Hammar has been scratching himself - on the barbed wire, no less - and it's getting worse. I am officially worried sick. He gets wormed more frequently than the other horses, and although he is chronically thinner than the other two, he isn't really underweight. I can't see any ribs, though his hips are a bit bony... He's always been that way though. I don't think worms are his problem. Hammar's tail has always been rubbed a bit, but now he is rubbing it tot he point that he has a little bald spot. And his hindquarters (and occasionally his pasterns) have been sprouting cuts from the wire. I can see tufts of black hair caught in the barbs. You think if he was itchy he would scratch on the pine poles, but no, he has to cut himself of the barbed wire. I swear, if we had enough money I would tear down that wire in a heart beat...
Anyways, I know Karen will probably read this, so if you have any ideas, please help me! When it gets warm enough I want to give Hammar a thorough bath. He's never had one before - he hates water. But it is time. I want to find a shampoo that might help him - maybe some sort of allergy shampoo, or ultra-hydrating. Maybe Hammar's skin is so itchy because it's just dry, who knows? Then, with the help of some rope and 2 or 5 people, I want to tackle the awful "s" word: sheath cleaning. I can't afford the $106 vet bill they quoted for sedation plus sheath cleaning, so I am going to try it myself. My Mother in Law had a theory that Hammar might be itching because of a kidney infection! That scares me something awful, but given how Hammar doesn't stretch out all the way to pee (he hasn't since he cut his tendon in his hind leg) and how when he starts shedding the hair collects on his "water spicket" and gets all gross... Maybe he has developed an infection. Again, this makes the sheath cleaning all that much more vital. Any tips on that would be helpful as well, given how Hammar, my trusted steed that will go anywhere and do anything I ask, kicks and throws a fit whenever my hand gets near his sheath... Do they make all-over body helmets?
5 years ago
2 comments:
Hey Christine,
Kirstin's mom here. Have you checked Hammar for Pinworms? They cause itching esp in the rear area. Also another problem could be a skin condition, one of Kirstin's yearlings always would scratch her neck area and right at the tail head. When we looked closely, we noticed dry, scaly areas. Horse dandruff, so to speak. I forget what we used on it but it stunk but it did the job. It was something like TMG, but we only used it a coupld of times and Halona quit scratching.
Priscilla - Hammar has been getting wormed fairly frequently, and I'm pretty sure he's been wormed with something that treats pinworms... Hammar has a scratchy spot on his belly that shows up every summer. I put Germ-X on it and it doesn't get too bad... I've been spraying this stuff on Hammar's tail that is anti-fungal and antibacterial, and it seems to be clearing up a little... I'll look into some TMG; that's a shampoo, right? When it warms up some more Hammar will get a good bath :D Thanks for the tips!
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