Scabby legs + pics

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rach260

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First off if your at all squemish I wouldn't look at the pic's, they are a bit horrid tbh
Angus has always has problems with the back of his front legs, with it being worse on the left leg. It doesn't seem to cause him any pain, he doesn't seem to notice it at all. The vet has looked at it, gave me some cream which did nothing.
I will probably clip his legs again when he gets clipped next.
Any advise on treating this? Not sure what it is really but its a pain, it doesn't get any worse or better. It just look horrid.


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I had to clip my cob to remove it. You need to get a nit or fine toothed comb to get it out. If it attaches to the skin it makes it sore. I also wash them with a mild shampoo. It's horrible isn't it? It just keeps coming back.
 
its so annoying, as already clipped his legs 4 times but it just keeps coming back :( not helpful, especially as I'm hoping to show him in traditional cob classes next season.
 
Has your horse been checked for leg mites. Mine had both scabby skin and leg mites. Mites live on dead skin but only feathered horses react to them.
 
he had mites back in january when I got him, he was treated several times and now is fine. but I still apply a mite killing powder thingy every few weeks + will be getting the pig oil & sulphur out after his next farrier visit
 
From what I can remember I think I used some sort of anti-fungal cream for the dry scabby bits and it seemed to help. Could buy it off the shelf. Will have a look on internet to see if I can find it.
 
I keep my horse's legs clipped as he suffers with dermatitis on his hind legs. I tend to clip them and treat any sore patches with sudocrem generally.

My youngster's legs came up horrid though last year. Some people thought it was mud fever. We did get the vet out at one stage as his legs were swollen and, well, oozing! We think the reason for the scabbyness was to do with changing feed - in this case, introducing hay and the change in diet caused this reaction. As the legs are what are carrying the weight then the toxins that the body produces as a result of the diet change (ie increased carbs/protein) the symptoms are seen on the legs as this is where the toxins come out from.

the vet basically told us to leave it be but try and hose the legs to soften the scabs. Sure enough the scabs eventually disappeared.

Have you considered that it could be some feed type that is causing the reation? It may well not be and could easily be mites or just dermatitis but maybe think about what you are feeding (if any hard feed) and consider a change.
 
looks like mudfever! there's lots of treatments out there - i've used muddy marvels with great success before but my horse wasn't as feathered! I've heard of pig oil and sulpher being good for hairy legs
 
I know a girl who had something similar in her traddy cob. After exhausting all the options the vet offered she got some weird hydrotherapy salt water spa thingy for him. It did seem to make a difference. Don't know if they exist out in the world apart from to buy though and it looked blooming pricey!
 
Pig Oil and sulphur works - try a drop first to check for a reaction. If all's well slap it on with a paint brush and massage it well in.
Next day wipe off excess with old towel. About 5 days later shampoo - I use teatree. Scabs should just flake or rub off. I use a hair brush or a dog grooming curry comb thing.
Then few days later repeat process again. The mites can't move about in the greasy hair - same way as using conditioner with headlice! :)
 
Looks like what my girl has - a skin infection on the back of her knees. Been using some cream from the vets (fuciderm) and we're finally getting there after a few months (hers looked a lot more widespread than your boys - had her a year and the vet doesn't think it had ever been treated before). Tried a million other things and none of them worked - once its cleared i'm going to try some other stuff to keep it at bay but the fuciderm is the only thing thats worked on clearing it. Oh, and aqueous (can get it cheap in supermarket/ chemist) is brilliant for keeping the scabs soft and the skin supple - our problems came from the fact that the skin hardened and cracked and she started getting secondary infections.

Perseverance is the key!
 
I would suggest that it is mallanders!

Form of dermatitis that heavies get which is irritated by mites. As much as it pains me to say it my boy benefited massively from having his feathers off to treat the mites and the skin.

Frontline or an ivomec wash from your vet would help massively and treating the scabs with udder cream really helped my boy.

If its infected she may need some antibiotics.
 
My boy had been treated countless times with dectomax and frontline. It was clipping to get to the skin that made the difference. I know some people don't have to resort to it but Im afraid some people have to.

What bedding do you use? shavings or any non straw really helps too.

I would also bathe the scabs with warm water and possibly a meditated shampoo.
 
My pony had exactly this mess on his dock for months.
The skin was thickened and scaly and when picked off left goey raw patches. Usual culprits treated with no effect (mites, mudfever,sweet itch, lice etc) if anything seemed to get worse.When you pulled out a hair the follicle was smelly with goo on the end instead of the usual little "tail". Sign of infection under the skin.
Treated by clipping the hair with fine blades to get every bit off, this ensures ointment goes where its meant to and lets air get to skin.
Application of antibiotic ointment and / steriod cream (fucidin/ fucibet/betnovate ect) from vet.
Be wary about pig oil and sulpher- patch test seemed ok on another horse I had, but legs got much worse and horse thought it nipped too when applied. All the hair fell out after a few weeks!!
 
I think Vanner is right. It looks like flexural dermatitis (used to be known as "mallenders"or "sallenders" depending on whether it was on the front or back legs).

As the modern name suggests. it appears on the flexing joint, i.e. on the back of the knees and the front of the hocks. The front legs are usually more affected.

My cob mare had this really badly last winter. Unfortunately the lab results were complex and unsatisfactory. It appeared that she had both bacteriological and other infections. She was treated with ???? whose name at this time of night and after a good dinner party completely escapes me. She was really lame for some weeks.

It has never cleared up completely, but at present I'm keeping it at bay with Pig Oil & Sulphur. I don't clip her feather, just scissor it, and I work the PO & S in with my fingers, gently but very very thoroughly. My vet actually had a look at her again today, as the insurance company are prbably going to become restive soon. I don't wash her legs, as this is counter productive. What seems to work best is to keep the legs moisturised and the skin supple at all times. The vet told me on no account to try to pick th =e scabs off as this just leaves open wounds for the infection to work in.

If you use PO&S you'll find that the scabs come free quite naturaly, and as they begin to slide down the hair you can just ease them off.

I would get your vet to have a look, rather than rely on all of us here, who are only diagnosing at a distance (though your pics are excellent quality).

I would be very surprised however if it is proved to be harvest mites. It doesn't look like it to me. Would be very interested to hear how you get on. Keep us posted.
 
I suggest that you wash his legs with Nizoral - you can buy it from the chemist. Dilute with hand hot water and work well into the skin. Then leave to dry. Repeat until all the scabs have gone. Should only take a few days.
 
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