Raff - 4 week update - and some advice re: itching please!

Bowen4Horses

Bowen4Horses

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www.poppywebber.co.uk
hi all

so, this time 4 weeks ago, Raff broke his leg in the field.

he has a line fracture of his right front leg, at the top, in his radius.

he has been cross tied since it happened, and will have to be for at least another 2 months. :(

as i have had SO many lovely messages and posts from you lovely HHOers, i thought i'd let you know that he's fine, he's a third of the way through his crosstying. and he's still standing lovely and still.

he's lost a lot of weight and condition, and looks a bit cruddy. he's on ad lib hay, but it's had everything soaked out of it to avoid laminitis.

i haven't uploaded any recent pics, but here's one of him on day 8.

2raffday8.jpg


now... all has gone VERY smoothly (seriously, he's SO chilled out, it's unbelievable, people keep asking if he's sedated!) until today.

he is VERY itchy. he's always quite an itchy horse, but a combination of boredom/being tied up/not able to itch properly/moulting badly etc etc means he's almost tying himself in knots trying to scratch.

i groom him every day to try and get rid of his hair, but it's not enough. the spots he can reach to itch (round his head, top of his legs) are starting to get rubbed raw where he's rubbing/biting at them.

the reason he is cross tied is to stop him from lying down because it'd snap his leg. :(
so, i don't want him to tie himself in knots trying to itch.

i have asked the vet if he can do anything, and i'm just waiting for him to get back to me. in the meantime, does anyone have any experience of a very itchy horse on box rest?

i thought perhaps clipping him to get rid of all the hair?
i thought about getting some of that global herbs scratch plus stuff, but i don't think it'll be immediate enough. it needs to be immediate.

please? anyone?

p.s. he's still an absolute DARLING.

:)
 
Hey, so pleased he is doing well so far. Mine had an almost identical scare around the same time as Raff got injured but luckily for him and me it wasn't a break.

Re the itching, I don't know what the vet will come up with but you could possibly try some sort of hayfever treatment such as piriton - that might alleviate the itching.

Other than that, the Naff Stop Itch paste is excellent, but not really practical for the whole body!!
 
Itching.....you know the person to talk to? That lass whose horse had that god awful reaction and lost loads of his skin. Her user name eludes me (anyone?) but she used some kind of clay?
That might work short term, but aloe vera in his feed should help long term, and is good for his tum too!
 
No idea regarding the itching but just wanted to say I am so pleased he is doing well, what a good boy he is!!

I can't believe it's been 4 weeks already, where is this year going!! :eek: :eek:
 
thank you for replies!

yes, i was planning on hot clothing him, thought i'd wait for the weather to warm up.. .but that looks like it's never going to happen. he's still got FAR more winter coat than he should. i guess he's not out in the sun etc.

and he defo misses having a good roll. he's a right little roller.

i will get some aloe vera, clip him and hot cloth him. tomorrow is going to be busy busy busy... :D
 
Sorry, I don't know anything about the itching but I just wanted to say how glad I am he is doing well. I was just thinking about him today and how he was getting on. What a good, good boy he is. I hope you get his scratchy bits sorted out
 
joeanne said:
Yes!!! Chavhorse!
Am sure she used some special clay to help his skin with the itching and healing process.
Click to expand...

It was green I think wasn't it?:confused: Can remember the piccies but wonder if you can get it here - she is in Holland isn't she? :confused::o

clippy I clipped and hot clothed my cob last weekend:D - she was very grateful despite it now being winter again!!:D but she is the worlds itchiest horse and its has helped her - just rubs her face on me now......:rolleyes::rolleyes::D
 
slinkyunicorn said:
It was green I think wasn't it?:confused: Can remember the piccies but wonder if you can get it here - she is in Holland isn't she? :confused::o

clippy I clipped and hot clothed my cob last weekend:D - she was very grateful despite it now being winter again!!:D but she is the worlds itchiest horse and its has helped her - just rubs her face on me now......:rolleyes::rolleyes::D
Click to expand...

green? raff's going to love that...!

i'm defo going to clip him. it's worrying me so much now i've seen his bizarre itching style today. he practially sits down to itch, and i'm worried he's going to hook his hind leg over the cross ties.

i can always rug him when it's chilly. x
 
I'm glad he's doing well :) I'm sure he will love all the attention and pampering being clipped and hot clothed!
 
Oh bless him, what a little star he is :) I'm coming to the end of 8 weeks of Be on boxrest, and I can't wait until it's over. I can't imagine how you're feeling with two more months to go, but at least yours is nice and quiet! :D

I would try the clipping and hot clothing at first, and see how much more comfortable that makes him. xx
 
Thanks for the update, I wonder about him a lot! Does it seem worse on the slightly humid days/nights Clippy? Only that this week most of the horses are on our yard have been going mad as been loads of little tiny flies out on the warmer days/evenings. The mares were running round their field in frustration at them and mine, though in at night, spent the whole time rubbing up against partition, door, rubbing his legs up and down each other. Another gelding has 2 long bleeding scratches from where he's been using the sharper bits of the field hedge as itch relief post! There is a mare on our yard with very sensitive skin and her owner uses a product from a one woman company the name of which escapes me but can find out as she says its brilliant - however that's just what she uses for midge reaction rather than maybe what Raff is dealing with. If you want me to find out more info though I will. Others above seem more knowledgeable than me on this though!
 
Yep, definately having a midge problem too, so it could be that. If it turns out to be so, don't know what to do. Would it be daft to put a rechargeable insect zapper in his stable to attract and kill them? I use it when camping, and its fab and obviously doesn't need to be plugged in. Also, should be safe as he can't knock it over cos he won't be able to get to it! The there's all the fly papers, repellant etc etc.

Glad he's doing so well, having a horse who tolerates it so well is half the battle won.

Keep us updated, love and hugs to all xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
So pleased to hear he's doing well and being such a good boy!
We had a pony a few years ago who managed to slice off half his hoof and had to have reconstructive surgery, and be cross tied for 3 months to stop him falling over with his cast on. He was a hairy little Exmoor, and it happened at around this time, so he got CRAZY ITCHY...the only thing we found to help was a cream that I used to be given in South Africa when I was little (I was always itchy and allergic to pretty much everything!) which is called Zambuk.
It's a horrendous colour - bright green - and stinks to high heaven, but speaking as a formerly itchy child, it's a miracle cream! I use it on pretty much everything with my horses, even making my boy who has COPD breathe it in from boiling buckets in his stable if he's ever got to be on box rest.
For Biggles, we diluted it so that it would stretch further, by melting some down in a bucket of hot water, then hot clothing him all over with that. We clipped him first because he was really irritated by the whole moth eaten rug thing, and as the bits he could get to were raw and bleeding, we rubbed the cream on neat to help him. The itching stopped within five minutes! I can get my cousins to send a load over for me if you'd like to try some? I think I've got some in the tack room too so you can have a go and see if it works. PM me if you're interested. (no charge for cream of course, just the hope that it helps your poor boy feel more comfortable!)
 
So pleased Raff doing so well. Sorry, got no ideas on the itching either, other than what everyone else said.Raff's a third through his cross tying, so well done.:)
 
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