two questions i need help with!

[pixiebee]

firstly, clipping- i am having my new forest pony clipped today, he is having a hunter clip as he is in moderate work and i like this clip, he will be stabled fully over winter(we have no winter turnout unfortunately)but will be ridden/excercised 6 times a week. He has not had this clip before and is usually ok to clip but is it worth twitching him when i need to do his head as i dont know how he will react? also, i am going to put his medium weight stable rug on to keep him warm but what about when i ride, do i just take the rug off, tack him up and go or do i need some sort of excercise sheet??????

secondly, he has the first signs of mud fever, slight warmth in the heel and its quite pink and quite crumbly, by that i mean flakey!! ive been putting plenty of vaseline on it whenever he is out or being ridden, then washing it off and drying it before he goes back in the stable, but am worried alot of washing will make it wqorse but dont want to leave vaseline piled on in the stable? how do you manage??
ps, i wash his heels once a week in soothing tea tree shampoo.

 

[AmyMay]

1. Don't twitch just for the sake of it - only if he needs it.

2. If you are putting vaseline on his legs, then there is no need to wash afterwards - you will just create the mud feaver if that makes sense.

Loan horse is prone to cracked heals and is out 24/7 at present. I put vasaline on her heals and up her pasterns and never wash the legs which have baby oil on them. The mud doesn't penetrate either greese and no problems with cracked heals or mud feaver.

 

[Tempi]

never twitch unless you need to. as for a rug when exercising i always use one to warm bloss up in in the winter, but thats because she gets stiff so the cold gets to her, hence a rug helps her to loosen up more quickly. its up to you what you want to do - when its freezing cold then yes but at the moment when its not that cold i wouldnt bother.

 

[vicm2509]

I agree. I got my horse last year and he came with mud fever. This year I put baby oil on them twice a week and never wash his legs, so far there is no sign of mud fever at all and he is atm out 24/7 in a muddy field. The oil (or vasaline) will stop the mud/water penetrating the skin so there is no need to wash it off, just brush it when its dry. If you have to wash them then dry asap and reapply barrier when completly dry.

Also agree with the twitch, keep it handy but dont use it unless you REALLY need to.

 

[Soph83]

<span style="colorurple">Instead of washing off the mud it is better to leave it to dry and brush it off. </span>

 

[princesskelly]

i'm going to try that this year with poppy she is prone to mud fever. but the only thing is i ride in afternoon so will it be ok to put boots on over wet legs?

 

[AmyMay]

I try not to put boots on wet legs - and to be honest my horse is always in for at least an hour before I ride (she's out 24/7 at the moment) - so it's never really a problem.

 

[4whitesocks]

someone told me pig oil is brilliant &amp; cheap for mud fever.....&amp; loads of people swear by it....not exactly sure what it is or where you get it so as soon as have more info will report back!

 

[horsegirl]

Does he need to be clipped and can't you leave the head on if you do clip? Perhaps a trace clip would be a better option if you are worried about him getting cold when exercised? I think they should have the clip that suits the workload/sweating not for appearances.

 

[pixiebee]

i thaught that the hunter clip suits his level of work, 6 days a week, about an hr or two at a time?

 

[horsegirl]

does he get very sweaty though?

 

[pixiebee]

he takes a while(atleast an hr) to sweat but when he does he takes a while to cool off. also, there is lice on the yard(mine hasnt got them thank god), but hopefully if i clip alot of his hair off he should have less chance of getting them as they have less hair to cling on too!! lol i keep mine away from the others incase and i dont share my stuff either!!