Need help/advice/suggestions and vibes for nasty skin on legs *pics

RuthnMeg

RuthnMeg

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Poor Juno. She is 24, and has this skin infection type thing. Only effects her white leg markings, stops where white meets black and is not present on her only 1 black leg. She is sore and yesterday NH was swollen for the first time.
I have applied creams, bandaged, polticed and hibbi-scrubbed and am now at at slight loss what to do next.
She is now on 1 satchet bute per day, which may be taking off some of the pain as it is painful. She is also arthriticy anyway due to her age.
When cleaned the skin looks lovely and healthy, but within 12 hours, the horrible pussy yellow scabs are back. Remove the scabs and it takes the hair away, but leaving them on, they breed, and get matted within her hair.
I feel I am not winning, so am asking anyones advice on here, what I can do next to beat this. It has been going on for about 3 weeks now, got worse within the last few days.
Off fore;
2011-05-29112741.jpg

Hinds;
2011-05-29112751.jpg

Off hind;
2011-05-29112734.jpg

Inside of OH;
2011-05-29112725.jpg

Near Hind;
2011-05-29112713.jpg



All help very welcome with thanks.
 
Your horse is photosensitive, which is why it stops at the black hair, which has UV protective colouring in the skin.

Get her liver function tested VERY SOON. Liver disease is treatable if you catch it early enough and rapidly and nastily fatal if you don't, and this is a major symptom. Meanwhile, treat it like sunburn, because that's what it is.

I hope you get it sorted.
 
Manuka honey? It has antibiotic properties too and will cover up the sensitive bits...
Good luck
Bryndu
 
This is absolutely classic leukocytoclastic vasculitis. Needs a short course of oral prednisolone to clear up. I agree with cptrayes that blood sample for liver enzymes is a reasonable idea though.
 
alsiola said:
This is absolutely classic leukocytoclastic vasculitis. Needs a short course of oral prednisolone to clear up. I agree with cptrayes that blood sample for liver enzymes is a reasonable idea though.
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Is it related to the sunlight Alsiola, hence only being on the white bits and stopping abruptly at the black or was that just a coincidence??
 
totally agree with the above re the sun and liver. Out of interest does she have white on her face and if so is it the same? Hope you find the answer soon x
 
cptrayes said:
Is it related to the sunlight Alsiola, hence only being on the white bits and stopping abruptly at the black or was that just a coincidence??
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Good question - it does only affect white areas, which would suggest that UV light may have an effect but I'm not sure that we know this for certain. I think there is also some genetic predisposition involved. Clinically these lesions seem to respond really poorly to topical treatment, but really well to systemic treatment with steroids. I often see these cases as "mud rash that just won't get better". If I can find anything more definite I will post it here.
 
Pastern leukocytoclastic vasculitis
(photoaggravated vasculitis) is a relatively common but poorly understood disease. It generally affects mature horses and produces lesions confined to the lower extremities that lack pigment. Lesions are multiple and well marked. Initially, erythema (redness), exudation (oozing) and crusting open sores develop, followed by swelling of the affected limb(s). Chronic cases may develop a rough or warty” surfaceod vessels)

The cause of pastern leukocytoclastic vasculitis is not yet known, but an immune component is
possible. The fact that the lesions are limited to nonpigmented areas of the skin suggests a role
for UV radiation. Drug reactions may play a role, and a recent report has implicated a Staphyloccus bacterial infection as a possible cause.


A diagnosis is made based on skin biopsy of the affected area, which would show leukocytoclastic vasculitis (inflammation of the blood vessels) with vessel wall degeneration and clots involving the small vessels in the superficial dermis. Treatment may consist of systemic corticosteroids at relatively high doses for two weeks and reduced doses for
another four to six weeks. A reduction in UV light exposure may be helpful, either by bandaging
affected legs or stabling inside during daylight hours or both.ulcerations develop predominantly in the rear of the pastern region. The ulcerations are covered with adherent crusts. Over time, the lesions extend up the leg and affect the skin as high as the knees or hocks.
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This is from UC Davies (an American vet school) website, full article is here: http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/ceh/docs/horsereport/pubs-HR24-1-bkm-sec.pdf
 
Get your vet on the case a.s.a.p. And be careful about Manuka (Manuca Honey). They put some odd things with it sometimes. And until the vet comes, don't fiddle with the scabs. Theer's a lot of truth in the old saying "it won't get well if you pick it"!

Poor girl, it looks very sore.
 
I had this on a horse known to be prone to immune "weakness". It started like/with mud fever and in almost no time, with standard mud fever treatment (suggested by the vet) it was up both back legs up to his hocks. :eek: :(

Stop the hibiscrub. It can irritate even in ordinary circumstances, let alone on already inflamed skin. We also stayed away from Sudocreme and stopped poultices as they clearly made him worse, and scratch tested him before applying any other preparation. Luckily my vet is also from somewhere other than the UK, where we're a bit closer to some of the older methods of DIY treatment and we decided to go very Old School - diluted iodine washes (minimum water - more wipes) every few days to keep the legs clean and Furacin on the open areas, covered with gauze and light bandages, changed twice a day, to keep the healing skin protected. We did keep him in, but that was mostly because it was winter and very wet. When he started going out I wrapped him in polo bandages - I know they are NOT for turnout but needs must and I didn't want to risk boot rubs or knocks - and then soft turnout chaps as the skin healed.

We did try an round of antibiotics but he had recently been on antibiotics prior for something else and I don't think they contributed to the vasculitis per se, but I do think they contributed to the suppression of his immune system. He did have a short course of steroids, although give that his health was not great at the time, we were conservative with that, too. I also put him on an immune boost supplement (he had been on one previously, for his other sensitivities, but we'd been struggling to find a new one after he moved) at a maximum does and really took a look at his diet and other management issues to keep him as healthy and happy as possible.

Interestingly, the attending vet and I were discussing this the other day as he's healed up with absolutely no ill effects, even though we were sure there would be permanent scarring, the damage was so severe. I hate to say, but in the end I think it was a conservative approach, systemic support, nursing and attention to detail made was more responsible for the success than any magic bullet treatment.
 
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I have never heard of this - so would you suggest that, once this has been initally cleared up, that the limbs be kept covered? either by bandaging or boots? or is that this is caused by a rundown horse that then has the sensitivity?

My initial thought was mudfever, then a no as it spread so quickly so very interested to hear your answers.
 
Luci07 said:
I have never heard of this - so would you suggest that, once this has been initally cleared up, that the limbs be kept covered? either by bandaging or boots? or is that this is caused by a rundown horse that then has the sensitivity?
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Definitely keep legs out of sunlight, either by bandaging or boxing during daylight hours. As to potential causes, I don't think that there is an answer to that known at the moment.
 
Very interesting. Thankyou for sharing the info with us. I've never seen a case and hope that continues, but I did have a photosensitive Arab who was much, much worse when I moved him to a field full of wort plants.
 
cptrayes said:
Very interesting. Thankyou for sharing the info with us. I've never seen a case and hope that continues, but I did have a photosensitive Arab who was much, much worse when I moved him to a field full of wort plants.
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That would make sense. There are two sorts of photosensitisation possible:

Primary photosensitisation, cause by eating photosensitising chemicals that are not normally filtered out by the liver. They are then deposited in the skin, hit by sunlight and cause the typical lesions seen. The chemicals are usually related to chlorophyll or related compounds, that are photoactive due to their role in photosynthesis in the plant. The most common candidate for this is St Johns Wort. Liver damage is not a prerequisite for this form, although testing it to rule it out is sensible.

Secondary photosens. - damage to the liver, meaning that chemicals normally filtered out by the liver make it through into general circulation, and are then deposited in skin. Ragwort would be the most likely cause of the liver issue, although once the damage has occurred then many different plants can cause sensitisation.
 
Try washing his legs with Nizerol - you can buy it at the chemist. If it is Mudfever it - which is what I think it may be - it will clear it up really fast. Dilute with hand hot water and lather up well working well into the hair - make sure you wash way beyond the affected area as well. You can leave it to dry without rinsing.

Alternitavely do you have this plant in your grazing? It is known to cause photosensitivity.
MuskyStorksbill.jpg
 
Sadly myself and my mum have come to a decsion that Juno will be PTS within the week. Her legs are very sore, and with arthritis too she is stiff and seemingly very uncomfy, with little spark to manage her trot accross the field. I feel so sad, but it is time for her now. It is pointless to continue treatment, antibotics and painkillers when, the plan was to have her done before the winter anyway. We have brought the deed forward for her benefit.
She will be much missed.

Thankyou for all your ideas and suggestions, some facinating facts, and I have learnt alot from this post. I will re- read it again in due course.
 
I'm sorry to hear it's come to this point, OP, but I can completely see your reasoning and your point. It sounds like it's all starting to give way a bit and if she's not enjoying life . . . My horse was extremely uncomfortable and depleted with what I'm almost sure was the same condition - it was not, as people kept trying to tell me, "just a little mud fever". I hope you all have a peaceful week.
 
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