Nasty brown and yellow scabs and baldness on fetlock

S

SallyAnnJane

New User
Joined
27 June 2014
Messages
1
Visit site
At exactly this time last year my horse, Toby (New Forest x Connemara), developed a small nasty dark brown scabby patch on his white fetlock. It started when we moved him to a small paddock with long grass. The scabbyness grew and grew resulting in nasty bald patch with brown and yellow scabs right up his leg on the white sock. It would be bald in the middle with the scabs surrounding it on the edge of the hair. It also spread to the other back leg fetlock. Toby clearly found it irritating and painful whenever I touched it. It is similar to mud fever but to an extreme. We tried everything based on recommendations including hibi scrub, Frontline, pig oil, steroid creme, E45 and camrosa. Camrose did seem to be the best treatment. Also tried pulling all the scabs off etc. We thought perhaps it was harvest mites (hence why we used Frontline which did seem to slow its growth but not heal it) but apparently harvest mites don't occur until later in the summer? It was a nightmare and lasted 5 months until the patch had reached the black hair on his leg where it stopped spreading and gradually healed and the hair grew back. Now, this year the exact same thing has happened. Apparently, the same small brown scab has appeared on the white fetlock. I am away from home and my mum has been looking after him and she put him back in the same paddock, much to my annoyance as I specifically didn't want him back in that paddock in case it was harvest mite etc.

I really want to prevent what happened last time, to nip it in the bud before it spreads right up the leg again, but we still have no certainty about what it actually is. Anybody else gone through the same experience, know what it is or could suggest how we treat it? Do you think it could be mites? I think we should move him out that paddock immediately but my mum thinks otherwise as there are limited places we could put him at our yard that are away from that paddock. Thanks.
 
If it's only happening on the white sock in summer it could possibly be photosensitivity. Have you ever tried sunblock on it?
 
leukoclastic vasculitis.

dont pick and pull as it will be really very sore indeed.

I have kept CS's at bay for 2 years now by washing only with tea tree shampoo, spraying with very dilute hibiscrub 3 times a week and slathering any scabs in a steroid/antibotic heel cream.

However, idiot here picked up triscrub instead of hibiscrub and the essential oils have reacted with him and he's got one big gungey scab on a hind leg and several smaller ones on a front leg, plus a bit of hair loss.

sigh.thrown out the tri scrub and got some hibiscrub but after doing yet more googling have changed the routine a bit to:

am now washing the leg with selsun shampoo to help clear the gunge, and am trialling hypocare spray afterwards as this worked miracles on Bruce's greasy (but not sore) legs in the winter.

If it hasnt improved by next week i think ill need to start turning him out in chaps, i use the fly chaps not turnout chaps as they let the skin breath. havent had to use them for years and years but they def help keep the UV off whilst they heal.
 
Faracat said:
PS - Did you read this thread about LV? It's been linked to a few times, but here it is again incase you missed it. http://www.arabianlines.com/forum1/topic_new.asp?TOPIC_ID=25593&SearchTerms=vasculitis
Click to expand...

thank you :) yes i have read it, got the idea for the selsun shampoo off it :)

washed legs with selsun and flamazined and wrapped legs last night-this AM the biggest scab on his hind leg has melted away leaving healthy pink (but not red/sore) skin under it, yaaaaaay! the one on his front leg is being more stubborn, the small bits have come away but the original biggest scab remains, have flamazined the hell out of it again this morning and will do it again tonight and wrap legs, as much as i detest over heating legs, warmth on top of the flamazine seems to get the scabs to lift off without any picking and then the skin underneath heals very quickly.
 
That sounds like great progress. :)

My boy had terrible photosensitivity last summer (so far, so good this year *touches wood frantically*) but the Vet didn't think it was LV. It took months to heal up and was obviously really sore for him - poor chap. :(
 
it is horribly sore for them, if i ever catch a scab accidentally washing or trimming up his leg he really flinches and i feel awful :(

will see how the new skin looks tonight but if its starting to scab again i think im going to have to crack out the sun chaps and keep him covered up for a few weeks, which again i hate to have to do but needs must and all that.
 
I think I'd be keen to get some antibiotic/steroid cream on it given his history.

Frank gets random scabs on body and legs at random times and his pasterns (travelling upwards) broke out last week and went very scabby and weepy. Three days of slathering in sudocreme with lots of added sulphur powder several times a day and then washing with hibiscrub and only applying to the still affected patches seems to have resolved it - I though I might have to be leg clipping to get to it.
 
ester said:
I think I'd be keen to get some antibiotic/steroid cream on it given his history.

Frank gets random scabs on body and legs at random times and his pasterns (travelling upwards) broke out last week and went very scabby and weepy. Three days of slathering in sudocreme with lots of added sulphur powder several times a day and then washing with hibiscrub and only applying to the still affected patches seems to have resolved it - I though I might have to be leg clipping to get to it.
Click to expand...

sadly it seems to be what works for one doesnt work for another :( hibiscrub did seem to work ok for a long while but i know it aggravates a lot of horses.

I have got flamazine on the go and have been advised to mix total sunblock with this to use in the day to stop the UV without the possibility of sun chaps rubbing.

ive got betnovate on stand by too but am considering using that overnight instead?

so will see how that goes. I am monitoring very closely as he's had to have norodine previously and am only 5mins from vet so can nip in and grab some if its needed :)

its a nightmare.
 
Last edited:
Defintely sounds it PS, it's why I will tend to suggest but just as an option to try rather than this will definitely work, I think I have been lucky even though the other liveries do look a me a little oddly when I spend a long time sat next to him finding every little scab and turning his legs fluorescent yellow - only to wash it off a couple of days later. I mostly use hibiscrub because sudocreme is a nightmare to get off but try to do it only very rarely/cream clogs are ridiculous - I hope CS improves soon, I have no idea what triggered F's recently.
 
i think CS's is due to my own stupid fault-i had been washing with hibiscrub 3 times a week but picked up triscrub by mistake (which has essential oils in it) and i think that has triggered a UV reaction and now my normal combo of hibiscrub and flamazine arent working :(

the selsun definately works well as getting the greasy scabs to come away more easily than the hibiscrub so am going to stick to that for time being and see if using sun block in the day helps.

im 99% sure that Bruce gets the same thing as he gets greasy chapped areas when it snows (UV being reflected?) but for him the hypocare works brilliantly and clears it up in 48 hours if we get to it quickly. annoyingly i dont think thats helped CS at all.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top