Hello horse friends,
My four year old gelding got a bug bite on his back about a week ago which still gets inflamed when he is ridden (it is not swollen before he is ridden). The pain he feels while being worked causes him to buck, which I don’t blame him for. I was wondering if anyone has any ideas in terms of treatment, and what I should do about it when I want to ride him. Or should I ride him at all until it heals? Perhaps there is something I can cover or tape it up with that will help? The bite is right by his spine. Thanks all!
Stop riding him until the bite is healed. It won’t heal if it keeps getting irritated. Bucking is a sure sign it’s HURTING him…
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Ouch! Poor guy. Sounds pretty tricky. Do you really need to ride him? At 4 years old, associating riding with discomfort that causes bucking, might not be such a great learning experience. On which part of his spine is it? If the bite is not anywhere near where a surcingle goes, could you put on a surcingle and lunge, ground drive or longline instead? If he has to be ridden, you could try cutting a circle out of a pad so that he has relief from pressure in that area, 2-3 inches around it. Otherwise, give him some time off, use hydrocortizone and hot moist compress. Someone else probably has other ideas. If he was mine, I wouldn’t ride him.
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I agree. Give him some time off till it heals! He is so young and you don’t want to cause him to get a bad habit!
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