Girth rubs or Sweat scabs???

[viccinlynn]

Hello we hope you can help, we have a 12 year old thoroughbred who keeps getting scabs / sores on and around her girth area. It all started when we got a new saddle, previously we had a GP with "normal" girth and the new saddle is a dressage with a dressage girth. we noticed she had a sore patch on one side so gave her time to heal with no girth etc once back in work the same happened on the other side this has happened a few times now on both sides but this time we have noticed that the scabs start around the girth area (as if a girth gall) but also go forwards into her "arm pit" and the very top of her leg, at both sides.

we have tried several girths / guards and rest, bathe and sudacream.

any advice would be great thanks in advance.

 

[jessikaGinger]

Ooo ill keep my eye on this as my mare has exactly the same although he marks look black in colour sometimes? and she gets them in the same places

 

[First Time Mum]

hi couple of possibilities from past experiance could be that the horse is allergic to the saddle soap that you use or the wash powder if a fabric girth.
I would put a girth sleave on and wash at least once a week in non-bio detergent to see if that makes a difference.
Hope she looks better soon
x

 

[viccinlynn]

Hi just though i would pass on some info that i have been given from other places (facebook lol) some one suggested that this may have started as a girth sore but with sweat etc turned into s fungal infection. i am going to try washing in some anti fungal wash eg hibiscrub and also as my friend was advised by the vet use some human thrush cream which is gentle eonugh not to cause more problems but will also kill off any fungal infections.

heres hoping this works!! can wait to ride my horse again!!

 

[Tnavas]

The short girth might be just too short and is chaffing her. Try a longer one and see if it helps.

In case it is a fungal thing, wash with Nizerol shampoo - buy from a chemist. Wash girt as well in it.

Try to place the girth a little further back as well.

 

[irish_only]

Bizarre though tis sounds, if you sleeve the girth with an inner tube, it shouldn't keep rubbing. Yes it will get sweaty, but stops the rubbing. (An old dealer trick)

 

[Luci07]

and if the medication doesn't clear it up it could be that she is very sensitive to the girth and you need to play around to find something she will tolerate. What girth was she wearing on the GP? is it possible to get a dressage version of that one?

 

[Greathead712]

Hello we hope you can help, we have a 12 year old thoroughbred who keeps getting scabs / sores on and around her girth area. It all started when we got a new saddle, previously we had a GP with "normal" girth and the new saddle is a dressage with a dressage girth. we noticed she had a sore patch on one side so gave her time to heal with no girth etc once back in work the same happened on the other side this has happened a few times now on both sides but this time we have noticed that the scabs start around the girth area (as if a girth gall) but also go forwards into her "arm pit" and the very top of her leg, at both sides.

we have tried several girths / guards and rest, bathe and sudacream.

any advice would be great thanks in advance.

I know this is an old post but I've just found it as came up on search whilst investing solutions to a very similar problem. Did you find a solution?
My thoroughbred is having same issue with dressage style girth. There is so little room between girth and back of his "elbow" so he keeps rubbing into the girth. Am using soft fluffy girth sleeves that I keep clean by swapping regularly. The rubs range from darker patches (he's bay) where just hair is ribbed to open blister. Either right on back of elbow or in folds of skin creases in "armpit". The problem with the sleeves is as he moves they get pushed backwards and then he rubs against the actual girth which is now further away from his sides because of the additional sleeve. It happened with the previous normal girth that buckles up under the saddle flaps which is partly why I had it altered to accommodate the dressage style girth.
Does anyone have any good results in salt water bathing or similar?
The trouble with thin skinned TB's.

 

[saddlesore]

Another one looking for an answer to the same thing- new saddle and now a dressage girth?

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

It's quite common in thin skinned tbs. If you can get some malaseb from your vet use that to wash your horses girth area down every day for a week or so. For open sores I would rub some Savlon in once dry rather than sudocreme. Change your washing power - or indeed wash your girth if it's not something you normally do! It should clear up but I would defos sponge down the girth/armpit area every day that you ride just to keep it clean.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

You have to let all open sores heal, in my experience, before you try again. Let the skin heal, then try a sheepskin girth. The longest one that you can. The girth should end right at the bottom of the saddle pad. Consider a girth with "elbow room" such as the Mattes asymmetrical girth. My horse has these same problems, but hasn't had an issue (been almost 2 years) since I switched to the Mattes and in the longest size possible for him.