This message is from: John Bolinski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Marsha and list,
RE: sheath cleaning. When I first got Kilar, his sheath was the
nastiest, greasiest I have ever seen. I had to clean him continuously. He
never objects, but... At any rate, this summer I noticed that he does not
require any more frequent cleaning than my other geldings and is much easier
(not so gunky) to clean. I wonder what the difference could be? I just
wish I could get him to drop for regular cleaning like my QH and Arab.
Whenever he sees me prepare the sponges and cleaner he gets bashful. The
other horses all have the slightly waxy or dry type of mess. By the way, I
have never had a gelding who objected to cleaning. Past messages about
having the vet clean and needing to tranq' came as a suprise.
I also use the doggy brush on Kilar and Wee Willy. They get such long
coats in winter that it is practically the only thing to touch the tangles.
You just need to watch the horse to be sure you are not scratching too
hard. I do Kilar's tail with it year-round because it seems to pull out the
tangles better than the rubber brush or the steel mane/tail combs and
doesn't break the hair as badly as the steel comb. To 'slick' the tail
hairs and make them easier to brush, I spray on Flysect, the one with the
citronella. It has oils in it and seems to act as a detangler.
Martie
Marsha Jo Hannah wrote:
> This message is from: Marsha Jo Hannah <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
> > Alex Wind <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >
> > what are the parameters for male sheath goo? My Fjord gelding has
> > the consistency of used engine grease on his sheath. It is so copious
> > that it even gets on his inner thighs. The other geldings (POA, Appy,
> > and Welsh cross) all have dry, waxy, flaky stuff which peals or
> > brushes off fairly easily, especially aided by a little Vaseline, or
> > bag balm. Gillyn, the Fjord, is a one-horse grease pit. I feel that
> > baby wipes would come in handy with him. By the way, the suggestion of
> > alcohol was good, [...] That works on his inner legs,
>
> Our two Fjord geldings are very different. Sleepy is a "grease
> pit"---lots of black goo, and he "wipes it off" on his inner thighs;
> he usually gets big "beans" at the tip, too. Rom never gets a bean,
> and mostly has very dry, greyish "crusts" build up between cleanings
> (by the vet, with tranqs and hobbles---he's very "precious" about it).
>
> > Thanks for the tip about WD-40 for de-tangling. [...] two Fjords
> > [...] have such thick tails and they tend to cord up and get stained
> > red, by the red mud around here.
>
> When the subject of WD-40 came up on another list, someone advised
> against it, based on the OSHA cautions for the product. Seems the
> stuff really isn't good to get on skin (like the dock of the tail),
> and the vapor is nasty enough that you should wear a mask when using
> it! (Don't remember the details, just that I decided never to try
> that.)
>
> My favorite grooming tool is a dog brush, called a wire slicker. I
> find that it does a great job on getting mud out of winter-hairy
> Fjords, and I use it on their manes and tails, too. It seems to work
> the cords and "rats nests" out better than a comb, and with less loss
> of hair. (Some loss of hair is unavoidable, and even desirable in my
> book---keeps Sleepy's very thick tail down to a managable size!)
> However, sometimes the mud balls in tails (and fetlock feathers)
> require "cracking" with a pair of pliers, before brushing.
>
> Marsha Jo Hannah Murphy must have been a horseman--
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] anything that can go wrong, will!
> 30 mi SSE of San Francisco, Calif.
> -------
