My horse is an idiot (slightly icky pic)

algy666

algy666

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 January 2009
Messages
825
Location
Ayrshire, Scotland
www.bebo.com
I bought Dylan a fly rug a couple of weeks ago. Went out to catch him in last Wednesday - no fly rug. Hunted round the field for it, it was in shreds with all the binding ripped off. Thursday I went to check on him, he was standing still and kept picking up and putting down one of his back legs; and he looked lame when he ambled over to me. Brought him down, trotted him up, definitely lame on his back right and his fetlock was a bit swollen ... had a closer look at it and found the back of his pastern was all yellow and crusty. Cleaned it but couldn't figure out what he'd done until a friend suggested he might have caught the binding of the rug round his hind leg.
He's still slightly sore, and his leg looks like this (sorry, it's a tad gross):
DSC00436.jpg
 
I could be Mites or Heel Bugs, which I think is the same, rather than damage from the rug ... they tend to stamp their feet, as they are irriatated by it ..... wash it with Hybiscrb, leave it for 20 mins and then rinse off really well and dry it with paper towels
confused.gif
smile.gif
 
This is why I didn't want to buy my mare a fly rug, and why I take the leg straps off every rug I buy - turnouts have x-surcingles and a tail strap.
Some horses seem to LIKE injuring themselves.
 
Looks more like a skin disease (fungal) to me rather than rug injury, could also be feather mite, depending if the horse has been itching previously.

Dermatophilosis...aka dermititis (greasy heal/mud fever etc which can lead to swelling which will cause a horse to go lame, you may find the skin will leak puss out of the scabby area.
 
It's not mites (he wasn't actually stamping, just picking his leg up slowly and putting it back down again), it definitely looks like a bad friction burn
frown.gif


Have been hibiscrubbing it every day
 
Yeah looks a bit like rope burn, which obviously could have been from the rug being caught round his leg when he was trying to get it off. Sounds like your doing the right thing, as long as iots kept clean it'll clear up nicely
smile.gif
. looks really saw, hope he gets better soon xx
 
my horse did that except with a heavy weight rug which had a neck piece!! we thought it was mud fever or something like that until our YO said she had seen him hopping around with his leg chaught in it, in the end he must have broken it, so oculd have been a similar thing for yours!
i would als advise against putting on box rest as we did that because we thuoght it was mud fever and all the fields were muddy (winter) and he was scared of the boot. he got worse, and more lame....so i would be careful of that!
silly horse!
smirk.gif
 
It looks like a friction burn to me especially with the crusting where the skin has been rubbed off and the surrounding pink areas that look like the hair has been rubbed away.
I don't think it is Chorioptic mange at all as I have had first hand experience of that and it didn't look like that. It also doesn't just affect one leg but all of them and the horse generally stamps, or tries to bite at his legs because of the itching caused by the mites.
Sudocrem is a wonder cream in my opinion and is very effective for mild burns which is exactly what this looks like.
I would just keep an eye on it. Make sure it stays clean. Apply some sudocrem to the area and around it once the skin is dry as it will not only heal the skin but act as a barrier to prevent against any other secondary infection as well.
I am no expert and don't claim to be. But that is exactly what I would do if he were my horse. Keep it simple. There is no need to complicate matters. No need to box rest him either as the exercise will help to keep the swelling down. He will have fluid build up in this area due to the trauma caused to the skin and underlying tissues. Exercise will help to disperse the fluid build up and I would say that box resting would cause more severe filling of the leg to occur.
If his condition worsens or he is showing no signs of improvement by the end of the week I would ring the vet for advice.
 
Personally I dont box rest injuries...my vet agrees best thing is to be out and moving .... unless its a broken leg or torn ligament obviously
tongue.gif


I would clean it up and put a barrier on such as sudocrem or dermoline or MSM or something.

Sometimes yellow crusts can be an indication of a secondary stapphylococcal infection (bacteria) so just a keep a close eye as I'm sure you would
grin.gif
 
He was boxed for a couple of days but has been punted back out in the field now
smile.gif
not getting ridden though as I lunged him this morning and he still looks sore. Don't worry, it's being kept very clean
grin.gif
 
I would say that it's nothing to do with heel bugs or rug burns.

My mare has white legs and suffers the same problem. It is a skin condition similar to mud fever and causes the same problems. The best way to treat it is with Sudocream.

Do as you are doing and gently remove any crusty bits ( don't go too mad with the hibiscrub) and then liberally plaster the heels with sudocream. You will find that the problem will soon clear up and when it has, use a barrier cream on a regular basis to help keep the heels supple and waterproof.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top