| A Sign of Spring |
February 20, 2008
by Bonnie Davis
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For some folks the first signs of Spring are flowers beginning to poke their heads through dirt. Birds returning to trees that are budding and winter sales at malls. For me, the first sign of Spring is winter horse hair blowing in my face!
Regardless if one blankets a horse or leaves 'em natural through winter months, as soon as the sun begins to shine longer -- hair begins to fall out!! Shedding winter horse hair is my first sign that Spring is just round the corner and Summer riding isn't far off.
It seems someone is always inventing or developing something to make our lives with horses easier and our horses lives easier with us. I just wish someone would invent or develop something that would make winter hair shedding neater.
For the first few days all that winter hair falls off in stray strands. A few here. A few there. A few on top. A few on bottom. But after about a week of warm sun and later sunsets, hair begins to come out in handfuls!! I can get enough hair off Nic alone to stuff a mattress. And he's only 14.2 hands! If I took all the winter hair from the five horses, combined it into one BIG pile, I'd be able to build another horse or completely cover any draft horse suffering from hair loss.
The real problem with that winter horse hair is that it doesn't matter where you stand when brushing, it will always blow INTO your face. Even with no wind it will blow into your face. And since the sun is warmer, you'll work up a light sweat when brushing and currying so those fly-away strands of winter hair will begin to stick to your face, neck, down your back, anywhere. They even get in your mouth when you talk! Smile, you got horse hair stuck to your teeth.
Sure, I've seen the vacuums you vacuum a horse with. But Nic doesn't take to kindly to having his body vacuumed. Might have something to do with the fact that I tried it once using a shop vac from a local garage. Got the vacuum hose end stuck to his hide and had a heck of a time getting it loose. Even when the vacuum was turned off, still had to pry it off his skin. It did do a good job -- no hair left, NONE what so ever. Just a perfect round spot of skin -- no hair. Just skin.
Another time I bought a 'special' curry to "comb and brush winter hair off the horse in one easy swipe". Sure, it took the hair off in one easy swipe but the hair still blew in my face! I could have winter hair blowing in my face without spending $34.95 for a 'special' curry!!
Then there was the "winter hair removal shampoo" and the......well, you get the idea. I know Spring has sprung because winter horse hair is blowing in my face.
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| I once thought the crocus blooming was the first sign of spring too. But my horse starting shedding before they popped up. Lots of white fur all over my black coat! We use a horse vacuum to gently suck in the loose hair. Still, as effective as it is, the hair just keeps coming out, it seems as if the vacuum isn't working. The hair just keeps coming and coming. But at least it does not blow in my face. ;) |
| Posted by EL in VA |
| We should take an idea from some old cowboys. They used to make sure to only brush on a still day and would store all the hair in a burlap bag. When they had enough, they would empty all the hair out (I can only imagine how messy that was) and shape it in a rectangle. They would keep pushing in and down to compress it and then they would get a piece of wire. They would shape that wire with a hook on the end and proceed to crochet the hair to itself and through itself in a spiral, working outward to the edge. Voila - a new saddle blanket. I read that in the Western Horseman magazine when I was a young girl (I am 63 now) and have never forgotten it. I have secretly always wanted to try it but never have. |
| Posted by Mimi - Mississippi |
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