Horse Feathers Farm

Feather Care

Written by Rebecca McKeever

This is a collection of grooming, feather care, and general feathered breed care things that I have learned over the many years of breeding and caring for these horses. Believe it or not….it really isn’t as hard as some make it out to be. Some facts on Feather:

1. It is called Feather, not feathers (only birds have those!)
2. In these parts (TX), the only horses with Feather are Gypsies, Clydesdales, Shires and Drums. All others have hair – it might be long hair….but it’s just hair 😉
3. Feather needs to be kept dry. But not too dry. If you notice the ground is very wet (mud or dew) it would be wise to put the horse up in a stall for either the day or night. It gives them a chance to fully dry. If they comes in with mud, a quick hose off would be good followed by a brisk toweling to get off the excess moisture.
4. Feather can also get too dry (crazy, right?!) So oiling will help (see below)
5. And just so you know….you can only breed a feathered horse to a feathered horse to get feather.

Cleaning/Grooming Products that work:

1. I love Orvus shampoo. A little goes a long, long way. Great for multiple baths (good pH balance)
2. For a really great, quick and CHEAP clean…..Original Dawn. Yep, the dishwashing liquid. Has a pretty good pH balance and believe it or not, relatively mild. For a super dirty horse, it works great, esp when scrubbing feather. If they are super dirty, I attack with Dawn first on the feather, and wash the rest of the body with Orvus. If the body is very dirty….wash with Dawn. You will be amazed at how clean the horses get!
3. Whitening Shampoos: there are so many out there and I think I’ve tried them all. A) I like Shapley’s Equitone Whitening Shampoo. It is an optical brightener. Caution…..it will turn your horse purple if you leave it on too long. Don’t ask how I know that…. B) Horse Sense White Knight is a non-optical brightener that will not turn them purple. It does a pretty good job of getting the stains out. C) Sometimes, on really dirty feather, I wash with Dawn first, leave in and then apply Shapley’s Equitone Whitening Shampoo. Less likely to turn your feather purple if left in a bit longer. Please note, I say “a bit”. Trial and error…..
4. De-tanglers/conditioners: A) Equyss Survivor – expensive, but a little goes a long, long way. It not only detangles, but conditions for a week at a time. B) Extreme Hair Detangler and Conditioner – not as pricey as Survivor. Made up by a Gypsy friend. He sent me a sample and I bought a case. I *really like it. http://clovercreekproducts.com/ C) Grand Champion Pepi. It says it’s a coat conditioner, but I use it for manes and tails only. Your saddle will slide off otherwise! Will make the mane and tail very, very glossy and detangle at the same time. Will not dry it out either. D) Equyss makes some great conditioners for coats – not just for the Gypsy. I love the Marigold spray. It really does bring out the bling. E) A word on Show Sheen: not for everyday use. Great for a show, but will dry out the hair.
5. Grooming tips: A) Always use a detangler when brushing out a mane or tail. If you use either the Survivor or Clover Creek products, they will last for days. B) Use a good mane brush like the round Oster brush. You can brush the tail when it’s wet only if you’ve used a good conditioner/detangler. C) Use bath gloves for bathing. You can get them at the dollar store or Walmart. Very cheap and you can throw them in the washing machine. Sponges, silly and expensive horse related scrubbers just don’t get into the feather or the tail. Bath gloves all the way! D) Hose attachment…..I know, getting picky, but you have a very white horse and a regular hose attachment is not going to get the dirt out down to the skin. Use a Fan spray: you can put it right on their body and push the dirt out. Best tool I’ve ever used! E) Brushing feather…..use the mane/tail brush and do it when the feather is wet and soapy. You pull less hair out.

Problems:

1. Dry Feather: A summer issue. If the hair gets too dry, it will break over the hoof. Really not desirable. Easy to handle. Buy Light Mineral Oil – the same thing that the vet uses to tube with. You can purchase it by the gallon at Tractor Supply. Put it in a squeeze bottle and apply liberally a few times a week. Best to apply in the evening so that it will not burn in the heat of the summer day.
2. Scratches: the scourge of any feathered breed. A few ways to handle this. A) Wash with Equyss MicroTek shampoo. Some pointers: i) A horse can develop ‘hot spots’ where a build up of scabs occurs. If this happens, applying all the treatment in the world won’t help if you aren’t applying it to the problem. You have to get rid of the scab first. I use Dawn and saturate the area and leave on until the scab gets soft and then carefully pick it off. Yes, it might bleed and yes, they might hate it. Once the scab is gone, apply the medicated shampoo, rinse well. ii) Have several plastic combs in your grooming kit. This will help get out any scabs or scales that are attached to the feather. Wash and brush out when soapy and wet (as noted above) and if there are areas of concern that you need to get rid of the scabs, once softened use your fingers to pick away from the leg and then comb it out gently. B) Spray with Equyss MicroTek medicated spray. Let it dry. C) For continued care, take your light mineral oil and add 3 tablespoons of sulfur powder to a 1 liter bottle. I find the Hi-Yield wettable dusting powder works great. Mix it well and apply to the whole area. This is in lieu of using MTG which I wholeheartedly do not ever recommend. This mix can be applied to treat Dry feather (as above) with no issues and it will keep scratches at bay. (I use old MTG bottles to mix it up in though!) (a note on sulfur: I keep hearing people say “only use food grade”. Sulfur is sulfer. It is not stronger than what would be if it was injested. Sulfer meant for ingestion is processed ‘cleaner’. And that is about it. As none of my horses have ever been ill or have had negative side effects, I will stick with the wettable sulfur. If you can find ‘food grade sulfur”, then by all means, use it if it makes you more comfortable.)
3. Mud fever: Never let mud dry into the feather. Just knock it off with a hose. If they start getting sores under the pastern, treat as for scratches.
4. Mites…..hard to see, but easy to diagnose and treat. If they start chewing on their feather or stomping or finding something to rub their legs on, then they probably have mites. We treat with cattle pour on ivermectin. In a condiment bottle (I like the red ketchup one for warning!) mix half the ivermectin and half light mineral oil. Use sparingly up the back of the leg and around the pastern. It doesn’t take much. Just make sure you use the nozzle to get to the skin and not just on top of the feather. We coincide it with a farrier visit. So after the farrier leaves…..treat them. CAUTION: WEAR GLOVES!

Clipping:

1. Yes, you can clip. But don’t go nutty.
2. If you want to do a body clip – do a hunter clip where you clip to the top of the horses legs. Do NOT clip to the knee. Looks absolutely silly. If a Gypsy or Drum is in heavy work over the winter, they will get very hot and not dry off before night. They are very hard to keep clean and maintain when they look like a yak. Best to clip a working Heavy!
3. Do NOT clip a bridle path. Ever.
4. By all means, clip the beard. It will be easier to bridle and keep clean.
5. Whiskers are entirely up to you.
6. Blanketing: If you clip in the winter, you must blanket. If you don’t clip….they are pretty hairy. As long as there is shelter from the wind, Gypsies and Drums do just fine without blankets. Of course, they do like to be toasty and warm. All of our Gypsies and Drums have been blanketed. It is not new to them.

I can’t really think of anything else. You don’t have to buy all these products, but these are what work for me. The Sulfur and mineral oil, Orvus and Dawn, some type of detangler and of course the ivermectin treatment are all must haves for me. Don’t over groom for sure, esp the feather.

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