Scabby legs

Sharonr

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My new pony has arrived and I've found her legs to be extremely scabby.

Have been plastering them in Sudocreme but was thinking of using hibiscrub to pick off all the scabs which seem to be old and starting afresh with treating her.

Is this a good idea or should I leave well alone?
 
I think sudocrem may make it worse as it's oil based it will just make them more wet and likely to weep.

I would use hibi-scrub on them they dry and pick the scabs off.
 
Is new pony a cobby type with feathery legs? If so, the scabs could be due to feather mites untreated by previous owners. They can drive a horse nuts with the itching and the horse may chew their own legs or scrape them on things in an effort to relieve it. Over time, this causes thickening of the skin and sores. Have you seen the pony stamping his feet or scratching his legs? The easiest way to get rid of feather mites is for your vet to give 2 injections 10 days apart. Job done although they may need re-doing a couple of times a year. Good luck.
 
My Arab mare gets scabby legs for no apparent reason (she has quite senstive skin) I wash them every week with Camrosa shampoo then plaster some Camrosa ointment on once they're dry, it's got rid of the scabby and the hair is coming abck really quickly too
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I have a gypsy cob mare who had horrendously scabby legs a few months ago and after posting on here and receiving lots of advice (particularly from Theresa_f).

I did the following- I thoroughly washed her legs with hibiscrub but didn't pull off the scabs, then I mixed pig oil and sulphur together and painted it onto her legs using a big paint brush making sure it was right down to the skin. I found that as soon as I started using the oil the scabs just slid off the skin and where very easy to comb out without the need to pick. I did this every day for a week and then thoroughly hibiscrubbed again at the weekend.

After 2 weeks of doing this, her legs were 100 x better and whilst there was still a couple of scabs there were no open sores so I treated her with frontline spray. She then had almost 3 weeks with no scabs whatsoever but I noticed on Friday that she had about a 50 pence piece sized patch of scabs behind one knee, so I have hibiscrubbed her again and used the pig oil and sulphur and when I checked her legs last night, they were scab free again
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I would definitely recommend pig oil and sulphur for scabby legs as it has really been a miracle cure for my mare.
 
If you want the longest PM on looking after scabby legs and hairy horses legs in general, PM me and I will send it to you - the old remedies of pig oil and sulphur really do work and unless you have serious sores and infection, you do not need to clip of the hair.
 
I was told the way to get rid of scabs was NOT to pick them off but to completely cover them in sudocrem and then wrap them in clingfilm. Do for 2 days in a row and they should all come off.

Good grass will help too!!
 
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