Winter Care of Feathers

[LittleSoph]

As you can see from my sig, my new boy has a lot of feather, a long mane and a huuuge tail. I'm really worried about winter.

Firstly I'm worried that, after a lot of TLC and effort getting his feathers to grow out over summer, they'll snap in the winter conditions...

And mostly, I'm nervous he'll get mud fever and will be uncomfortable.

I plan to show him, starting locally and going to as high a level as we can manage, in the next few years, so obviously don't want to be forced to chop the lot off.
I know it's a little while away but does anyone have any good tips for keeping him comfortable and in good condition through the winter...

Any tips for the monster mane and tail would be appreciated too.

Thank you

 

[samstar]

If your worried about mudfever then pig oil and sulphur are good for feathered horses. I had a cob with feathers and never put anything on his legs, although he would have a 6 monthly injection for feather mites.
The tail in winter couldn't you plait it half way up so it doesn't drag in the ground.

 

[bex1984]

eeek stop using the 'w' word - it's aaaages away

But if you insist...

...I don't touch my pony's feathers all winter (Sept - March), aside from the odd poke around to check everything is Ok I let them get greasy and tangled and dreadlocked, and I have no problems with mud fever or anything like that.

I also leave my pony's tail alone in winter - mainly because if I washed it, or sprayed it with loads of conditioner, some of it would get on his feathers and I try to leave them completely as nature intended.

I don't use any rugs with neck covers - my pony's mane is 3ft long so it keeps his neck warm, and I think it would get rubbed by a neck cover.

I find Canter mane and tail conditioner/detangler spray is fantastic, I use it on my pony's mane all the time and I get through loads of it when we're showing in summer...brilliant stuff.

Don't worry about it - I'm sure your boy will cope with winter with no problems...it's what feathers etc were designed for!

He looks lovely

 

[pottamus]

As per bex1984 really...mu lad is a welshie and very au natrel! His mane is about 2ft long and his tail only gets the end trimmed when I find him stood on it in the field!! I leave his feathers alone - no washing or worrying about mud...the mud dries and brushes off. I dont tend to have muddy field problems though as I manage them but even so I think less is more with the hairies!

 

[Cahill]

pig oil is great for feathers,main tail and body.
i platt the tail in winter for turnout but do not use elastic bands,i use thick bands for girls hair.

 

[muffinino]

Ditto what others have said - leave feathers alone if possible, they will protect his heels and grow on their own, but pig oil & sulphur if you have problems.
Rugging wise, I have a problem with my boy in that any rug seems to rub his mane, with or without neck cover / half neck cover. This winter I bought an under rug that helped stop the rubbing a lot, tried to vary the rugs I used so there was no one point getting rubbed and left his turnout off overnight as much as possible, using a fleece with neck cover (one of the Weatherbeeta ones in purple - he looked like a Ribenberry

). I would recommend the Tailgator Mega-Tek Rebuilder, it's genius at protecting manes and T's is now longer than ever: http://www.tailgator.co.uk/tg/pages/eqyssmegatekhorse.html
You can out it on manes, tails and feathers if you want, I use it 1/2 a week on his mane and used it on his tail when he rubbed it. It lasts ages and smells lovely, like coconut. It's also good for your nails

 

[SamW]

[ QUOTE ]
eeek stop using the 'w' word - it's aaaages away

But if you insist...

...I don't touch my pony's feathers all winter (Sept - March), aside from the odd poke around to check everything is Ok I let them get greasy and tangled and dreadlocked, and I have no problems with mud fever or anything like that.

I also leave my pony's tail alone in winter - mainly because if I washed it, or sprayed it with loads of conditioner, some of it would get on his feathers and I try to leave them completely as nature intended.

I don't use any rugs with neck covers - my pony's mane is 3ft long so it keeps his neck warm, and I think it would get rubbed by a neck cover.

I find Canter mane and tail conditioner/detangler spray is fantastic, I use it on my pony's mane all the time and I get through loads of it when we're showing in summer...brilliant stuff.

Don't worry about it - I'm sure your boy will cope with winter with no problems...it's what feathers etc were designed for!

He looks lovely

[/ QUOTE ]

Totally agree with this post.

Leave feathers well alone and let them protect his legs from mud fever. I hate all this picking scabs mallarky blah blah blah that's just asking for trouble. Leave it be and he is less likely to get it in the first place.
With his mane, again leave it, just add some detangler to comb it through. Tail - leave it alone too. If you are that bothered about what he is going to look like you can always plait the end (as said above).

At the ned of the day, winter is winter, horses are going to look like matted mudballs but that's how nature intended.

xxx

 

[WelshRuby]

Hi. If you part the feather you can see that there is about 1/2 inch of clean hair down to the skin (easier to see on white feather)even in the wettest mud