pony care

[booksinbed]

new to this - please can you kind lot advise me of a basic first aid pony kit and what each product you recomend does.
Also what signs of illness or hoof problems to look out for - i really do know nothing and i need to but dont know were to start and i wnat to take good care of em ...thankyou xxxxx

Buy the Pony Club manual,it really does tell you everything you need to know.

Hi booksinbed, the basics are
Hibiscrub (for anything you want to be sure is clean, it's a good skin disinfectant and you can also use it to scrub smelly hooves. I also use it for sheath cleansing),
purple spray (spray hooves after scrubbing if they are a bit smelly or thrushy),
sudocreme for minor skin injuries
Cotton wool
lint free dressings
Sterile water ampules to wash wounds and also to bathe eyes if flies irritate them
Vetwrap (several rolls)
blunt ended scissors
I like to keep a roll of poultice to hand as well as absecess (sp?) come up really fast.
And a roll of duct tape is invaluable if you need to improvise a hoof boot etc

Get a good equine first aid book (or the Pony Club Manual of Horsemanship is a really good basic reference book). Have you got someone experienced around that you can check things out with? When we got first pony we were on full livery with a very experienced yard owner as I was rusty and I asked some really daft questions. She never minded.

Stay well on top of preventative health care (jabs, worming, dentist, back and tack checks)

The main thing though is to get to know your horses really well, so you know what they feel like when they are well, then you'll know when they aren't right.
So when you bring up from the field or lead the horse look at how they move, any quirks in the gait etc
when you pick out feet feel the whole leg, note the temperature, note how warm the hooves are, smell the frog
When you groom note any lumps or bumps, note any areas they don't like to be touched or are sensitive
Get to know your horses' facial expressions and moods, changes in temperament can be an indication of something wrong.

And don't worry too much, it's like having a new baby in the early stages. I used to wake up in the night worrying about them. Enjoy your horses, the getting to know how they are normally is a lovely part of building your relationship.

purple spray - general purpose antiseptic spray - purple in colour!
udder cream - general purpose cream

both good for small cuts and grazes etc

Hi trebles-and all - many thanks for you advice yet again!!!!!- please can you tell me who does a tack and back check.
.Thanks for saying enjoy yr ponies trebles - it does feel at bit like having a baby !!!!!- i was worried in the night as it was vv heavy rain that her hooves wd get soggy or a n illness in them !!!.ive heard of rain lash and mud fever and need to research what looks like and what to do.my cob has massive feathers and i felt worried i wouldnt be able to look at her legs properly....great tips thanks and will order pony club book.

ps trebles - what do i look out for when smelling frog , sory ask but i just dont know !!! thanks ..

healthy frog should not smell strongly, if it smells like....a bad human toenail/wisdom tooth infection x 1000 ....then that's not healthy.
I think a good first aid kit would be some household salt, some cotton wool, and some tetramycin spray,(purple spray) and some bandages.
also there is a fantastic product called Prize for feathers, rainscald, mud fever, and sweet itch (I am not in their pay)
if your pony has smelly feet, a scrub with warm water and salt is good, and a good squirt of the tetramycin spray

Booksinbed - you do have someone knowlegeable in RL that you can call on for advice and an opinion don't you? Because ime complete novice owners + horses are a recipe for disaster. It is great that you're here asking for advice, but if you really don't think you will spot when your horse is poorly/lame/distressed, perhaps some stable management lessons would be appropriate?

good advice from callisto

Books: Thrush is a potential issue with all the wet weather, and the first sign is that the frog smells, but is also soft. You'll know if you smell it! If you catch it early it's easy to deal with (hibiscrub and purple spray) but if left it causes lameness and can become chronic. The main thing is just to know how your horse looks, feels, smells and acts when well then anything different means that you know when you've possibly got a problem.

For tack checking you need a qualified saddle fitter. You should always have the saddle fitted when you get a horse as it needs to fit horse and rider and may need to be adjusted if you are a different size/weight from the previous rider. You should have it checked anually, or sooner if the horse changes shape significantly (ie gets fit, loses weight etc)

We have the ponies backs done by an equine physio twice a year (at the beginning and end of the show season) The horses who just hack mainly get done once a year. Some people swear by Mctimmoney for backs. Check out who's registered in your area and google/ask around for reviews.

Don't wory too much about your cob's feathers. Mine has loads, lives out all year round and has never had any problems (other than them looking a mess when it's very muddy) but I do keep a careful eye for her stamping etc as that can indicate mites or irritation from other issues and I wash them regularly in hibiscrub to keep them clean.

I also should have put a good hoof dressing on the list. We do all of ours with Kevin Bacon hoof dressing at least once a week, more often if it's very wet or very dry. Do the sole as well as the hoof wall.

When we moved off full livery worming was one of the areas where I felt I needed to learn more so I signed up with Intelligent Worming who do a risk assessment questionaire, poo samples for egg counts and devise a programme which comes through the post as needed. I've learnt loads and I know that the horses are properly protected.

Sorry, going on a bit, got a piece of work I'm putting off so procrastinating in here. Do you have geldings? If so we need to talk about sheath cleaning

trebles - mares only !!!

Everyone seems to have missed Gamgee for first aid kid?
Mine has (it's quite extensive)
Purple spray -
Hibiscrub-
Vet Wrap
Duct Tape
Cotton wool
(bute& sedalin & Anti bac stuff (for mud fever))
Sudo Cream
Iodine
Sissors - dressings - Steri Strips & plasters -
Suringes
Wound power
Arnica Gell
Poultice stuff
Gamgee
Ummmmm.... Now you've got me thinking i'm sure theres other crap in it too
If you go to your local tack shop they usually sell ready made basic first aid boxes.

Always check for lumps and bumps, cuts and swellings on legs, Heat in feet is bad - Smelly feet (thrushy smell) when picked out - you'll know it if you smell it.
A horse kicking it's belly, looking irritated - not a bright as usual - being difficult to catch - or not eating it's food can all be signs of illness.

I'd seriously advise getting some one else to help you spot these things, as it can be really subtle (especially lameness) to a novice.

hi choclotecake please could you tell me what some of the stuff does like the politice powder ,iodine ,vet wrap etc - thanks .

Poltice stuff isn't a powder - it is like a fabric stuff animlintex or something it's called? It's for abcesses and the like, and draws out infection, usually soaked in walm water before use.
Vet wrap is like a self adishive bandage you use over Gamgee or a poultice or dressing.
Iodine is an old fashioned antiseptic/disinfectant. Sort of like TCP for people?

Booksinbed - please get someone who knows what they are doing to administer any first aid that your horses need. You could make things so much worse by doing it yourself. Even just putting a bandage on too tightly can cause major damage and pain to the horse.

Are your horses on a yard where you can easily access the help you will need?

Be careful with purple spray on a grey - it takes years to wash out (well feels liek it!)

anyway Booksinbed hopefully will not need to use bandages, animalintex etc ., until she has signed up for some stable management classes or received some other kind of advice. Do it booksinbed, or your pony might suffer unintentionally.

thanks all - yes we have someone on site to ask it s just that i need indicators of when to ask for advice rather than be not knowing when to potenyially ask for help ....thanks so much x

Hi back again asking for help !!!
Have bought lovelly cob - she just the right height for me and laid back,,,a few issues- bearing in mind in not a good rider - just love ponys .......self taught as child - struggle to pay for lessons as dd has pony too - dd giving me lessons does not really work !!!! upsets the mother daughter balance lets say !!!!!

1.she seems to be younger than passport according to vet- it says 8 vet says 6 to 7- and not v schooled.In the school she will trot when i ask and also start to canter but then slows down onthe stairgt bit of the school and for love nor money will not pick up canter again until the next corner.we took her back to th e place she stopped cantering x a million y day and she just would not - exept for my experienced dd who she did it for.i did same leg aids etc as she did but to no avail. when i used leg no avail - used whip - a little buck - what does that mean...!!!
2 hacks - we hack out with larger ponies and she gets left behind- every so often she "jogs "to keep up wether i ask her to or not .i ask for walk but she jogs until caught up....what to do......

3 hacks again - she follows the leader- today she was in rush to follow and cantered down a steep grass verge to catch up - i nearly wnt over shouders in mid air.

4 in a nut shell in school she is really good in downward transition and listens .Exept for corners were she speeds to trot and anticipates canter aid.When out on hacks she will not stop - i have circled her and that has worked a couple times from trot to walk but in canter - not happening!!!!she will just match speed of horse in frount. help !!

I want to enjoy her - im nearly 50 and am mainly happy hacker but i dont want her to be the boss - whats worth letting go and whats not -and any tips how to ride this lovley cob !!!!!!!thankyou xxx

Get yourself some professional help from an instructor before you get hurt. Sorry to be so blunt but the internet cannot help you learn how to ride a horse and you sound like you have potentially put yourself in a very dangerous position (i.e. total novice owner, young horse, no help).

shocked by this thread. How can you take on a horse without knowing even just the fundamentals? I wouldn't take on a cat without having some idea of how to care for it.
You learn before you get the horse. Simples.

I'd echo the other posters.Get advice and lessons before something goes badly wrong.All horses and ponies will test their new owners out to see what they can get away with and if not corrected will escalate to worse behaviour.Even the nicest pony will push their luck to see how far they can push you.

The bucking when smacked sounds like a protest to me-dpony cow kicks when smacked,which we just laugh at and ignore now.When you bought the pony did you ask what her reaction to whips was? Some can't deal with them at all.

As other posters have said get advice and lessons. From your posts you sound like you need it you wont get it from the internet.

Have pm'd you with some more detailed suggestions. I say hours in the school at walk, roadwork to sort out hacking, and prioritise your lessons over dd's.