What is the best treatment for rug sores on horses?
n asked:
37 year old pony 13.1 sore is on the withers he lost weight in very cold winter trying to get it back on him with extra feed. His rugs fit, but they all rub as his shoulders are skinny at the moment. At the moment he isn’t wearing a rug most of the time as it is summer.
Thanks. Going with the sudocrem at the moment cos it stops the sun from getting to it also. Going to get him a vest that goes over his withers.
37 year old pony 13.1 sore is on the withers he lost weight in very cold winter trying to get it back on him with extra feed. His rugs fit, but they all rub as his shoulders are skinny at the moment. At the moment he isn’t wearing a rug most of the time as it is summer.
Thanks. Going with the sudocrem at the moment cos it stops the sun from getting to it also. Going to get him a vest that goes over his withers.
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vaseline works wonders, protects the wounds and is a disinfectant plus its soothes, hope that helps x Carrie
It might be worth using a vest underneath his rug, Sounds daft but you know the type I mean, a close fitting, very smooth slightly elasticated thing that just covers the base of neck, withers and shoulders. i had a TB mare that rubbed all the time, and while it might not stop the problem totally it should help. As for treatment, sudacrem that is used for babies is pretty good, or a tar, spray on second skin might help.
37 yrs, I’m impressed. T.
Hi there, I have experienced this problem before with a very skinny Warmblood. I would clean the sore area every day using an antiseptic wash such as Hibiscrub or sea salt in warm water to prevent infection. I would also spray a fly repellent around (but not directly) on the sore area to prevent flies laying eggs in the wound site if your horse is turned out in a paddock. Fresh air does wonders to heal the skin (as long as the horse is not pale skinned and prone to sunburn). Once the sores have healed I would have all your rugs cleaned and then sew some soft fleece or padding inside the rug down the shoulder area and across his wither area. If you aren’t confident about attempting this ask your saddler as most will do this type of alteration for a small fee. You mentioned buying a vest. I can recommend them from experience. Lycra is a breathable fabric that sit very close to the neck and reduces the risk of the rug moving as even slight shifting can cause friction and soreness. I would not advise rugging the horse at all until the wound heals up. One thing I found very helpful was to put a fleece under-rug on my warmblood as his outer rug stuck like glue to the fleece and didn’t shift about at all.
Older horses do tend to find it harder to maintain weight and may be more obviously affected by gut parasites than younger fitter animals. I would recommend that he is wormed again if you haven’t done it for a few weeks as he may have worms in his intestine that are sapping the goodness from his feed.
I am going to do a special section on my website shortly entitled Winter Care for Older Horses.
Thanks and good luck
Melissa Melissa