyway, today I wanted a cuddle so ran my fingers through her neck...then through her armpits...back legs...sides....and she is just like one huge matt =[ anyway, I've cut them all off so now she looks like she's had a nasty accident with the lawnmower. Hopefully she's more comfortable.

Feel so awful =[

Baby oil is your friend. I used to apply it to the armpits, behind ears back of legs etc. regularly during the winter on my unclipped, retired ned. It ensured a matt free existance, as any dirt would just fall off.

 

[starsky]

as any dirt would just fall off.

I might have to buy a large vat of it and cover my grey entirely!