Static shock from my horse's sweet itch rug?

emilielouise

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Hello everyone,

Okay, I've seen various posts about this but no one seems to have a definite answer. Also, my case is slightly different, so here goes...

After finally discovering a solution to my AndalusianX's fly problems (the flies really bother him, causing him to chew the skin between his legs, on his belly and on his sheath until it's red raw and bloody - not nice) in the form of an overly-expensive sweet itch rug, he now will not let me remove it or put it on without a lot of struggle. This is due to the both of us receiving nasty static shocks everytime the rug is removed.

Also, such as most sweet itch rugs, it comes over his head. When trying to remove it, as carefully and quickly as possible, of course, he's probably been getting a nasty zap to his ears, head or muzzle, which he does not like one bit. It's gotten the point where it's getting difficult for me to remove his fly mask, because he's scared anything being taken off him now will give him a shock (tonight I spent no less than ten minutes trying to coax him into dropping his head so I could take it off gently).

After finally finding a solution to the flies, it's really annoying to not be able to go through with it. While having the rug on, the hair has grown back on his belly and chest, and there are next to no scabs, which is a huge improvement. We've tried fly sprays, different rugs, supplements and pretty much anything to keep the flies off, and the only thing that works is this rug.

So, if anyone has any ideas for what to do to stop the static so my beautiful boy (who is the sweetest thing, it breaks my heart to see he's wary of me coming near him!) can have his rug on and off with no shocks whatsoever!

Thank you!

PS. Sorry I rambled on a bit, I haven't been on a forum for a while and I wanted to get my point across :)
 
You need to ground yourself. So fold the rug back, and keep a hand on the horse until the rug is removed.
 
I had a rug that did this and i rang the manufactures who advised to wash the rug and put fabric conditioner in ,did help with me ,hope you can find a solution,good luck.
 
I have this problem also, but rug comes off like a normal rug. I've found that rolling it down his neck and back reaaaallly slowly helps a lot. I basically roll it off him so I am left with a 'sausage' of rug. Not had any static shocks since doing it this way. Wouldn't swooping it off at speed make the static worse?
 
Had the same problem and rang the manufacturers who provided the easiest solution ever. Buy a cheap spray bottle from a garden centre and fill it with water, spray on rug and, hey presto! It never failed and my pony stopped giving me the evil eye. You need to just dampen the surface of the rug, not saturate it.
Good luck - it WILL work! :)
 
Had the same problem and rang the manufacturers who provided the easiest solution ever. Buy a cheap spray bottle from a garden centre and fill it with water, spray on rug and, hey presto! It never failed and my pony stopped giving me the evil eye. You need to just dampen the surface of the rug, not saturate it.
Good luck - it WILL work! :)

Oooh thanks Hoopsa! This would quicken up my method lol :o

Do you need to dampen the whole surface of the rug?
 
Mine's a Boett so I take the belly part off first as it never seems to get static and the give the rest a quick spray. Never fails!
You could experiment and see how much you can get away without spraying but it only takes seconds and the rug is dry before you put it back on. Good luck!
 
The water spray definately works. I have two sweet itch horses wearing identical rugs but the static only affects one of them, why I really do not know, A quick spritz all over cured our problem.
 
I wash with fabric conditioner, and then kind of lift up and away in one swift movement when removing. However, fully appreciate not so easy if your horse is 16h+ or your less tall ;)

Amymay- I have tried keeping a hand on my horse when grooming as we get a lot of static, and she hates it, but I often find that she just gets more continuous small shocks, sending her into a whirling dervish round the stable!
 
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