Need suggestions for old mare

[wenlips]

Hi guys. I have a 35 year old Saddlebred cross mare that is having difficulty with her tail of all things. It seems like she's not able to lift her tail sufficiently with her winter blanket on to poop properly. As a result the underside of her blanket tail guard and her right leg only are getting covered with poop and I'm worried about the potential negative effects (scalding) from prolonged contact. I have trimmed part of her tail away (I hated doing it) to try to lighten it. I suppose I could take the tail guard off but I'm not sure how much that will help. She still gets around ok, will trot and canter, but she has a severe sway back and really has lost a lot of muscle. She lives outside with 3 other horses (she's still in charge of the herd!), moves around a lot. I can only get out to see her every few days. Does anyone have any experience with this, or have any suggestions to help the old girl out?

Thanks.

[myleetlepony]

Does she have difficulty without a blanket on?

[Kyra's Mom]

I would remove the tail flap. I don't think they are that necessary on a blanket.


Susan

[Chisamba]

I too would remove the tail flap

[wenlips]

I'll try taking the tail flap off. And in reply to myleetlepony, she's more inclined to just move her tail to the side rather than lift it up regardless of whether she has the blanket on or off. I wonder if she just has weak tail muscles now and what does one do for that?

[heronponie]

It really SUCKS to do it, but cutting the tail up to hock level has really helped my girl with the same issue. Much easier to get a short tail out of the way, and her legs are staying cleaner because she's not swishy a poopy tail around anymore. I just did it a month ago, so I'm not really sure how we're going to handle fly season next year with half a tail!

[Tarlo Farm]

I'd cut the tail off at the dock. At her age, If she gets an infection from scalding, she'll not live to deal with flies. One bridge at a time.

[pawsplus]

Oh goodness-don't amputate the tail!!

I care-leased a hunter years ago whose tail had been nerved because he swisher it in the ring (don't get me started on these people!!!). He could barely lift it, and as a result, had terrible rashes under his tail. I washed under there daily and applied a good glob of Vaseline, and that worked great. The Vaseline lubed the poop and allowed it to slip past the tail, while protecting it at the same time. No more scald, and perhaps because of the daily "massages," by the time I returned him, he was carrying his tail almost normally. I would try that, along with removing the tail flap on the blanket.

[Pippigirl]

Hi guys. I have a 35 year old Saddlebred cross mare that is having difficulty with her tail of all things. It seems like she's not able to lift her tail sufficiently with her winter blanket on to poop properly... She still gets around ok, will trot and canter, but she has a severe sway back and really has lost a lot of muscle. Does anyone have any experience with this, or have any suggestions to help the old girl out?
Thanks.

Wondering in addition trying the removal of the tail flap, would maybe getting an equine chiro to have a look at her to see if there was anything they can see that could be adjusted/tweaked/whatever that may be making her too sore/stiff to lift her tail up (in addition to the sway back)???

Did she have this issue last year?

[myleetlepony]

Was she a saddleseat show horse in another life? Possibly wore a tail set at some point? She may very well have some tendon/ligament damage if so, and after losing muscle just does not have the strength to lift anymore. Also, I've noticed Saddlebreds tend to not really lift the tail like other breeds, it's like they kinda "curl" the base and move it sideways. Unfortunately, I'm not sure there's much you could do about it, except maybe put her into regular, low-key, in-hand work?

I would certainly remove the tail flap, and if you can find a blanket that will fit but be an inch or so short, that might help, too. Or, if you can sew and have a machine that can handle it (or find a blanket repair person), I would probably cut out around the tail area a bit and resecure the seam.

In the mean time, the suggestion of wipe down and Vaseline is a good one. Baby wipes can be had for cheap at the dollar store.

[Sunshine2Me]

Another vote for removing the tail flap. My DD has two mares that she does this for, otherwise they make a mess.