Sticky pants

[Debbie]

Ick!!! Well the elastic straps on Blossom's blankie have done their part, keeping Old Man Winter from taking her blankie off entirely

I haven't been able to find the fleece I want to make protective covers for the elastic. Who knew 'faux fleece' is so hard to find in a fabric store??

So last night, I was a bit late with teatime (off and out and about, and it wasn't that late, but after dark), and I felt back along her inner thighs to keep an eye on things. It felt like she might be getting a 'burn' of some sort from the elastic. It felt like the bands might be rubbing her legs, but we were schedualed for a very nasty storm again and I made the decision to keep the elastic on til morning. I wanted some light to see properly by, and to assess what was going on.

Ah, something I didn't expect.....Blossom's been taking a wee, but because the elastic bands don't allow her to take her stand very well, it seems she's been weeing on herself and the elastic bands! Ick!! Poor girl! No wonder she's been walking like she's peed her pants, she literally has And here I thought she was walking funny because the straps felt funny. Well they do, but they need a jolly good washing now.

Of course all of this is occuring at 17*F...some sort of serious minus Celsius, so there's naught I can do to tidy her up til the weather shifts. Good grief! I'm rather glad I didn't manage the sheepskin covers as they would have soaked all this up like a sponge and weighed a good twenty pounds.

For the time being the elastics are off! Has anyone else had this problem before?? What do you do??

[SuzieP]

Hmmmmm yes, Bea's leg straps get pretty yukky too - and as for the fillet string!! All I can suggest is to have a spare set - one to wear and one in the wash.

[Debbie]

Phew!!! At least its not a 'girl' thing. I was beginning to wonder....

[harleydales]

Yep, it happens to the girlies. The geldings seem to manage better with leg straps, but poo all over the fillet strings. Jenny somehow manages to keep herself pretty clean.

I always have the leg straps fairly loose and tucked through each other - when they are done up I stretch a hind leg out as far as I can and make them so that at full leg extension they are still not tight. This is a double edged sword though, as you don't want them too loose.....

[Debbie]

Her straps are excessively loose, but still above hock level. I find the whole thing a bit odd, as I've altered the blanket and removed the tail flap and with the elastic straps added, the blanket changed shape and didn't rest on her tail at all. ?? So she should be able to flag her tail correctly and get a better stance, but all things being what they are, she's acting like she can't get her tail up to wee properly, and its making a mess of everything!

Do you think she's 'tucking' her tail because its cold?? I've never seen a mare do this before. Normally they're excessively clean.

[harveydales]

I never had this problem with any of my mares over the years. Filet strings yes, but not leg straps. You could be right, Debbie, she could be tucking up because of the cold.

[PonyGirl]

Poor girl. This happens up here too.

[Debbie]

I can well imagine in New York! Its excessively cold in the winter Maybe Blossom's deciding its 'excessively cold' here as well??

...sigh...well no matter, we're back to the elastic straps because even with the elastic surcingle, the winds lifted her blankie clean up and off while I was gone this afternoon. Came home to a naked pony hovering near her blankie and wanting me to put it right

Pony wardrobes are complicated!!!!

[zeldalithgow]

I've not had this problem with Daisy's leg straps, they are not elastic just the normal woven ones, I wonder if it would be worth trying non-elastic ones for Blossom to see if they make weeing easier for her, also I wonder if the rug is a bit big that it might be making Blossom feel a bit restricted in the tail department

Daisy has a Fal Slumberdown rug that has a fillet strap and this does get a bit pooey, but it's got a bit of clear plastic tubing on it so nice and easy to clean.

[rachelg]

gosh debbie your winds must be so strong.....i havent read all your posts on this topic so i may not be fully up to date with the rug/leg straps probs.....i dont do leg straps,i nearly got my head took off by beauty once when i was doing them up so ever since i have cut them all off!!!!i just have a fillet string on the back..neither of my girls tend to get them very poo-ey or wet,i wondered too if her rug is a bit too long maybe?not fitting snug?although we are in a valley so we dont get horrendous winds....marley had a rug once that was a bit too bodily deep and sort of joined under his belly when fastened up,and i swear he wasnt wee-ing in it because as soon as we brought him in for tea each night and took it off for a breather he dashed to the back of the stable and did a huge wee!!! i dont think he liked it presumably splashing back at him? we dumped that rug!!!

[PonyGirl]

That is why Daisy is NAKED!

[Debbie]

Indeed, NAKED might be what happens if this keeps up, but our winter's been truly awful with wind/rain/sleet being the theme.

Oddly enough with the elastic straps, the back of the blanket gets lifted free and clear entirely from her tail. I think she's getting a cold blast everytime she tries to flag her tail because the blanket has taken a different shape to what she's used to.

I've cut away the tail flap entirely (because she doesn't get on with those, and yes, this one's a size too big, but doesn't overlap her belly. With the leg straps in place, it reshapes the end so that she's covered, but her tail doesn't have any fabric over it. I'm sure a picture speaks a thousand words here.... Its not rubbing that I can tell, but she's refusing to take a proper weeing stance, figuring she'll get cold if she does As our Winter storms have been creating 20 - 40 mph winds, she's not overkeen at this point to lift her tail. On the otherhand, that blanket's not going anywhere, giving the rest of her warmth and waterproofing.

I'll need to add 'chambermaid' to my titles soon.