Cactus?

[Foxtrot's]

I'm going riding in cactus country. My one previous experience was getting powerfully bucked off when my horse got some on him. Now I have a different, rather reactive horse
and the country where I am going seems to have it even in the grasslands, not just on rocky outcroppings. I know to take a comb, but at that stage it is too late for me.

[Bluey]

We have cacti all over, different kinds and all full of stickers they love to share.
We say that if you get close, you have to watch it, as the spines will jump at you.:eek:

Seriously, get your horse paying attention to you and if stuck, stop and get the stickers off.

You can get the little bitty ones out with any kind of tape, by taping your spot and pulling the tape off, hairs and stickers with it.;)

Tweezers help for those that are larger.
We scrape the stickers off the horse's legs with our knives, but you have to be careful, any time you have an open knife near a horse and person.:yes:

Most stickers fall off horses on their own anyway, so it is ok if you don't get them all, sometimes it is impossibly hard.

[Foxtrot's]

Thanks - a lot - that's advice I will take after I have been bucked off and walked twenty miles to catch the thing. I guess horses reaised in cactus country learn to tolerate them.
My friend's dog just sits there with a paw up and waits forher to come and comb them out.

[Risk-Averse Rider]

I carry a multi-tool (like a Leatherman) and use that to remove cactus.

Our huntsman and some other members of the hunt carry hemostats.

I don't know what kind of cactus you have up there in Canada (maple syrup cactus?), but it's not unusual down here to end up with a wad o' cactus stuck to you - in that case, I'd rather have a multi-tool than a comb.

Another word of caution: I always put galloping/splint boots on my horses when they're out in the great outdoors (actually, they wear them pretty much any time they're ridden, but especially if there are cactus around). I had a friend whose gelding backed into a cactus while trail riding and ended up with a punctured tendon sheath.

I know that the boots aren't going to protect from everything, but I feel that they help.

[sk_pacer]

Lots of cactus south of me, and the 'cowboys' all carry a set of small needle nosed pliers or one of those multi-tools for cactus spine removal.

Risk-Averse Rider - no, the cactus is out west....just the normal prickly pear, and pin cushion cacti.....all low growing stuff with spines strong enough to poke through bicycle tires.

[Foxtrot's]

These cactus are very low to the ground, truly do have long needles that can puncture a bicycle tire and are hard to see. The horses can kick them up onto their bellies or get them in their fetlock hair.

[JLR1]

One thing I highly, highly recommend is use boots on all 4 legs if you don't already. I have known of 2 horses that got jabbed in the tendon with a long cactus needle that within 24 hours had them three-legged-lame and in need of a surgery due to infection.

[EquineLVR]

One thing I highly, highly recommend is use boots on all 4 legs if you don't already. I have known of 2 horses that got jabbed in the tendon with a long cactus needle that within 24 hours had them three-legged-lame and in need of a surgery due to infection.

This happened to my mare in pasture and it was 6 months of recovery.. she still has a terrible scar from it.

Be very careful as the risk is not worth it.