Rubbing his tail

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forever young

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My 2yr old New Forest gelding has started rubbing his bum/ tail area. He is not rubbing anywhere else and the skin isn't broken or sore. We have recently moved so I wasn't sure if maybe there was a different type of fly in this area. He is out 24/7 and I bring him in to groom etc. I have washed his tail today and put a fly rug on him. Any other ideas would be appreciated, thanks :)
 
No advice but im having the same problem at the moment! She's coming in with a rubbed tail for no apparent reason! She's had a worm count and been wormed, had her tail washed, isn't bothered by the flies etc so im baffled
 
Sorry I can't help with what might be causing it, but my girl had something similar and so I used Avon Skin So Soft dry oil spray on it. Really helped.
 
It just sounds like seasonal itching to me, triggered by a combination of grease in the tail and the warmer temperatures, my pony gets the same. You may have washed the hair itself but how much did you clean the actual skin of his tailbone? Have a close look at his tailbone, part the hair with your fingers so you can see the skin and check it thoroughly all the way down - see if he's got flaky (dandruff type) skin in there, or scabby/crusty patches, or it's really greasy towards the base of the hairs. There will be something in there that's making him itchy and it's not going to be contact from flies / insects or plants! I wash my pony's tail regularly with aloe vera shampoo - not just washing the tail hair, but part the hair with your fingers and really work it into the skin. Not only does the shampoo clean the skin but aloe vera itself is a natural skin healer / soother and should make quite a difference!
 
I used aloe Vera shampoo this morning and I always make sure I get my fingers scrubbing right down to the skin as well. Hopefully this will make a difference then.
 
My mare is itching her tail to. The vet had a look on thurs said it must ba sweet itch.shes 21 and just developed sweet itch?
Years ago another gelding i had used to itch he used to get dandruff i called the vet then in march so that they couldnt jump to the conclusion that it was sweet itch. the vet looked and said what my horse was presenting wasnt sweet itch, but the fact that the skin had thickened by his mane was.
The skin would thicken from any sort of rubbing
I clipped my 2 year old so that i could clean his skin easily and control his dandruff. that solved the problem
Vets sometimes go for the easy option and say its sweet itch.
They dont always get it right
 
There is alot of horses around at the moment with pinworm and one symptom is itching around the bum area so they will rub there tail, another is a yellowy substance around the bum or on some occasions the worms hang out, disgusting i know but best to know about them, a normal worm count will not pick them up you need a different test done.

Or if its just plain old itching sudocrem can help.
 
Pinkvboots said:
There is alot of horses around at the moment with pinworm and one symptom is itching around the bum area so they will rub there tail, another is a yellowy substance around the bum or on some occasions the worms hang out, disgusting i know but best to know about them, a normal worm count will not pick them up you need a different test done.

Or if its just plain old itching sudocrem can help.
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Just had this problem, slight rubbing of the tail, had a recent worm count all clear but then by chance lifted the tail and found the worm hanging out and yellow substance around his anus. I have been advised by west gate labs to use panacur five day guard and have been keeping bottom clean and covering with Vaseline to stop the worms laying their eggs. You can test for this by using 4" Sellotape and taking a sample from their anus and send in to west gate for £5 or free if you send with a worm count. Apparently it's become very common over the past couple of years as pinworm is becoming resistant to some wormers.
 
My horse gets it at this time of year and turns his tail into a loo brush! I have tried all the more healthy organic treatments but find the only thing that works is benzyl benzoate or whatever it's called...I put that on the top of his tail about twice a week and his tail remains intact.

He is wormed and has a rambo flysheet as well and neither make any difference.
 
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