Firm favourites all over the world gypsy cobs and draught horses come in all sizes and with varying amount of feather and other body hair. Many people new to cob ownership may be unaware of the few simple steps to keep the skin and hair in perfect condition so here are our top tips for common issues. Generally we bath our horses too often, grooming the skin and coat appropriately seems to be a forgotten art.
The main advice we give is NEVER use Hibiscrub on your horse or ponies skin – its too acidic, makes skin pours and prolongs return to healthy skin with the correct pH.
Mites:
Many cobs have problems with grass mites from time to time – the mites like to live on the layers of skin under the hair & feather and these critters can cause irritation from stamping, to rubbing, biting and scratching with another leg to relieve the itching – oiling the legs and feather on a regular basis – 2-3 times a week kills the newly hatched mites and the adults, conditions the feather and keeps stains away from white hair. Our oil can be used on any part of the horse’s coat, mane or tail. Once your horse has mites you need to thoroughly disinfect grooming brushes, rugs and replace bedding. Obviously mites are more prevalent in straw bedding and will quickly reinfect your horse. We recommend spraying rugs and bedding with a products like TriTec 14 from Farnam.
Clipping feather to treat mites:
Many owners find it easier to clip the feather to apply oil to the legs to kill the mites. Some horses become very sensitive to the clippers snagging through the hair if the skin is scabby or thickened – Using our Coat Clipping Oil on the feather prior to clipping will help the blades glide through the hair without pulling and causing pain. The Coat Clipping oil is a lighter oil than our Oil2Horse brand but will help suffocate the mites too.
Mallenders and Sallenders ( Cob knee or thickened skin):
This usually presents as a scale or slightly thickened area of skin often mistaken for mud fever. It’s usually found behind the knees on the front legs ( cob knee) or on the front of the hind legs. It’s thought to be caused by an over production of keratin, sugars in the grass or feed or where mites have been burrowing for a while undisturbed . Oiling the skin regularly will suppress the over production of keratin however for really stubborn scaling we recommend the semi solid version of our oil, Mighty Jel . Used daily to lift the scabby areas and twice weekly on a maintenance basis the skin should stay clear.
Mallenders & Sallenders cannot be completely cured but can be successfully managed.
CPL ( Chronic Progressive Lymphoma)
CPL is when the skin on the legs becomes swollen and stretched until folds and ridges form. There is no cure for this , it’s extremely painful and no proper research has been done on CPL although there are many subjective observations on remedies. IF MITES ARE LEFT ON THE SKIN AND NOT TREATED THERE IS A HIGH POSSIBILITY THAT CPL WILL DEVELOP.
Manes:
To encourage long healthy manes to grow the skin on the top of the neck needs to be healthy. Oiling in-between the hair of the mane and keeping the area clear of dandruff is a first step. Many owners make the mistake of over washing the skin on horses which has a much more alkaline pH than human skin. The pH can be easily disturbed and this will lead to scurfy, dry skin that isn’t conducive to a healthy mane. We oil our horse’s manes, or use the Mighty Jel at least once a week to stop splitting and breaking, prevent knotting and avoid staining. Loosely plaiting the mane into a few plaits also prevents knotting and keeps the horse cooler in the summer. Oiling the mane in the winter can also prevent rugs rubbing hair out at the roots, stops the hair splitting and more importantly prevents mud sticking!