Florida joys

We've been having absolutely gorgeous weather - 50s/60s at night and 70s/80s during the day. No complaints here. But in spite of that, the flies are already out in full swing and the rain rot is raging on most of the horses at the barn. Yoshi is no exception, which means he got his first fly mask the other day. It was too small on my friend's horse, so it was a gift from her. In return she got his webbed halter in horse size that fits her horse perfectly. He's rocking a new blue one in cob sized now. 

Hi mom! Thanks for the mask, I'll take it off later. 

I also got him the Majyk Equipe fly wraps. A few people at the barn have the Shoo Fly wraps and they seem to work really, really well. However, they were about $10 more on Amazon than the Majyk Equipe ones at Rider's Warehouse. And they also come in fairly atrocious colors. I put them on him this morning and got this video from my friend a few hours later... 

So we'll see whether or not they hold up. If they do, I know they're sturdy. It is really entertaining learning his personality with things like this. He's also gotten so much more cuddly recently.

The farrier came out Wednesday and added more casting material. Blue camo this time! Even before I told him that I was feeding the gelatin, he commented that he looked like he had already grown some more hoof. No confirmation bias there, hooray! 

Forgot to take a picture before I walked him through the dirt/sand. They looked much more awesome initially. 

Hopefully when he resets him in 3 weeks he will be able to go into something else. I'm not in a rush though because he's looking super comfortable, and I would rather get it right than get it done quickly in a way we have to fix again later. 

I tried Farnam's Equi-Spot since it wasn't too badly priced at the feed store when I was buying alfalfa cubes. I believe it was $16 and it promises 14 days of fly control as well as repelling ticks. Fortunately at this property we don't have a big tick problem, but when we go back to trail riding, there are a few parks that are known for nasty ticks. I may revisit it then, especially with the continually increasing incidence of Lyme in Florida, but for now this product is a definite NO. Yoshi HATES it. Like seriously hates it. I applied it once and he started stomping furiously a few minutes later. I think particularly on his front legs that were shaved for the ultrasound it was really burning. The permethrin concentration is 45%, so no freaking wonder. It also advertises 2 weeks of fly control. I'm not sure where/if that is ever true, but it was barely 2 days post that I could not tell a difference. I gave it one more try, but when he smelled the package once I cracked it open he immediately started dancing before I could even get it near him. Told you he's a quick study! I persevered and bribed with treats, sucked in by the idea of longer lasting fly control, and again, barely 2 days later I could not tell that I had applied it. There's a draft mare at the barn who does not give a damn when it is applied, but I'm pretty sure with her feathers it does not go anywhere near her actual skin on her legs. Also, drafty = not nearly as sensitive about life as TB. 

Not a fan 

Moving on from flies to rain rot... last summer Leila mostly escaped rain rot. Except right before her acupuncture appointment for her neck, excellent timing. The vet who came out to see her recommended bathing with dawn and then applying lime sulfur dip. The dawn is just very gentle application with a hand, not even the small side of a jelly curry. The point is not to yank off the crusts, just to clean as much as possible of the skin around the crusts. Then once they are a little dried off, applying lime-sulfur dip. The lime-sulfur dip smells LOVELY. I thought initially that Yoshi's rain rot was clearing up when he was switched to pasture board. In general the pasture horses seem to fare better, my thought being that the UV light during the day helps with the bacteria, but Yoshi is the exception. He's got it fairly badly on his back and hindquarters. I also ordered the Equiderma lotion when I ordered the lime-sulfur dip. It's much more expensive (Lime-sulfur is $12 for a bottle that makes one gallon - I dilute it 1/2 gallon at a time and each 1/2 gallon lasts at least two weeks), but it is much more appealing to the nose. Lime-sulfur isn't supposed to be applied more than 2-3 times a week because it is too drying. I'm not sure how well it lasts in between on a horse that lives outside and is definitely wallowing in the sand/dirt multiple times a day. The equiderma has a mineral oil base and definitely lasts a few days though, so I've been alternating. I was amazed after the first application how many crusts came off pretty easily and without seeming to bother him when I curried him the next day. Hopefully this gets him cleared up quick enough that we don't loose chunks of his summer coat too. 

Really pleased with his progress in the weight and growing hair over bite marks departments