WB sent this in on just plain horse sense and it struck a chord with me:
“Wow! I learned a long time ago that my relationship with my horse determines everything about my horses behaviors. Without clear communication or connection nothing good can happen. I have never had to strike a horse, in almost 30 years of time spent with them.
If a horse doesn’t do what I’ve asked, there are 3 considerations: Does the horse know what I’m asking? (Caused by a lack of consistency in asking or lack of teaching). Does the horse have a logical reason to do what I’ve asked? (Connected to an awareness of purpose and trust in the relationship) Does the horse respect me enough to do what I’ve asked, to trust me? (Gained by clear, consistent boundaries and time spent in positive sharing of space).
Most of the issues I read here are related to a lack of horse sense. Horses naturally yield to pressure. I can push on a horse from across a pasture with no physical aids. I can call them to me and move them to another location – from the back pasture to the front pasture and vis-a-versa. I’ve engaged with horses who have been poorly handled by people the likes of have posted. They have no trust and often little interest in humans. And with good reason.
If a horse doesn’t do what I ask or expect I am the problem. Horses are horses. They act like horses, not humans. They reflect back their handling. Horses handled with clear boundaries, clear communication, and respect, offer back the same behavior.
WB”
Horse sense
“Please help ! my pal has “blanket burn”, a large patch of hair off on his front withers,caused by rubbing of his winter blanket, sewn in an extra silk lining, tried ointments & creams. Looks horrid, with large almost saucer size patch with no hair…anyone a solution?
Annette”
Horse sense
“I have taught my horse from the beginning about manners at feeding time. It takes time so be patient. Before I pour the food in his bucket, I make him step back 2steps before I pour it in. I started by teaching him to back up by putting my hand on his chest and Making him back up either by using a halter and holding on with one hand and I used my finger with the other until he did it by himself by you just putting your finger on his chest and say back.
Now when my horse gets too close all I have to do is hold the food over the bucket like I’m going to pour it and give him a look like step back and he moves back and puts his head down. It takes a few times but you will be amazed what he will do for his food. Good luck.
Debbie”
Horse sense
“About 8 months ago I purchased a rescue/project horse that had a history of abuse. After having him for 3 months and hand feeding him, sitting with him in the corral and lots of grooming I still hadn’t made much progress with his trust issues.
Then one day he got out of the pasture and I found him at a neighbors house up the road. It was a freezing and very windy day and he would not go into the horse trailer so I had to walk him home which was 2 miles. That was the break through I was looking for!!! After that he warmed up to me and we have made a lot of progress. He’s a sweetheart. Try walking your horses. It worked for me
Brenda”
“Hi, I have a pony that is fine being ridden with other horses, but when she’s being ridden by herself she backs-up without me asking and tries to canter home. I pull back on the reins and tell her to ‘Woah’ and that stalls her for a little while and when she does listen to me I praise her. Any suggestions??
Maddi”
Horse sense
“The only stupid questions, are the ones we fail to ask! Yes, you can ride any horse bareback. Think it’s important for all riders to learn to ride bareback, if not begin riding this way. Just begin with your horse in a stall maybe and get on him and see how he feels under you.
I’ve never known any horse, one couldn’t ride bareback. I’ve ridden all my performance horses bareback at some point in time, from Jumpers, to Cutting Horses, and all were fine without a saddle on them. Good Luck and Happy Trails!
Trash”
“I diluted Skin so Soft with water and added about a teaspoon of Tea Tree Oil to the solution if it made enough to fill a normal size spray bottle. I always used the solution on a small area that was minimal hair to see if each horse was sensitive to it. Later last year I ordered a small bottle of Citronella that was used to cover a wicking material made collar for repelling fleas, flies and gnats from dogs.
I added prescribed drops for collars to my Skin So Soft horse fly solution and applied it to a small area to look for skin sensitivities. My horses had beautiful coats, minimal flies and a wonderful Melalucca/Citronella plant smell.
Candice”
“My daughter got a pony when she was four years that had never been handled except when he was forced to wear a halter for the first at a county fair. The poor baby reared up and jerked so hard that he fell over backwards and scraped his legs. When they delivered the poor guy to our field he was uncatchable. I had her take a bucket of feed and a milk crate out and just sit there. She kept talking to him and would throw a handful of feed out. His curious nature got the best of him. Now she can’t go out there without him being underfoot. Take it slow and easy. But don’t leave a halter on him unless you are 100{e7330e343a2ca9555f0bdc9ba7ebcb5adce3c949adb1b7ed0e5675b1497ccd37} sure it can’t get Hung and hurt himself. Good luck and happy trails.
Barb”
Horse sense
“Garlic is a valid blood purifier sold by many animal and human companies that has no anticoagulation (blood thinner) qualities about it. People have used it for years on them and their animals. Powdered form goes in feed and produces a quality of sweat that deters flies and mosquitos. I have never had a beast get anemic from dosing them with garlic or brewers yeast. years ago my mom put cider vinegar in the horses water and it made the sweat acidic which the flies and mosquitos found unattractive.
Candice”
Horse sense
“Regarding the horse that pulls back when tied. He does that because he is claustrophobic, and when he uplls back and hits the end of the rope it throws him into a panic to get away. The secret is to teach him that he wont need to hit the end of the rope. The easiest way is to buy a Horse CLIP available online.
You hang it from a ring, and tie him to the clip. You can set it for therr different tightnesses or resistant levels. When he pulls back, the rope plays out, and he just tires himself out fighting it. use a long leaad rope- 12 ft or more. It wont take long for him to learn that it does not good to pull back and simply quits. Yu’ll need to control the rope as he ulls on it- you can hold the horse with just two fingers.
I alway let him do it himself a couple of times, and afther that I initiate the pull: spook him and make him pull back. It wont take long, but if he’s an older horse, you’ll need to go through it once in a while until pulling back is a thing of the past. Best to you!
Ron”
That’s all this time folks. Please do leave a comment below if you can add ot the horse sense comments.
Don’t forget there are hundreds of posts like this on the blog, but the only way you can see them all is to jump on to the newsletter.
Please keep ’em coming.
Best
My TWH throws his head way up, backs up and circles to get back to the barn. Any solutions? Thought about a running martingale.
💡 About the hair/blanket burn thing… Try nu-stock? It is great stuff and works on almost anything.
I use a silk on my mare, you put it over the head and it sits on the wither with a wider patch covering the shoulders, and is secured by a loop which is fed through the chest strap.
Annette, we also had problems with rugs rubbing, another make of rug (same size but different cut) stopped the rubbing for us – we checked out other people with similar shaped horses for preferred choice.
Good tips! Especially like the garlic & the walking the horse. What the heck, they are all good!
Annette,
Mix coconut oil with a few dropps of mellaleuca essentiaal oil ( tea tree oil). This has a healing & moisture element. This will stop the area from redness, sore & promot healing..thus new hair growth. Hope this helps.
Val
Annette,
Your pal’s blanket burn sounds like from an Ill-fitted blanket or one too heavy. Check to see if you need to refit the blanket or get a new one.
Have you tried organic coconut oil to help heal the rub burn? I would rub that in and leave the blanket off for a few days. Look up the benefits of Coconut oil-it is a Natural antimicrobial.
Wishing you success and hope more here comment with other tips.
Thank you thank you! will do it now! xx
😉
The clip Ron mentioned sounds like an excellent method to teach a horse to tie with less danger of pulling back. What do they look like and can we purchase one maybe at a farm or saddler shop? We live in N.W. Oregon, U.S.A. We prefer not to purchase items over the internet and we also like to see and handle products before we buy. We are so glad to see this site back and operational again!
Candice:
Would you be kind enough to list the exact amount of ingredients you use to make your fly spray (ie…how much Skin-so-soft and how much water, the size of your spray bottle etc.) as well as the specific brands you use. My non-horse friends use Melalucca products all the time and they are always trying to get me to use them, but I didn’t really think about using any of their products on my horses. Thanks!
re Rug rubbing, bought my awkwardly shaped cob a lycra “vest” that you put under the rug. It protects chest and wothers from rubbing and works a treat. 😛
My mare has a wart on her nose. how can I treat?
My mare wets/pees here pen excessively; she does drink quite a bit of water though; should I be concerned or just add more shavings?
Annette:
MTG will regrow hair. It is amazing. Just smells like bacon grease. You can buy at most tack stores or Fleet&Farm, Farm&Fleet.
Lisa
I was told that if you put a cup of apple cider vinegar in a horses water tank, if will help with the flies like you said and also prevent algae. I haven’t tried it, but next week when I scrub out the water tank and refill it I’m going to try it and I’ll let you all know how it works.
I just added apple cider vinegar to my horses’ water buckets for the first time. I read on this site that it could discourage algae growth (I use muck buckets for water in their stalls) and mosquitos won’t breed in it. If it keeps the flies/mosquitos off, too, what a bonus!!!
Hi. My horse has an insect bite of some kind on his rear end, between his hind legs. It’s too far back for him to reach the spot, which is how I discovered it. Apparently, it is VERY itchy because he kept trying different postures to get to it! I scratched the welt gently for a while, and then dabbed a little alcohol on it, but Is there some remedy out there for itching that’s safe to use on horses? (The alcohol seemed to soothe it somewhat, but is there something else I should use?). Thanks.
Try apple cider vinegar! It was recommended to stop the itch of mosquitoes.
I would leave the blanket off . Imagine wearing clothing that rubs you till it makes a sore it would really really hurt! i tried 3 differnt blankets till i found one that fitted as my horse has a big wither and chest. Always check by putting a finger in the chest part and under the rug where there wither is while the horses head is down grazing to see if it fits. Most places will exchange the rug if you kept it clean trying it on with a bed sheet or cooton blanket underneath 😉
I was so injured last year that I was forbidden to ride for 3 months. I’d broken my back in 4 places. After two weeks, I started hand walking my horse, working up each day. I wore a neck brace and a lumbar brace. Everyone thought I was nuts. At first, my boy would turn and put his head in the corner; he saw and smelled these things on me. But we walked together, and I healed. That time spent with him on the ground taught me so much! I’m all better now, but I still walk with him once every week or so. It’s a different kind of bond that develops when you’re with, not on, your horse. I’ll never give it up!
Annette,
Have you tried using a satin bib under your horse’s rug? My 2 horses wear a satin bib 24/7 under their rugs and have never had a “rug burn” or hair loss on their shoulders. Worth a try.
My pony had that as well and I used Coconut oil and a aloe soother. Worked very well.
I use diatomaceous earth. I feed it to the horses with their grain (about a tap). If there is any standing manure, I sprinkle it with DE. I also drag my pastures with a harrow on a regular basis and the flies don’t have habitat to lay their eggs.
Regarding the hair loss. I’ve used sulphur and rosemary cream on all cuts and scrapes as it helps to clear up the wound and encourages hair regrowth. I’ve been using this for almost a year now and think it’s great
Anyone had experience with the rare eye disease called, Uveitis, that affects horses? My horse has it and it has already caused blindness in the affected eye. I’m looking for anyone who has experienced this with a horse so maybe I can get some first hand information and advice. Thanks so much.
I also found a recipe with skin so soft. 6 caps of SSS 4oz vinegar, squirt of dish liquid, fill 32oz bottle the rest of the way with water. Works good but when they roll in dirt, it really sticks to them…. but at least she doesn’t have bug bites all over.
I have a walking horse who tends to get blanket burn. First I should recommend a blanket with gaussets, they are pleats near the front legs, the further front on the blanket the better! You may want to try either Bannix or Vetercyn, they both aid in growing the hair and in healing the skin. Good luck!
I really enjoy the information and comments. I have been looking for a horsey community online. I can’t wait for the next email. Thanks
Get rid of the darn blanket! People want them, horses don’t! They can damage the nerves on their neck, shoulders and back. SEE: ‘Suffering in Silence’ by Jochen Schleese, certified master saddler & saddle ergenomist.
Use diatomaceous hearth and springle it on mounds of poop and it will kill the eggs before they hatch, thus eliminating the flies. A clean place rarely has lots of flies.
I’m so glad you up and running. I have a 7 year Quarter Horse mare, my first horse, purchased at age 68. I’m finding your tips and suggestions, stories and advice very helpful.
i have a mare and a colt. I really want pumkin [my mare] to stop annoying me when i call for her. Tricks [my colt] is a stubbern warmblood. anything i tell him to do he wont budge