Cleaning girly parts

[nightfell]

My new mare has been rubbing her tail so I took a look underneath while grooming recently and sure enough it was dirtyyyyy. She is quite sensitive in that general area- makes faces when I brush or curry so I have been slowly desensitizing around her belly to expand the region where I can hold my hand and brush to eventually being able to reach her

Comments

[thegreylioness]

On a different note... Has she been wormed recently?

[nightfell]

Yup, she's on the barn schedule. I did think it was worming at first but someone suggested dirty udders and teats could result in tail rubbing too so I wanted to see if a clean up would help any.

[thegreylioness]

Gotcha. Wasn't sure since you said she was new. ;)

[nightfell]

Fair question to ask!

[bella_cheval]

I use either baby wipes or these "bath in a wipe" things I get from Wal-Mart to keep my girls' bits clean. I try to stand as close to their flanks as I can get and still have room to maneuver, and do the job gently and carefully. Also found in the Winter if you keep those cloths in a warm place, they won't freeze and won't cause your mare to have a heart attack when that cold cloth hits her girly bits :x

[nightfell]

Thanks for the tips! Good point about the warm cloths- that wouldn't be too nice haha

[fishwithfeet]

Do you mean the udders or the anus area?

[nightfell]

Just the udders right now.

[fishwithfeet]

I try and periodically reach up there and pull away the scaly material. My horse is an oddball in that she likes being scratched up by her udders so it's NBD. I'm glad you got things figured out though!

[nightfell]

I'm probably going to do the same as well from now on lol I think she'll learn to enjoy it eventually, though I could tell she was a lot more comfortable afterwards- huge relief for me too.

BTW love your icon! TLK <3

[lantairvlea]

Excalibur Sheath Cleaner is awesome. It even helpd with the smegma smell. http://www.sstack.com/horse-shampoo-medicated-horse-shampoo/EXCALIBUR-SHEATH-CLEANER/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid_search&utm_campaign=paid_search_google_pla&scid=scplp521496&gclid=CO_Y95HzvsECFYxDMgodJzoAJA

When you say "makes faces" are they grumpy ear-pinning faces or lip-twitching half-glazed looks of utter bliss? My husbands Percheron mare absolutely adores udder rubs and gets the funniest looks on her face. She will also attempt to share the love and nuzzle/rub with her upper lip anyone close.

Stay as close to her as possible. This gives you fair warning if she tenses up and also puts you too close for her to build full power for a kick.

Corona ointment can help with her tail so it doesn't itch so much.

[nightfell]

The faces are sadly the grumpy ear-pinning ones and her tail is active, I'll be so happy the day I get to see utter bliss haha Thanks for the tips on handling and products!

[lantairvlea]

Aw, poor thing. I did my grandfather's mares once and they had chunks about the size of BBQ coals I kid you not. The younger one was quite grumpy about it and I was fortunately able to use a wash rack to keep her mostly contained (she is a known kicker anyway) and being VERY careful not to have any body part between her and the rails. They were so much happier after it was done and once they realized how good it felt after it became easier the following times.

[nightfell]

I was able to clean her yesterday and she was very good about it! Cookies helped a ton with desensitizing, so glad I saved that as a "big reward" when working with her. I still didn't get utter bliss though (guess I haven't found THE spot yet) but at least there were some happy lip twitches lol