I would keep the sores clean by flushing them with saline solution (I like contact lens solution, which you can just squirt straight out of the bottle), but skip the ointment. If she's in a stall all the time, the ointment is just going to get bedding and dust and other stuff stuck in it, which defeats the purpose of cleaning. Put as much bedding in the stall as you can, and bank it up in the corners. Honestly, unless they start getting infected and you need some sort of topical antibiotic, I find it preferable to just let minor skin irritations like that air out as much as possible.
I've never tried hock boots, but we did have a narcoleptic horse on stall rest once (long story) and she got knee and ankle sores since she kept falling asleep standing up and crashing into the walls. We tried all sorts of neoprene boots and all they did was make her sweat a lot.
And you've probably already done this, but if she's getting grain, cut it back by about half before calming supplements. Supplement with additional grass hay as needed, which will have the added benefit of giving her something to do. My trainer swears by Rescue Remedy, which is administered on an as-needed basis, a few drops at a time, but I'm not totally convinced that it works. It is pretty cheap, though, since it comes in a tiny bottle.
Also, have you tried giving her a stall toy? My mare would never play with any, but some horses do like them.
Good luck! She is indeed very cute. I love her pointy little ears.
I've been hosing the sores, but saline is a great idea. I'll pick up some contact lens solution tomorrow. :) She's has extra bedding, but the sores seem to be getting worse. I don't want them to get much bigger, and they are pretty sensitive for her when I'm cleaning them out.
Yes, I've cut her grain majorly.
I got her a lickit (which I'm installing tomorrow, so I don't know if it will help yet or not) and she has her salt block. I had a jolly ball for her a while ago, but she just ignored it.
i dealt with a horse on several months of stall rest at my old job who had a jolly ball just floating loose around his stall. i never once saw him touch it, but i really wanted him to get some entertainment while in recovery. i took some bailing twine and tied it to the bars on his stall, so it swung around against the wall. suddenly, he LOVED playing with it.
sometimes you have to utilize the toy in a specific way for a horse to be interested in it.
Good idea! I'll see if she will pay any attention to it if it is tied up. I also am borrowing my friends likit that is a moveable ball thing, so I'm hoping she enjoys that too. :)
I've never tried hock boots, but we did have a narcoleptic horse on stall rest once (long story) and she got knee and ankle sores since she kept falling asleep standing up and crashing into the walls. We tried all sorts of neoprene boots and all they did was make her sweat a lot.
And you've probably already done this, but if she's getting grain, cut it back by about half before calming supplements. Supplement with additional grass hay as needed, which will have the added benefit of giving her something to do. My trainer swears by Rescue Remedy, which is administered on an as-needed basis, a few drops at a time, but I'm not totally convinced that it works. It is pretty cheap, though, since it comes in a tiny bottle.
Also, have you tried giving her a stall toy? My mare would never play with any, but some horses do like them.
Good luck! She is indeed very cute. I love her pointy little ears.
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Yes, I've cut her grain majorly.
I got her a lickit (which I'm installing tomorrow, so I don't know if it will help yet or not) and she has her salt block. I had a jolly ball for her a while ago, but she just ignored it.
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll check it out. :)
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i dealt with a horse on several months of stall rest at my old job who had a jolly ball just floating loose around his stall. i never once saw him touch it, but i really wanted him to get some entertainment while in recovery. i took some bailing twine and tied it to the bars on his stall, so it swung around against the wall. suddenly, he LOVED playing with it.
sometimes you have to utilize the toy in a specific way for a horse to be interested in it.
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