Wood flour for keeping feathers white and mud-free?

[kajabe]

An old man at my farm has a gorgeous Clydie X Shire who has feet the size of dinner plates he also has lots of white feather, which in the winter turn into lots of brown / mud coloured feather!
The large amount of mud causes his feet to itch but the owner cannot afford to pay for the jabs. He has tried pig oil and sulpher but as the horse is so big it is too expensive for him to buy it for the whole of winter.

He was telling me that he used to get something called wood flour which was fine grains of wood that gave the consistency of flour:

http://www.chemical-engineering.co/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/wood-flour2.jpg

Does anyone know where to get it from as cheap as possible, we have no wood yards near us either

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Looks what wood pellets turn into when activated with water. It's not helping my horse whose bed is made of it and who has lots of feather. I used chalk for a show here:

and an hour tonight brushing them, still a bit wet from yesterday. Tomorrow, I'm oiling them with baby oil (get the cheapo non branded stuff) before he goes out again.

 

[scrat]

Try here http://www.heavyhorsesupplies.co.uk/showpreparation.htm. I think you will need to contact them for cost.

 

[Shysmum]

blimey, have you tried good old pig oil ?

 

[hayinamanger]

A 50ml bottle of Dectamax costs less than £30, at 1ml/50kg it will treat this big horse twice with some to spare. You can buy it at a far/agro store (say it's for sheep) Is there someone who could inject the horse for him? 3 x 20ml injections 10 days apart into the brisket will make a big difference, it will worm the horse, too.

 

[MerrySherryRider]

If the horse has mites, then it needs treatment as the condition causes misery. If his skin is compromised by mud, then again its needs treating regardless of the cost which is fairly modest.
Not meeting the horses most basic health needs is not acceptable.

 

[**Vanner**]

I use wood flour to dry my boys feathers but not as a preventative, you need the oil for that. You can mix sulphur powder with the wood flour to help combat the mites as sulphur is the insecticide but they need proper treatment.

As said above it is not acceptable to claim the treatments are too expensive - his horse his responsibility!