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Re: Scratches




I can't speak to the "how to cure scratches" question since I have never
had a horse who has had them.

That being the case, maybe I can speak to the "how to prevent" them
question.

I don't know if I have never had a problem with scratches because I know
how to prevent them or because I've just been lucky.  They aren't
paricularly prevalent here in So. Cal., but I've been to a few rides in
Southern Utah (multi-days) where a goodly portion of the horses came down
with them, and there were specific mentions at pre-ride meetings on how to
treat/prevent them.

However....here's what I do, and all you need is your fingers and a fairly
stiff (and small is) dandy brush.  Sometimes I'll use one of those little
knobby rubber grooming mits, but it isn't a necessary piece of equipment.

1) I never clip the hair around my horse's fetlocks.  This may be the
right thing to do if the horse has contracted them, but I believe it to be
shaving off your horse's greatest defense otherwise.

2)  The other natural protection that a horse has against dermatitis
(which is my understanding of what scratches is) is a clean, healthy skin
and coat, which contains plenty of natural oils...ALL the way down to its
feet.  Generally speaking, I avoid cleaning my horses with water, and I
never clean them with shampoo (although I will use a bluing shampoos on a
white/gray horse's "yellow" tail--but only on the tail).  I have no faith
in the ability of commercial coat conditioners to replace the natural oils
that the shampoos wash off (not saying that some of them don't just saying
that I am not convinced--mostly because I have had such success with just
leaving, promoting the oils that the horse produces itself).

3)  To stimulate the horse to produce its own hair oils is ... a healthy
diet (which presumably everybody does anyway, or reasons other than having
a nice coat), and plenty of brushing...ALL the way down to the feet--which
means you DO have to get down on your hands and knees.  Mud and sweat
caked in the feathers and around the fetlock should be allowed to dry and
then removed by rubbing it in a direction other than the way the hair
grows with your fingers to loosen it, and then brushed off in the
direction the hair grows (this goes for the rest of the coat too).  The
rubber grooming mit can be used instead of the finger for REALLY stubborn
stuff--but you lose some of the sensitivity you have in your fingers.
HOwever, if I have been even marginally diligent in my regular coat care
(down to the feet), then there won't be any really stubborn stuff, the
dirt and sweat come off quite easily.

I can remember a few years ago at the Outlaw Trail one of the vets (at the
post ride exam) saying, 'You must brush the snot out of this horse."  You
can feel a clean, well oiled coat...and yes, you can feel it all the way
down to it's feet.  And just last night a client of mine was out for a
riding lesson (we gone done after dark).  Her words were, "He even shines
in the dark."  You can see a clean, well oiled coat...and yes, you can see
it in the dark, and you can see it all the way down to the feet.

Coat conditioners such as Showsheen (which contain silicone--and I can
feel that stuff too) should be avoided, since they give the appearance of
a clean, well oiled coat without actually having one--although, it may be
that Showsheed around the fetlocks might  have the added benefit of
protecting against scratches as the mud won't stick and that which does
will easily brush off.

kat
Orange County, Calif.

p.s. This also has the side effect, if you care about it, of making it so
those numbers that are written on the horse's butt with a grease crayon
just brush right off too.  Rub them with your fingers across the direction
that the hair grows, and brush them off with a dandy brush.

p.p.s.  I don't know if this makes any difference (but I think it does), I
only use natural fiber brushes:  Tampico, palmyra, and horse hair as a
finishing brush.  At the AERC convention a number of years ago, I remember
Diana Thompson saying, in essence, "never brush your horse with something
that you wouldn't use on yourself."  What she actually said was to test it
out on your own face before you start brushing your horse's face with it.





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