Surgical Spirit???

[_jetset_]

OK, the spur rubs are just getting ridiculous now... Grace seems to have something constantly and if I ride without the spurs I find her really humpy through her back because I have to increase my aids a little.

In my lesson with Kate, she told me to get the surgical spirit out, but in my excitement of doing some half steps, I forgot to ask her what exactly it is I do with it.

Do I put it on neat?

Can I buy it from Tesco or a pharmacy? Or is it DIY type place like metholated spirit (fly spray ingredient)?

How often do I use it? And for how long?

I assume you cannot put it on when they are going into direct sunlight?

And finally, what on earth does it do???

 

[amage]

Use methylated spirits, rub it in with cotton wool directly on the skin and it will toughen it up bug time. rowers use it to stop there hands opening. another thing you could try i clipping her. when dolly's coat is thick she rubs real easy but when she's clipped its fine. i just put a wee bit on every day

 

[kate081]

Surgical spirit is the normal way. It hardens the skin. Put it on twice a day. Don't think you need to worry about daylight on it...?

Meths is smelly & flammable so I wouldn't put it near a horse personally.

 

[_jetset_]

I think Meths would be too harsh for her as she is a very sensitive orange lady who is half TB

She marks even without spurs, just from my boots, which is why I feel I need to sort something out.

It is because she is so sensitive I was thinking about the sunlight issue???

 

[coedcae]

I got some surgical spirit from my vets, I'm not sure if you can buy it off the shelf, but I'm sure you'd be able to get it from a proper pharmacy, over the counter.
I have a horse which gets spur rubs but only when he's changing coats, thankfully, but the surgical spirit did seem to toughen the skin.

 

[Christmas Crumpet]

You can buy it from most horse feed places or agricultural suppliers. Its pretty cheap. Just rub it on with some cotton wool (as long as the skin hasn't broken).

 

[Bug]

You should be able to get it from Boots or any pharmacy,
Just put some on with cotton wool, but definitley not on an open wound!

Hope that sorts the problem out!

 

[Rafferoo]

Let us know if it works because I am going to try it on my ginger ninja if it does!!

 

[_jetset_]

Thanks... will try to get hold of some tomorrow.

She does not have any raw skin, just where the fur has not grown back!

 

[connie1288]

Once you have hardened the skin to help the hair growth we used to use cornicresine on any spur or girth rubs to help hair re growth.

 

[silverbreeze]

What about using roweled spurs? I know they always look nasty but they snag the skin less and cause less abrasions. You can get them without the pointy (but blunt) edges so they are just a disc that rotates instead.

 

[FRESHMAN]

Surgical spirit simply toughens up the skin, most chesnuts are skin sensitive. You do not have to worry about the sun, she wont burst into flames (LOL) Dont worry about the rub marks either, they will go in time.

 

[_jetset_]

silverbreeze, she actually seems worse with the roweled ones. I have some with a disk which I use for my other mare, but these seemed to make her rub even more

(my other mare never has a sign of anything as I was a bit worried it was my legs at one point).

FRESHMAN, ha ha... Love the vision of Grace bursting into flames

I was just worried that the surgical spirit would 'burn' if it was in direct sunlight being an alcohol. Similar to how perfume burns the skin if you wear it in the sun.

 

[MysteryGirl]

Have you tried the Mark Todd spurs with the big rubber ball on the end? They might be less likely to mark her.