Mare cutting labia when in season and very sore :(

violethillx

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My mare tends to get quite sore underneath when she's in season and this morning found a cut on her labia with small amount of blood in the cracks of the skin. She is hot and sticky on her whole underneath. I wash her back legs and bum every day with hibi scrub / baby shampoo while she's in season to keep her clean but she's never been this sore while I've had her and I feel awful, it must be so uncomfortable!

I've washed it with heavily diluted hibi scrub this morning and lathered her whole underneath and vulva in sudacrem. It is quite swollen and a lot bigger on one side than the other but I think this is a reaction to the cut.

Does anyone have any experience of this? I think she's scrubbed it on something because it's sore and I really don't want it to get infected. I'm thinking very very diluted hibi scrub and obviously rinsising thoroughly and sudocrem on her most sensitive areas then just keep her cuts off getting kicked clean?

Mares :rolleyes:
 
Hibiscrub is really quite harsh, ouch!! It's what surgeons use to scrub up before going into the operating theatre, to remove every trace of anything I believe. I know if I washed with that on my lady bits every day, I'd be incredibly sore! It's a really sensitive part of the body. I wouldn't even wash with baby shampoo TBH.

How about just washing her with water? Or even soaking cotton wool and wiping her down with that, rather than something harsh? I used to have a really grotty mare and I just washed her with water a couple of times a day. I think I'd put aloe vera gel on the sore bits. Am not mad keen on Sudocrem, that said it is for nappy rash...
 
If it is VERY dilute it will be fine. A friend who had a recurring bacterial infection down below was suggested to use very dilute hibiscrub down below so as long as its dilute enough it should be fine, like 1 in 50 or something. Basically the water it's in should look like water, no colour to it! Then udder cream, used that on a cow with cracked and bleeding teats and she seemed to like it so think that would be fine too.

But I wonder what is causing the underlying problem?
 
I too think hibiscrub could be too harsh, however I use sudocreme myself if I get any unwanted rubs whilst riding (the horse) this isn't sounding good is it! lol, it takes the soreness away very quickly.
I am not sure about the baby shampoo being harsh as I have a couple of friends who have an eye condition (can't for the life of me remember the name) where there doctor has told them to wash there eyes with a weak baby shampoo solution (1 teaspoon in a cup of water) but animal skin could be different.
 
My poor horse got bitten by a horrible gelding. Her clitoris was the size of a plum, and much the same colour, and part of one of her labia was missing so there was blood down her back legs (first thing I noticed). Everything was so swollen I feared a pervert had been at her so called the vet. Apparently though, horses don't have many nerve endings there and so despite how bad it looked, the vet assured me she wasn't in too much pain with it. Luckily she was on long-term painkillers anyway for arthritis. I just cleaned it with a proprietary human wound-cleaning solution (can't remember what its called, sorry, but its in a blue clear plastic tube and one of the big brand names), rinsed it well then put a smear of steriod cream on it. It all healed up in a week. Your mare may be rubbing her bottom in the hedge when she is in season, hence the cut. A good dollop of vaseline rather than sudocrem which can be pretty strong too, under her vulva will help keep her a bit drier and help keep the flies off.
 
Personally I would only wash with hibbiscrub in the first instance, then just use sterile water (boiled and cooled)

I would bandage her tail and would use "hypercal" cream rather than sudocreme. It is a herbal cream made be Nelsons (a blend of hypericum and calendula), and is for the healing of cuts and sores. It has worked wonders for many a horrible wound. http://www.nelsonsnaturalworld.com/en-gb/uk/our-brands/nelsons-skin-range/hypercal-cream/

If she is often quite dry I would buy a big tub of aqueous cream from the chemist and use that on a regular basis to keep the skin soft and supple.
 
We have a mare who gets very messy when she's in season, which then dries her skin up and makes her sore and itchy.
I've found the most effective way to stop her rubbing was to wash her down with warm water, then wipe over the inside of her back legs with baby oil. This protected the skin and it stopped bothering her.
 
My mare rubs her bum when shes in season and occasionally ends up with little cuts. I just find sponging with water morning and eve and then applying aloe vera gel stops it straight away.
 
I too think hibiscrub could be too harsh, however I use sudocreme myself if I get any unwanted rubs whilst riding (the horse) this isn't sounding good is it! lol, it takes the soreness away very quickly.
I am not sure about the baby shampoo being harsh as I have a couple of friends who have an eye condition (can't for the life of me remember the name) where there doctor has told them to wash there eyes with a weak baby shampoo solution (1 teaspoon in a cup of water) but animal skin could be different.

sorry, I should have explained properly why I said I wouldn't use baby shampoo either. Given how sore she is, i'd just want to avoid any sort of detergent at all. Good suggestion about baby oil from someone below :)
 
A vet advised me once to just use cooled boiled water with table salt.... approx. 2 heaped teaspoons to a large beaker of water. Hibiscrub can be irritating and personally I wouldn't use hibiscrub or baby shampoo in this circumstance. You won't go wrong with the cooled salt solution..dry gently...and then a small smear of sudocream. Hope this helps her.
 
Thanks for your replies - should have said that when I say very dilute hibi scrub I mean a just under full bottle cap of hibi scrub in a regular size bucket so the ratio is about 1:200 I think! This is what I always use on her to disinfect knocks she gets in field and always works but I had my doubts about using it on this sensitive area. It's gone right down from this morning and although one labia still swollen, its not as angry looking and irritated. Tomorrow I'll wash with warm water in morning and evening and see whether to put on sudocrem or vaseline - my only thoughts were that at least sudo is a slight antiseptic.

She seems ok about it and ridden her very lightly. Amazing how much its gone down during the day so hopefully will right itself in a few days if I keep it clean.

Poor baby I feel awful for her :(
 
Aloe Vera gell, when mine rubbed hers raw in the trailer, this worked well & I use baby wipes occasional as well
 
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