Equine Cannon Keratosis

F

foal

Active Member
Joined
9 October 2011
Messages
32
Visit site
Equine Cannon Keratosis, has any one had this problem with their horse and what treatment did you use to rid of the problem. I understand Keratosis can also be found on other parts of the horses body i:e ears, but mainly found on the front of the hind cannon bones. If your horse has this or had this problem do you have some photo's to share, Equine Cannon Keratosis is quite common in the equine world but people use other names for the problem like rain scald, or scratches and can get confussed with ring worm, you can't pass Keratosis on to other horses, it's a hypersentive problem and could be food related also.
 
Last edited:
Cannon Keratosis is mainly on the hind legs on the front of the cannon bone, and often mistaken for scratches, Urine Scald and cannon scald and some times confussed with ringworm to folk who quickly judge and does'nt have a clue. This crud forms when the sebaceous glands are overactive on the horse's legs or body. Because of this, I highly doubt that it can be spread from horse to horse via brushes and other grooming tools. Oftentimes, there appears to be mud beneath the hair that does not easily come off with regular shampoo. Greasy dark crusts or "crud" form on the skin, and when the hair from the cannon area is tugged on, little tufts come out stuck together with yukky material. On dark legged horses, it's often not noticed at all until the owner comes across it accidentally, but on white-legged horses, it can be be very ugly and obvious.
 
Last edited:
My horse gets this, he has white socks and they sometimes get patches on the front of the cannon bones, I never knew it had a name always thinking of it as a form of mudfever. It is exactly as you describe I treat it with Hibiscrub to loosen up the greasy hair that sticks and have tended to do as little as possible, I find it heals more quickly if I dont put any cream on.
He didnt get it last winter, maybe being out in the snow helped keep them clean. He is a fine PBA so has no feathering and hardly any hair on his cannons even in the winter.
 
I have also been treating the legs with hibiscrub this year and last year (I have a T/B) and I too thought it was a form of mud fever, but it does not 100% clear the legs up, and today I noticed the horse has a little on the tip of her ear. Just been reading up about Keratosis, it's like an equine form of cradle cap, like babies get so have been reading up about what I can do about it. You need Benzoyl Peroxide shampoo to wash the area, and a softish brush to wash in the shampoo on the legs and leave on for a wee while before washing off then after a good towel dry apply in a gel form (works best, so it reads) over the counter Benzoyl Peroxide product like Clearasil or Oxy.
 
The kind of scabs you describe are the same kind of scabs my pony has (different cause but long standing treatment trials!)

I use head and shoulders sensitive and then a human hair comb to lift the scruf from the skin. I apply flamazine also as it helps healing (contains silver so anti microbial and helps healing :))

For us, sunlight is the biggest trigger though I suspect it's different for yours. She ant tolerate boots on legs as it causes her to sweat and then scabs appear there.
 
I would try the shampoo, you should be able to buy it over the counter or in a big pet shop and can also be used on dogs. It seems Equine Keratosis is widely misdiagnosed...
 
Just be careful with that wash, a dermatitis is like eczema in humans - and using peroxide (bleach) seems pretty harsh if it is not a bacterial type infection?

Even normal shampoos aggrevate her skin. That said my pony has auto immune disease (again massively under diagnosed) so may be more sensitive
 
this sounds like my tb's legs. He has greasy scabs on the front of his backlegs, which I thought was rainscald, although I haven't been able to 100% clear it up.
I'll have to look into it some more...
thanks
Kx
 
Just wanted to give an update :) I brought a bottle of cradle cap for £1.89 from sainburys, and treated my horses legs as advised, I washed both back legs (twice) and dried them well for two day running and pleased to say all has cleared up (for now) will have to wait and see, but very happy with the results.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top