Thinning leg feathers..why?

scarymary

scarymary

New Member
Sep 9, 2007
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up a gum tree, somewhere in lancashire
Hi, I have recently bought my 1st horse. she is a 14.3 cob. When i 1st got her she came from a dealer who groomed her but didnt really spend hours grooming etc because of all the horses. when i 1st got my mare she had quite nice feathers on her legs but her mane and tail were trimmed. i would like her all lovely and hairy but although her mane and tail are growing thick and beautiful her leg feathers are thinning out and she seems to be losing them. i was told not to really comb them because she would lose them so i havnt but shes still losing them. :confused:Any suggestions please?
 
Most horses lose their feathers in winter due to mud. Daffy had quite a bit of feather in front earlier this year, but he has less now. It just happens, and unless she's sore or it's coming out in handfuls I wouldn't worry about it.

Regular conditioning can help.
 
Ooh my horse is the opposite, has thick feathers in winter and most of them fall out along with his winter coat so they are very thin in the summer!
 
thank you. a friend also just told me about pig oil. i havnt a clue where to get it from or what im supposed to do with it but il give it a try :-)...hmm. pig oil for feathers and udder cream for heels, this is complicated and funny...lol
 
Your local feed merchants/tack store might have it. Do you have a countrywide store near you. Thats were I got mine from. Countywide sell it in a 4.5 litre metal tin. Sulphur powder is in tub can't remember the weight about a 1kg I think. If not PM coyote.
 
Pig Oil is just baby oil without the perfume. You can use baby oil, the perfume doesn't tend to irritate anyone.
 
I put up a post about this not long ago, we have been seeing it on the feathered natives and coloured cobs on our yard too. We've done lots of tests and no creepie crawlies or funguses or anything. When we rake our hands through the feathers a few hairs are coming out, not in huge clumps or anything but definitely more than is usual.

BUT i tell you what, What i have been alarmed to see at shows this year is that ALOT of ponies in the ring have thin feathers and tails, some have thin manes. At a county show we went to we saw this was the case with a very notable amount of the natives and we really remarked on this. i think its the weather this year, the exceptionally low light levels have probably triggered winter mode a few times, then it gets sunny and they go into spring mode and shed, god knows. And wet conditions don't help one bit either.

Why sulphur guys? what does it do?
 
hi, i would check legs for mites, i know these can sometimes cause the horse to lose some hair on legs, is she biting at her legs?:rolleyes:
 
Sulphur is an anti microbial, anti bacterial agent. It is harmless to the horse and is cheap!

The popularity in featherd horses has led to people buying a lot of 'trade' horses, ie the ones that fall short of the gypsy breeders ideals. In the past these would go for meat. Now they can be sold as riding horses because everyone wants a coloured cob. They are usualy the half leggers or thinly featherd neddies. The figures that decent gypsy cobs reach look more like telephone numbers! That is, if you could find a decent one for sale. This year at Appleby top grade mares were changing hands for 15-20k.

The gypsys tend not to show... because they know if they have a good horse and don't need to prove it. The gypsy lads I know have a good snigger at coloured showing classes because they are full of... and usualy won by trade horses. You will rarely see decent gypsy cobs at shows.
 
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