I want to begin my post by thanking all of you who have written to me and provided thoughts on my brumby's abscess situation. The bad news is that today when I went to see my brumby, she was actually laying down in the stall because her foot must have hurt so bad. Of course when she saw me she scrambled to her feet like I was a werewolf coming to gobble her up. The good news is that there is more swelling and it is starting to look more and more like an abscess and not some mystery ailment.
For example, here her fetlock is looking pretty puffy. It felt like a baseball under my hand.
So I got the blue boot out once more. I saw the epsom salt on the shelf, but I did not see Bill and I needed warm water. Warm water is inside Bill's house. I called Bill on his cell phone but got no answer. After fretting a minute or two, I decided to go into Bill's house without him being around and get warm water! Although I have been in Bill's house several times before, I felt very sneaky in there without any of his family there. In any event, I got the water and my brumby had a foot soak for 30 minutes. While her foot was soaking I groomed her and fed her many carrots.
It was still pretty snowy and beautiful today. In fact, it was quite the perfect day for a trail ride, which is what Bill and CC were out doing while I was sneaking around Bill's house. It is very cold here though. Today I wore snow pants to the barn to stay warm, shedding all vanity in the process because they are ridiculously unattractive. And of course, I put toe warmers in my boots!
Here's a question I have for anyone who cares to donate an answer. Do you see where my pen is pointing--to that fur that gets long in the winter and dangles over the pastern? Does anybody clip that off?
For example, here her fetlock is looking pretty puffy. It felt like a baseball under my hand.
So I got the blue boot out once more. I saw the epsom salt on the shelf, but I did not see Bill and I needed warm water. Warm water is inside Bill's house. I called Bill on his cell phone but got no answer. After fretting a minute or two, I decided to go into Bill's house without him being around and get warm water! Although I have been in Bill's house several times before, I felt very sneaky in there without any of his family there. In any event, I got the water and my brumby had a foot soak for 30 minutes. While her foot was soaking I groomed her and fed her many carrots. 
It was still pretty snowy and beautiful today. In fact, it was quite the perfect day for a trail ride, which is what Bill and CC were out doing while I was sneaking around Bill's house. It is very cold here though. Today I wore snow pants to the barn to stay warm, shedding all vanity in the process because they are ridiculously unattractive. And of course, I put toe warmers in my boots!
Here's a question I have for anyone who cares to donate an answer. Do you see where my pen is pointing--to that fur that gets long in the winter and dangles over the pastern? Does anybody clip that off?
6 comments:
I clip it in the summer time because it looks neater. I think I remember reading that it helped water drain off the legs though, so I leave the pasterns alone in the winter.
Maisie gets more feather than that, and I don't clip it - she sometimes gets mud in it or ice balls but it really isn't a problem. Dawn and Noble don't get any long hairs there at all. Keep an eye on the leg - you don't want infection to move up from the foot into the leg - if the swelling doesn't go down you might want to call the vet.
Yep, I trim those hairs right off -- but, then again, I was raised in a show barn where they pretty much clipped everything off, lol.
I get my White Lightning from the local feed store, but not many places carry it, so you can order it here -- http://www.grandcircuitinc.com/products.asp?cat=White+Lightning
I now swear by this stuff! It's just all kinds of awesome (plus, Glas Chamber Hoof really is quite fun).
We clipped ours all off because it was holding mud and moisture, which can lead to scratches/mud fever. My sister's farrier said to clip it down, then the mud has not much to cling too, and what does, dries really quick. It's working so far (on her mares, my horse never showed signs of mud fever.)
Lily's leg is pretty swollen! I can't remember, have you had the vet out yet? Do you think you will wait it out a few more days and see what happens? I'm sorry to hear she is in pain.... :( Your poor pony....but if it's an abscess, that is better than a serious leg injury of some sort, right?! Keep us posted!
Wow! Lilly's leg is very swollen! That has to be painful!! I sure hope she gets better soon!
I have had my first experience with mud fever/scratches, and if you live in a wet, muddy environment, then yes, I was told to clip all the hair, almost down to the skin, up past their fetlock. This will prevent the mud from accumulating, which is what it was doing to my horses, and it wouldn't dry out, and that is what will cause scratches/mud fever. With the hair clipped, the mud can't stick to their fur, and their heels/legs will dry so much quicker!! I would not have known this if it wasn't for my farrier. He noticed it a couple weeks ago and told me what I needed to do. I had never had a problem with it before, until now. I used to just let the hair grow out in the winter, but I won't do that anymore!! It's better to be preventative, than have a full blown case of scratches/mud fever! I hear it is a nightmare to get a handle on it, once it reaches the severe stages.
Good luck with Lilly's abcess, and give that brumby a hug for me!!
Poor Lilly. She is so sweet and does NOT deserve to be hurting! I hope that nasty abcess pops out soon. Then, you can be back on the pretty trails with the rest of the gang.
We don't clip the feather off. Pie and Sovey hardly have any. So many years of clipping everything makes me anti-clipping! I try to brush out the mud with a mane brush when I groom the boys. Sovey's white foot has a longer feather than anyone.
Hope Lilly is better soon.
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