What to do about Greasy Heel

Had a few requests for info on Greasy Heel as well due to our bad weather. So here it is :

GREASY HEEL is caused by the same bacteria as Rain Scald. As most horse owners know a horse with white socks is more prone to developing chronic greasy heal.

The bacteria burrow into the skin which causes a greasy discharge which mats the hair. The inflamed skin dries out, cracks and can cause discomfort and even lameness.

In horses with white socks the skin reaction is usually more severe due to the lack of pigment and subsequent exposure to UV light. 

Click link below to download
fact sheet

WHAT CAN YOU DO

• Gently scrub off the grease and scabs with a warm solution of a mild soap eg. Sunlight Soap using a soft brush. You must do a thorough job. Pat dry and apply a weak iodine solution such as Betadine twice daily until any broken skin is healed.

• Each morning apply a thin coating of Zinc Cream. It will protect from the sun and repel moisture.

• Another solution is to smother the area in a mix of Vaseline (petroleum jelly) mixed with 1/3rd Filtabac - the antibacterial sunscreen available from vets and saddleries. This softens the scabs overnight allowing you to gently rub them off. Then cover the area with Filtabac to heal and protect the skin.

• If possible keep the horse in a dry area away from mud. If a severe case occurs contact your vet as you may need more powerful treatment.


Click here to download Greasy Heel Fact Sheet http://issuu.com/goldcoasthorse/docs/1_greasy_heel/1

What To Do About Rain Scald

Today we are talking about the condition known as Rain Scald as we have had quite a lot of rain in our area recently and I suspect some horses may be suffering from it by now.

RAIN SCALD   is caused by a naturally occurring skin bacteria that grows out of control.

The bacteria (Dermatophilus) flourishes in moist damp conditions which can occur quite often on The Gold Coast and in other regions of high rain fall. The growth of the bacteria causes a waxy crust to develop on the skin which mats the hairs together and patches of it can fall out leaving pink damaged skin underneath. It usually occurs on the head and neck, back and rump but can also be found in other places. There is usually no itchiness or  secondary infection, but in some cases there may be. Further complications can occur if secondary infection is present so in this case it would be best to contact your vet for advice on treatment.

Click link below to download
this Fact Sheet

WHAT CAN YOU DO

• Clean off the flaky skin and hair thoroughly and then bathe the area in an

Iodine solution such as Betadine. You may need to do this for several days for the condition to clear up, but don’t worry the hair will grow back.

• Try and keep the horse dry as the condition flourishes in damp conditions, so horses left in wet muddy paddocks and especially in wet rugs, during spring

and summer rains are most at risk.

• You may need to contact your vet if it has a severe condition or if there is swelling involved. Sometimes it may be difficult to ascertain whether the condition is Rain Scald or Queensland Itch as the two conditions are difficult to tell apart. Rain Scald does not usually cause itching but contact your vet if you are unsure as the correct treatment is imperative.

Rain Scald Fact Sheet -http://issuu.com/goldcoasthorse/docs/2_rain_scald

Easy Manure Management for Small Farms

One horse needs about 1.2 hectares

If you are lucky enough to have a large land holding which has a stocking rate of around 1 horse for every 1.2 hectares you wont have to manage the manure as it will manage itself. You probably wont even have to feed your horse very much, if at all, providing you have a good pasture cover. But these days as land has become more scarce we have less and less of it for our horses and so we overstock it because we have no choice. This leads to all sorts of issues and one of the biggest problems is managing manure.

As everyone knows excess horse manure in your paddocks can be a real problem. It reduces the area available for grazing, it provides a perfect habitat for flies to breed, it contains worms and worm eggs which can be passed on from horse to horse, it can contaminate waterways and dams and it reduces the aesthetic appeal of your paddocks.

Compost is great for the garden

Ross Mckinnon, Gardening Guru says composted horse manure is a little milder than cow or chicken manure but still very good. If it contains urine also it makes a magnificent organic fertilizer to turn into a liquid fertilizer, because it can contain up to 18 per cent nitrogen, 4.5 per cent phosphorous and 13.2 per cent potassium _ all elements needed for vigorous root systems, flower-set and fruiting. Manure can also be used to even out uneven land by filling up holes with it, it can be used as a weed suppressing mulch and can be spread to cover bare patches of earth to help them recover lost pasture.

HARROWING AND SLASHING:

In larger paddocks that are being grazed rotationally, slashing and harrowing may be enough to keep manure under control.

Harrowing breaks up the clods and makes them break down into the soil much more easily. Once your horses have eaten your grass down to 5cm. It’s time to move them on to the next paddock, mow the resting paddock to and even length, and then harrow.
You don’t even need to go out and buy a harrow, you can use something as simple as a piece of old cyclone mesh fencing or and old gate dragged behind a vehicle.

COMPOSTING:


Lots of people, with all good intentions, try composting horse manure and don’t have any luck, though it is easy though. There are just a few crucial things you need to do and you will be sure to have lovely compost for your gardens, or to spread back on your paddocks to replenish nutrients for the grass.

The first thing you need to do is choose the location to compost. You will want somewhere that is easy to access for both adding manure to the compost and for taking the composted material away, where the chance of any odours reaching yours or your neighbours houses are minimized ie. not somewhere where the prevailing winds will blow passed the compost and into your kitchen, it will need to be in the sun and you will need to be able to get water to it if need be.  Recently, at a presentation, someone asked me what to do if they couldn't get a hose to their compost heap or if they were on tank water. The answer to this is to think about putting in a tank just for your compost heap. It doesn't need to be big. There are lots of small tanks available these days. Perhaps you could catch runoff from a shed or other outbuilding.

You will also want to make sure that runoff from storm water runoff won't carry your compost away through overland flow to the nearest creek or neighbours  pool.

You will need to work out how much space to set aside for your composting operation. If it’s just for one or two horses a corner of the paddock will do nicely and you don’t even have to make a formal structure for it you can just pile it up in a few square metres.

If you have more horses and a larger operation you may want to build yourself some more formalized composting bays, but they still don’t need to be too complicated.

A shovel and barrow will be required

Once you have decided where to put your compost the rest is simple.

Here is my tried and true easy composting method.

1. Be patient : The poo pile needs to get very BIG before it will generate enough heat to begin the composting process. It needs to be around 2 metres across at least and about 1.2 metres high.

2. It needs to be in the SUN. A shady pile will take the rest of your life to compost.

3. It needs to be DAMP. When I say damp, I mean that if you put a pair of gloves on, pick up a handful and squeeze it, it will stay together. Not too wet though, not mushy and oozing water, just enough dampness to stay together. This means that in our climate sometimes in the heat of summer, the poo will dry out before it has a chance to start composting, so you might need to give it a bit of a hose now and then to dampen it (of course abide by any water restrictions and wait for rain if you have to). If you don't have a hose that can reach it you may need to think about building it where you can also incorporate a small rainwater tank. These are readily available at hardware stores.

The pile needs to get big before it will begin composting

4. Some people like to build elaborate structures for their compost heap, but you don’t really need one. The ground will do fine. Just as long as it isn’t in a spot where it will float off to the nearest creek or into the neighbours dam (or pool) at the first heavy rain. I have even composted in a deep depression in a paddock to fill it up and make it even with the surrounding ground which put a smile on the farm managers face when he realized he didn’t have to avoid it with his tractor any more. If you do want something more permanent here is a link to a really simple design made from old pallets : http://smallfootprints.com.au/blogs/garden-blog/default.aspx

5. You should think about locating it where it is easy for you to get at with a wheel barrow or trailer (for when it is ready).

6. Don’t worry about flies. Flies don’t like the compost heap. It gets too hot for them. My horses spent all last summer standing right next to ours because it was the only place that didn’t have flies. You can cover it with a tarp if it bothers you.

7. Once your compost heap is happening it will get so hot, it will kill all the weed seeds, so don’t worry about them either.

8. Compost heaps need to be tossed around a bit to keep fresh air getting in too. The easiest way I find to do this is every time I take a barrow to the heap I dig it over a bit before I throw the next load on. Before you know it there will be worms in there.  I have found ’build it and they will come’.

Lots more Sustainable Horsekeeping information, including some great free booklets, can be found here : GOLD COAST HORSE

Saddle Fitting with Peter Horobin

Recently we were chatting on Facebook about saddle fitting. There were lots of questions and lots of confusion so when I was offered the chance to go to a saddle fitting appointment a friend had made with Peter Horobin, I jumped at the chance.

Peter Horobin is a saddle maker who first started his leather apprenticeship at Passier & Son in Germany when he was 15 years old. Moving to Australia in 1985 he started his own saddlery business manufacturing race saddles and exercise saddles which has been built up today into a thriving business. Peter has worked with many hugely successful equestrians including the likes of Brett Parbury and Heike Kemmer.

The first thing that strikes you about Peter and his wife, Julie is how down to earth they are. They are incredibly warm people. The kind of people you feel like you have known for years on first meeting. In short you feel very comfortable with them.



My friend, Ruth had brought her horse, Charlie, along for a saddle fit. She brought two rather worn old saddles with her to be checked, neither of which were Horobin made saddles, but refreshingly, that did not concern Peter at all. He went about the task of checking the fit of the saddles with the same care and attention to detail that he had given to the previous client with her custom made Horobin saddle.

(Her saddle had needed some adjusting and Peter was fully equipped to do it on the spot with all the tools he needed and wool stuffing).

Next it was Charlies' turn. In Peters' words Charlie is a difficult horse to fit. He has a very high wither and a very long wither and also a prominent backbone.

Peter explained in detail how a saddle was meant to fit. The details of which came as a surprise to all of us. We had had saddle fits done before where only the wither had been measured for gullet size and that was all we expected. However, Peter had a gauge with him that measured the entire fit of the saddle from the gullet right through to the back of the saddle. When you see it , it makes total sense. How could a saddle be deemed to fit from only a wither measurement? There's a lot more involved in a horses back than just the withers. Peter also carefully explained the movement of a horses shoulder and how that contributes to how the saddle sits and fits. Too tight and it will pinch, too loose and it will slump down putting pressure on the top of the wither.

The saddles Ruth brought along for Charlie both appeared to sit in a balanced way, but on closer inspection both had their problems.

One of the saddles, although it appeared to sit perfectly balanced was bridging as can be seen in the image below.

The second saddle, again appeared well balanced but was sitting too low on the wither. Of the two it was decided that it was the better fit but would need a reasonably thick saddle blanket to lift it. That brought an interesting question about saddle blankets up which was, if a saddle fits would a thick saddle blanket underneath it interfere with the fit? And the answer was an emphatic 'yes'. As it turns out saddle blankets were invented to protect the saddle from the horse, but somehow over time we have become accustomed to using them to try to improve the fit of an ill fitting saddle. Peter believes that if the saddle fits properly all you should really need under it is a thin, absorbent saddle blanket.

We discovered quite a few other interesting pieces of information too. Charlies' saddles were both stuffed with rubber! This was a material used some time ago in quite a number of saddles (including Bates) and it is not really possible to restuff them. Another thing was that a saddle fit for an off the rack saddle will usually only measure for gullet size. This can really only give an approximation of the fit. So in essence you could very well have a saddle off the rack that has been fitted to your horse which doesn't fit at all! They just cant make enough sizes for all the different shapes and sizes of horse.

Probably the most worrying thing we discovered was that many saddles cannot be altered. Even some very expensive, very beautiful saddles, due to their construction can't have gullets changed, or be restuffed. It's worrying because people often shop for saddles online now and get them shipped in from overseas. Imagine how distressed you would be if your new European saddle turned out not to fit and you found out you couldn't do anything about it!

The main thing I think we all came away with though was that saddle fitting is not something you could just pick up in a weekend course as many try to do. It is highly technical and requires a great deal of knowledge. And given that, it seems pretty silly to have a saddle fit done by someone who is not a saddle maker. If an off the rack saddle doesn't fit your horse, you'll either need to have it altered or get a custom saddle made, so you're better off just starting with a saddle maker in the first place.

The following video shows a little of what you can expect from a saddle fitting with Peter. It is by no means comprehensive and I urge you all if you get the chance take your horse along to him for a fitting. You wont regret it. He is a true professional in every sense of the word.

 

Peter Horobin regularly travels throughout Australia and internationally and can be engaged for lectures and demonstrations. More information can be found on his website :http://www.horobin.com.au/

ABOUT YOU

What's this blog all about?
It's about you. It's about how you can look after your horse and your horse property in a sustainable way. It's about making sure your property is managed with forethought and care, so it will not only serve your horses well, but it will be gentle to the environment and help maintain it for generations to come.

It's about looking after your horse so it will remain healthy for you to enjoy.

Sustainability has become a bit of a cliche over the years. It even sounds a bit boring. I know many people switch off the minute they hear it. But you know what? It is actually very interesting and knowledge of it can help save you money too.

So we are going to look at it. All aspects of it here. We aren't going to follow any set plan. We'll just let it unfold as we go. So feel free to join me on this journey. It's going to be fun and above all will help you get all the info you need to make informed decisions about your horsekeeping.