Friday, July 20, 2012

There are a lot of items out there which we horse people use on us, which we are told by the manufacturer are not intended for that use. Often when one goes on line to check uses there will be a caveat saying, we can not say whether our product does such and such and do not recommend that use.  When my children were small I used to put Furacin ointment on their cuts and scrapes and they healed well and fast. My mare Caly has horrible feet (the Thoroughbred in her I am afraid) and I often would put her hoof goo on with my fingers. My nails love the stuff. I will plug the name in here later. I gave some to my friend Bella Martin in a small jar and called it grandmothers finger cream and Bella kept asking for more.

post stitches
My new best friend in Vetericyn. I have mentioned it I believe in reference to my mare Caly (she is also very accident prone) and how quickly and well it healed her wound. Well, a few weeks ago, I was using a leaf blower to blow the hay out of the back of my wonderful Suburban a.k.a. The Black, not knowing that the bottom of the leaf blower had dropped off, exposing the fan. Next thing I knew, hay was flying out the back of the truck as well as part of my finger. Instead of getting hay out, I got blood in. Gross I know....the nurse at the emergency room told the Dr. I "mangled" my finger. So sorry if you are squeamish.
Well, a few weeks later, and I have taken the stitches out and am mending well. Vetericyn was applied a couple of times a day. The hole that was once part of my finger, is gone, and to look at it you would barely know I had lost a chunk out of it. 





Then there is Borax. How could I ever live without Borax. You know, of 20 mule team fame? Or do I date myself?  Well, I do use Borax to help whiten my clothes, but, I also use it as well to rid the house of ants, and, put it in the dog beds to keep the fleas at bay.

Skin so Soft....when in KY where the bugs are bigger, and we would be out on the trails or fox hunting, we wafted with the smell of sweaty horses and Skin so Soft. Some people mix  a little vinegar in with the water, I cut it with just water. Depending on the season and how virulent the flies, I use either 1/4 SSS to 3/4 water, or 1/2 and 1/2.
The upside is, it works and you can even use it on yourself with no worries. The downside is, on horses, it does not absorb into the skin but sits on the hair and attracts dirt, so you can't use it if you want your horse to look clean and neat. But for trails and fox hunting it is fantastic.

As long as we are on the topic of flies; another "dirty" trick I use is to put Bag Balm in my horses ears and on their chests where the midges like to drive them crazy. My horses live outside with a large cow barn as protection from the nasty biting bugs, but they still go out to graze and get bitten. They will not keep fly masks on, and I hate the way they rub anyway, so I put Bag Balm in their ears and on their chests and down their bellies and between their legs. They seem quite happy. I have avoided their eyes as am cautious and I not sure if they would have a reaction. Here again, it is greasy stuff so I would not put it on if I were going to a show, or if I were thinking of trimming out their ears.