Have you ever cleaned the udder of your mare?  Sometimes it is easy and some times it isn’t…

UDDER (and sheath) CLEANING

So during Spring, I always do the same things… I clean out my truck and trailer, I de-mold all of my tack, I clean out the feed/tack room and I clean the udders of my mares.

I just hate it when my mares’ beautiful Spring tails are ruined by them trying to ‘rub’ all the muddy/dried yik from between her udders by using a fenceboard or a tree.

(For those of you without mares, you may not know that the main cause of tail rubbing (if there are no parasites internally) is the ‘itchy spot’ that they cannot reach – the udder.  Or, if you have a gelding tail rubber – especially an older guy – the culprit could be his itchy sheath.)

THE UDDER CAPER

I swear, successful udder cleaning depends upon a few things.  Good equipment and good mares.  If she’s had a baby, it is easier.  If she hasn’t, you may get a raised rear ‘warning’ leg.

I have one of each.  I have Momma Tess who looooves to have her udders cleaned.  She makes that special lip-curled yummy face when I scratch the itch.  However, Gwen would just as soon rub her tail to a stump than let me ‘downunder’.  So, I have to be very careful.   I have to ask politely and go very slowly.

WHAT TO USE

So, previous to today,  I used warm water, mild soap and a soft cloth.  This was fine; or so I thought…

But this year, I had some Udder/Sheath cleaner, so I decided to try it.  Now, I know what you are thinking.  Why not use something you already have around the house.  Why buy a specialty item?  Yup.  That’s what I thought, too.

I brought out my bucket of warm water, my soft cloth and my udder cleaner.   (It is made by Equi-Spa who also makes THE BALM that I love!)  Anyway, I was all prepared to not notice any difference between homemade cleaners and this Equi-Spa Sheath and Udder Cleaner. I dunked my cloth in the warm water and squeezed out the excess (hate it when water runs down my arm) and squirted on the cleaner.  The fragrance was clean and flowery.

Anyway, I started with Tess because she is easier.  And, a strange thing happened.  It glided!  I don’t know how to otherwise describe it, but the cloth glided so smoothly against her udders that I thought I was using oil.  And, the yuk broke up so quickly and smoothly that it made me realize my usual homemade formula wasn’t so good…  I swear it made the whole area shiny and squeaky-clean in a matter of moments!  (The bottle says to leave it on for 10-15 mins for hardened debris – but I think that is more for sheaths.  Dunno.  It came right off for me.)

And, the best part, I didn’t have to worry about rinsing the cleaner off.  What I mean to say is that you need to rinse to get rid of the yuk up there, but you don’t have to make sure all the cleaner is gone.  With soap, you do.  I used to get her legs wet, my pants wet, my arms soaked as I rinsed the beejeezus out of that area to make sure her skin wouldn’t be irritated.  But this stuff is E-A-S-Y.

 

GOOD TO LEAVE ON

OMG!  The bottle says to “Reapply as needed to protect and moisturize the area”.  Wow.

So, I’m sold.

I ASKED WHY IT WORKED SO WELL…

I emailed the company and asked what ingredients made this cleaner work so well.  Here is the reply:

The Udder cleaner is based in  vegetable glycerin and organic Aloe vera gel.  The glycerin is slick, hydrophilic and helps soften and loosen smegma…easy rinse and pulls the dissolving “dirt and debris” with it.  It also contains a small amount of witch hazel along with the Aloe is very very soothing and helps leave a healthy “environment” .  Horses like it because it feels soothing and yes a bit cooling to them from the Aloe.   The cool smell is Tea Tree…there is no camphor or menthol to make it feel “icy” to the horse.  It is very clinical smelling.  There is also other essential oils that are beneficial for discouraging yeast and bacteria growth  but are in very small amounts as to not cause any irritation…in fact just the opposite.  I also use it to detangle tails, (it dries fluffy)  great for cleaning out dogs ears, and for applying over scratches to soften the scabs and accelerates the healing process.

IF YOU WANT SOME, TOO (no affiliation)

If you would like some Sheath and Udder Cleaner, here is the link.  It is $15 and goes a long way.

Remember, if you order from her, she will give you a free sample of THE BALM just by asking for it.  I love THE BALM.  I just used it to heal Shiva (Hubby’s dog) after he was attacked by a coyote.  He had staples and open wounds… the poor guy was a mess.  I kept rubbing THE BALM on him and he didn’t lick it and all of his wounds are healing beautifully.

 

 

THE ROLEX KENTUCKY THREE-DAY EVENT!

OK, I’m not sure how I feel about the dangerous aspects of Three-Day Evening, but I would like to attend this affair just for the grandeur of it all.  I’m sure the horses are gorgeous as well as the grounds.  It is April 28 – May 1 at the Kentucky Horse Park.

I bring up the Rolex event for two reasons:

1)  I noticed that they are having a Military Appreciation Day on April 29th where active service people and veterans and their families, get in FREE.  For me, since Hubby is ex-Navy, I always find these offerings to be outstanding gestures and honorable do-gooding.  Serving our country can be a very brutal job, and I admire those who appreciate others who serve.

2)  I also wanted to tell you that I heard that Omega Alpha will have a booth there. Go see them and tell them all your horse needs and see what they say…  I can recommend ANTI-FLAM, BIOTIC 8, RESPI-FREE and SINEW-X.  These are the products I’ve tried and found to be truly remarkable.  Really remarkable!

I’m sure they will have a ‘show special’ although I don’t know what it is… those are always good!

 

LAST BUT NOT LEAST!  A HUMONGOUS COOKIE SALE! (no affiliation)

Ok, well, the cookies are not humongous but the sale is.  I heard from Skode’s (the ones who made the terrific Salt Squares that I reviewed here) that they are having a ‘Welcome Spring’ sale.

I’m just going to cut and paste all the options so you can see if any of these float yer boat.  My horses have taste-tested all of these cookies (blog about it linked here) and they went CRAZY.  All flavors.  They practically mugged me after I started passing around the samples…  And, even though these cookies are ‘treats’, they are homemade like your Mom would make, they have organic ingredients and an equine nutritionist created the recipes with Skode.

HERE GOES WITH THE COOKIE EXTRAVAGANZA!

Celebrate Spring with a Fantastic Herb, Fruit and Flower Special at Skode’s!  (LINK).

1)  $2 off a pound of the gourmet Enchanted Flower Cookies.
I will do the same for the Apple Pie and Banana

2)  Four pounds of Fruit and/or Flower Cookie Box and save FIFTY PERCENT ON Priority Mail SHIPPING: Choose between Banana, Apple and Enchanted Flower Cookie — our very popular low sugar/starch whole food cookies.  Choose as many as few as you like. Simple email Skode after placing your order to let her know which cookie choices your horse would like. Your shipping refund will be applied to your credit card or paypal account within 24 hours.

3)  Six Pounds of our Fruit and/or Flower Cookie Box — save 75 PERCENT ON Priority Mail SHIPPING: Choose between Banana, Apple and Enchanted Flower Cookie — our very popular low sugar/starch whole food cookies.  Choose as many as few as you like. Choose between Banana, Apple and Enchanted Flower Cookie — our very popular low sugar/starch whole food cookies.  Choose as many as few as you like. Simple email Skode after placing your order to let her know which cookie choices your horse would like. Your shipping refund will be applied to your credit card or paypal account within 24 hours.

4)  The Ultimate Spring Box — FREE Priority Mail SHIPPING!!
* Three pounds of fresh baked cookie –choose between Banana, Flower or Apple
* Two of our popular Meadow Herbal Terrain Hay Mixers (two 1/2 pound bags) that can be sprinkled on hay and/or mash meals and are made of 100% certified organic herbs that help to cleanse your horse’s body of any Winter stagnancy as well as to open her heart to the joy of Spring
* Two Herbal Terrain Meadow Mashes with Wild Berry/Apple fruits, a daily ration of human grade flax meal, crunchy sunflower seeds, ancient sea salts and guaranteed low sugar/starch, sun cured orchard and timothy hay pellets (simply add water and stir).
Don’t forget to email Skode after placing your order to let her know which cookie choices  your horse would like. Your shipping refund will be applied to your credit card or paypal account within 24 hours.

 

HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth… if you like this, please pass it around!

April Drop in the Bucket Fund:  THE HEARTBREAK KIDS – Nurse Mare Foals.?  So sad. Born to be thrown away.  But there are people who rescue these fine foals.  To learn all about the Bucket Fund and to donate towards the care of The Heartbreak Kids, please click on the photo (photo credit, Trish Lowe)

 

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