Alcohol in warm up ring (horse, not human)?

[wannabedvm]

@OnDeck

Six pages of conversation on grooms spraying a horse’s legs ringside and some people are surprised at how easily rumors start in the horse show world :lol:

Ding ding ding!

[alibi_18]

@trubandloki

This line confused me.

What is the difference?
I need to be educated what that difference is because I can say that my horse acts like she is being tortured when I spray water on her legs. Jerking it up and holding it there and then kicking it around… Does that mean the water hurts her? (She does eventually give in and suffer thru the torture that is horse bathing.)
To put wraps on her (dry wraps, no chemicals) We sometimes have to hold up a leg to be able to wrap the other leg. Does that mean we are doing something horrible to her?

Yes!

And you should teach your horse better manners for God’s sake!!!

I’m obviously being sarcastic.

[kirbydog]

@wannabedvm

Ding ding ding!

Some of these threads make me crave alcohol :lol: especially when people who admit to not showing much or at all at rated shows see fit to pass judgement!!!

[dags]

The irony is thick.
We have folks screaming for hunter judges to stop rewarding automatons, then turning around and accusing a trainer of cheating when horse dares not act like an automaton.

[kirbydog]

@dags

The irony is thick.
We have folks screaming for hunter judges to stop rewarding automatons, then turning around and accusing a trainer of cheating when horse dares not act like an automaton.

it’s a little difficult to be a trainer on this board sometimes…we get accused of cheating if we have a horse that really does go like an automaton; many WB’s do. We get accused of cheating if a horse goes better for trainer A then trainer B. People try to compare the needs of one discipline (say endurance riding ) with another; say a novice adult horse or short stirrup horse. We get accused of drugging a horse when sometimes the boys act like boys (ask your mother if you don’t get this one)

[dags]

Agreed, the blanket trainer-hate around here is, at times, suffocating. We’re all just cheats ready to do wrong by a horse at the first shimmer of profit, right?

[kirbydog]

^^^^pretty much

[AAHunterGal]

I’m also going to guess that it was mixed with Quicksilver or some other shampoo for a white spot treatment. I learned it from my time as a groom and I still use it today. Work wonders for a quick shine up or spot remover!

[trubandloki]

I am not a trainer…not even close to a trainer and I agree, it is like trainers can do nothing right to some of these people.

It is just crazy.

[Moesha]

@RAyers

Um, anhidrosis would require alcohol on the large muscle groups and back, not on the legs. No cooling capacity in the small vessels and no major muscles there.

Sorry I really don’t know anything about it or how it is treated - I showed a jumper who had it - but I only showed him so have no idea how it was maintained because he always seemed normal and fine - a friend also had a horse who had it and she told me she sprayed him and his legs with alcohol? Thanks for the information.

[Ghazzu]

@Moesha

Sorry I really don’t know anything about it or how it is treated - I showed a jumper who had it - but I only showed him so have no idea how it was maintained because he always seemed normal and fine - a friend also had a horse who had it and she told me she sprayed him and his legs with alcohol? Thanks for the information.

Avoid classes during the midday heat. Lots of hosing and scraping, fan on the wet horse, alcohol spray, ice. There are some oral supplements that might or might not help, as well as acupuncture.
Moving the horse to a cooler climate. It seems to be an “exhaustion” of the sweat glands, which have a somewhat unique innervation in the horse.

[poltroon]

Every time I’ve used alcohol for stain removal, I’ve followed it immediately with a rag to rub whatever is staining out of the coat. Simply spraying the legs with alcohol won’t be doing anything for any stains.

Of course (barring the smell), you might spray fly spray or show sheen on legs without any rubbing.

[cedarlake]

I used to groom for a GP rider, and while that was different, there were always stewards around watching. They’d show up like frickin ghosts hovering over you as you prepared your team😂

anyway, it did not matter how clean the legs were, the boots were, the stirrups were, anything. I ALWAYS wiped them down again and then would spray for a quick sheen (even if it was water) and would evaporate in 5 seconds. I had a VERY high standard for my work and always wanted my pair to be the best turned out. I would soak his stirrup rubbers before he rode… all his boots were scrubbed and polished, which included the horse’s boots as well. Don’t think that a meticulous groom wouldn’t spray just to spray. We do because it makes us feel like we did something good and that we put our whole selves into that team. props to the groom for doing his due diligence.

and I have personally poured rubbing alcohol on open wounds to disinfect… the sting never lasted more than 30 seconds and i certainly wasn’t sensitive later on.