Kicking the ground with their hind legs?

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Stacie_and_Jed

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Does anyone know why they do this?

Jed does it now and then and gives it some real force whilst he's stomping. His top lip goes sometimes when he does it like he's scratching??

Im baffled :confused:
 
Aye, I agree with Catlin. Usually when they are itchy they do this which may also explain his lip going too! Does he have feathers? Perhaps giving his legs a good wash with some gentle shampoo may help.
 
He'll be a feathered cob then ? Its mites. Nasty and very irritating, drives 'em mad. Vet can try an injection which is cattle wormer, that works well my my hairy one, or you could try Frontline, flea spray for dogs.
Avon Skin So Soft dry oil spray helps too.
Check under the feather for insect bites too and put some sudocreme on if you find any sores.
 
if he has feathers , he may have grass mites , my neighbors horse used to do this alot , he even scratched them on the fencing until they were raw . luckily the poor boys on loan now so hopefully being sorted.
 
I would ring your vet to explain the symptoms and they would prob come out to give Dectomax injection to kill mites (NB if it's mites you prob won't be able to see any evidence other than the stamping) - the inj will need to be done twice, 2 weeks apart, to kill firstly the adults & secondly any hatchlings. Left untreated the condition will prob get worse and cause unnecessary suffering and poss more serious & long term damage to your horse.
 
Two of mine do this, one because he's stroppy (if he's bored, another horse looks at him wrong, or when he's eating and someone walks past) and the other does it when he has an itchy sheath :S
 
Have you had a good feel in around his fetlocks to check the condition of his skin, often goes un noticed in feathered types but usually you will find some kind of skin irritation there.

Can be mites (often called feather mite), blocked pores, best thing to do is either shave the area (if you don't mind taking the feathers off) because damp sweaty conditions will cause this and is a perfect enviroment for unwanted guests :D or always make sure you give the fetlocks a good wash and keep the skin in good nick after the horse has been worked.

You can also bob some frontline on if you suspect there is a mite there, you vet can do a scraping and tell you exactly what the problem is so they can prescribe the right treatment straight away.

Some owners often ingore it, but as you can imagine, it must be very annoying for them having this itch all the time and they are likey to rub themselves raw on something else.
 
Thank you very much all, some great advice there.

He should have feathers but doesnt as i cant bare them!! He is clipped around once every 2-3 months, maybe i will up this to monthly or when ever they are looking a bit lenghty.

Think i may try Frontline before the Vets and see if that helps. I am trying to keep the bill down after my emergency call out last night.:(
 
it sounds like mites,you cannot see them and they burrow under the skin.
my vet recommended frontline but it is not licenced for horses and you need a dog to buy it (lol).buy the pump-spray not the pippettes.
i used it 2 weeks apart and it solved my problem without needing to clip.you may notice a thickening of the skin in the heels which never really goes and i use pig-oil regular to keep the skin soft.
 
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