Random Horse Problems

This post is about all the random issues I have had with the boys and how I handled them.

SADDLE SORES AND GIRTH GALLS

I've already touched on the girth galls in the SADDLES post, but to summarise: stay away from high-profile neoprene girths, even if touted as being "ergonomic", and stick with a simple string girth 👍

As for saddle sores, I guess the most important thing is have a well-fitting saddle. But even with a well-fitting saddle, it's still possible to get saddle sores. One day about three months into the trip I took the pack saddle off Micky and found his had a raw patch on his wither. He'd given no signs of discomfort during the day, and over the next few days it started to heal up. I guess it must have been the saddle blanket bunching and riding down over his wither, but like I said, it happened once and then healed up and never happened again. Mr Richard got chronic low-grade rubbing from the edge of the pack saddle blanket and the ribbed seam of the riding saddle blanket. It started off by chaffing off his hair, then eventually broke the skin. So I took a knife to the blankets and hacked chunks out of them, and then started putting strapping tape over the chaffed areas which did the trick. So I guess listen to your horse, who will often but not always tell you when something is wrong. If something is rubbing, do something about it, fix it, but I guess don't panic. Everyone who has been hiking has had blisters, and yes, they are painful and uncomfortable, but can be managed, and I guess there's not much difference with MILD chaffing on your horse.

ROPE BURN FROM PICKETTING

This was something Mr Richard had a lot. No matter how often he was tied up, he would still freak out when the rope got wrapped around his back leg. Rope burns about the hocks often initially don't look like much, but they can take forever to heal and easily become infected. If I was going to do this trip again, I would take a 3m length of WIDE webbing for each horse, and use that closest to thier bodies, so that the wide webbing would not be able to cut in so easily. It's also possible to wrap the near hind hock, but not fail-safe as the bandage can often come undone. Or just do the sensible thing and invest in a portable electric fence!

COLIC

I only had once colic incident, and that happened when I had the boys locked in a small yard on our rest day and was feeding them vast amounts of oaten hay. Tickles ended up with mild colic that fortunately I could walk off in a few hours. So I guess know the signs and symptoms of colic, and monitor your horses when drastically changing their diet. All in all I was incredibly impressed with how adaptable the boys were, going from days on fresh green grass to 24hrs on rough wheaten hay that was pretty much straw and then straight onto 100% lucerne then living off wheat in WA.

CHAFING FROM HOOF BOOTS

Micky got very mild chafing on his hoof bulbs initially from his boots. His heals were a bit high, and he has large fleshy hoof bulbs. After making some adjustments to the boots, I started running a round of strapping tape around his bulbs which did the trick. Now that I've managed to lower his heals a bit, he has less of a problem, and now has nice calloused bulbs. NT Dry was a great product to keep hooves healthy (see post on hoof-care).

SORE BACKS

After having a three week break for quarantine, the first two days on the road, both horses in both saddles had slightly tender backs, when gently poking them. At first I was quietly panicking, but after those two days, they were fine, so I guess it was just like putting on a full backpack after not wearing one for a while: you're always a bit sore and tender initially, but after a few days you toughen up and get used to it. So I guess again, don't panic!

MR RICHARD'S MYSTERY ILLNESS

I guess we will never know what was wrong with him. But I know I made the right decision in getting him floated the last 300km. The lesson I suppose is to always make decisions that prioritise your horse. After spending enough time with your horse, you will KNOW when he isn't feeling right. Don't ignore that.

MENTAL BREAKDOWNS

Micky has had two of these. Both involved windy weather, so that may be it. The worst was when we were in the Riverlands in SA, and one morning he just lost it, running in circles and unable to cope with anything. I gave up on the day and set up camp after 500m, where we waited out the day as the wind picked up and Tickles spent the day running up and down his highline. The next day he was still on edge, and then after that was fine. He had a similar incident a few days after we left Richard, and again it was a little windy, but we've had plenty of windy days that he hasn't minded at all. So I guess the lesson I took from that is that your horse may sometimes lose his mind, but it's not a permanent break from reality. Give him space and time, be safe and make decisions that prioritise safety, yours, your horse's and the public's.