Today in the Garden

Rosie's Beauty (rain scald) Treatment

After all the wet weather we had 3 out of our 5 horses have suffered from rain scald. The worst affected being Rocky our big TB, he has it worse than the others because he also suffers from Anhydrosis which means that he already doesn't sweat very well. Rosie had a lot of it, but her's pretty much just fell off. And then poor old Midnight had a few good patches, mostly because she has a thicker coat than the rest of them & the water would have just sat there.

Rain scald is a fungal / bacterial infection that is caused by being wet for long periods of time. It is highly contagious & you must not use any riding or grooming equipment on the other horses. Some horse are more prone to it than others. There are many methods of treatment, but ideally prevention is best. If you are able to keep the horses dry by either putting under a shelter or water proof rugs, this is the best prevention. You can also increase the copper in their diets. 

This year to treat the horses we have purchased products from a company called Heritage Downs. They produce shampoos & creams that are sulphate free & made from natural ingredients. We have tried the sulphate free shampoo & then the Greasy heel cream. We had to wash each affected horse with the shampoo, leaving the shampoo to soak for approx 15 minutes before rinsing off. Then pat dry with a towel.

After this apply the Greasy heel cream to the affected areas. It was strange stuff, the smell of it reminded my friend and I off take-away chips the next day or 4 day old fried rice. I actually left the container in the car for a few days & had to take it out, smelt like I had rotten meat in their! Believe me NOT good when you are a vegan..lol...

After you have spread the goop on, (as I call it) you plastic wrap the area & leave for a further 15 minutes. The theory is that when you remove the wrap the scabs will be easy to remove without hurting them.

Here' a pic of Rosie in having her "Beauty Treatment" She was very patient...

After this we washed her & gave her a good scrub with the brush & the scabs pretty much fell off. Rocky's treatment has taken a lot longer. It has now been 10 days since we stated treatment, I have been washing him every 2-3 day (weather dependant) & covering the affected areas after each wash with the goop. This morning I gave him a really good scrub & the scabs are starting to come off easily. Throughout the whole time there has been no sign of infection, which is great. Last year we had a lot of trouble with infection. That's why it is important to remove the scabs, as they can get a very nasty infection underneath where the scab is sitting.

Rosie just needs to grow her hair back now & you will never know she had it. I can highly recommend the Heritage downs products, they smell devine - other than the greasy heel cream, safe to use & compared to other medicated products comparable on price. http://www.heritagedowns.com.au/

Still raining

The rain seems never ending....
We are supposed to be living in the Sunshine State of Australia but you wouldn't know it at the moment. It's been a good week now since it started to rain, and they are still forecasting more. Inland the rural areas are having some of the worst flooding as the rain is compounded by the rivers bringing even more water down with them. Roma is being hit particularly hard. http://alturl.com/rofy
The rain was welcome & there are still a lot of rural areas that are being affected by drought across Australia, but unfortunately this has brought to much rain to some areas & will be leaving a massive clean up bill.
Luckily for us we live in a suburban area that the flooding has affected. We have a little bit of soggy carpet downstairs - got to love that wet carpet smell. Our horses are looking sad as they have been in the muddy ground for a while now. Just hoping for everyone's sake that the forecast for the weekend is wrong & we will get some fine weather.

The economic downturn in America & its horses

An interesting article of the fate of horses in America since the economic downturn. There will be a seriesof articles to follow that speak to the volunteer rescuers that no one hears about. These people save one horse at a time out of the kindness of their hearts & their own money.

http://alturl.com/kskv

Help Protect Mutton Bird Chicks

Help Protect Mutton Bird Chicks

Bramble Bay Open Sports Day

On Sunday 3 of us from Albany Creek Pony club went to the Bramble Bay Open Sports day. We took Rosie, Galaxy & Angel. It was Rosie's first time at such an event so I was a bit nervous, she had been to a couple of musters with no trouble at all, but this was larger scale with approx 60 -80 horses there.
The weather in the morning wasn't great & we hoped that the rain would hold off as we were all looking forward to going. Thankfully by the time (6.30am) we arrived at the paddock the clouds were clearing & we were now in for a hot humid day.
Rosie who had been clean the day before had mud all over the show, even with her rug on. So it took me a good half hour of brushing to get her respectable again.
Narelle from BBay club kindly cam down with their float & picked up Galaxy so my good friend Cath didn't have to make 2 trips with the float. Cath wasn't riding today she had offered to judge at the event seeing as she is an instructor & then in return we know that they will help us out at our next event. It's great, the small clubs working together.
Well we arrived safe & sound. For the first time Rosie hadn't pooed in the float but promptly dumped one when she was unloaded. Less mess in the float anyway. She was a bit excited to see all the other horses, but settled down pretty quickly.
We had about half an hour to register & saddle up, & have a gear check. We are now putting sports boots on her back & front plus bell boots on the back to protect her hoof from when she injured it about a month ago. With the sporting events there were a number that involved poles so we didn't want her to hurt herself again.

Here we are at gear check. That's Rosie & I on the right, the chestnut & I am dressed in navy blue with a black helmet.

After we had all been through gear checked we met up again to wait until we were told where to go. By now Rosie was as calm as could be, not worried at all by the other horses, makes it great to take her out.

Here's the 3 of us. From left to right. 

Rosie & I, Galaxy & Jen, Angel & Sarah

We all had a great day, I was wrapped to win 5 ribbons, 

Diamond Flag - 3rd

Half Hitch - 6th

Key Hole - 4th

Trail - 5th

Zig Zag bounce - 6th

Here's a pic of Rosie & I doing the half hitch.

Jen & Gal did really well, they have one of the most competitive age groups, 17 - 25 years, in the end she came 2nd overall for her age group.

A great day all round, we even managed to win a few prizes in the raffle.

Next weekend I am riding Galaxy at Redcliffe, We are doing 1 dressage test & 1 jumping round, I really dont expect to do well here because I have done limited dressage & jumping, plus Gal is not a dressage horse, but Rosie is not ready for jumping either. Cath is riding the big fellow Rocky, can't wait to watch them in action, he is such a beautiful jumper. 

Albany Creek Pony Club

This is our little Pony Club. We only have 12 members, but we have a lot of fun.

www.albanycreekponyclub.com