Thickened skin from previous mite damage

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Welshboy

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I have a HW cob (11 years old) who has been prone to chorioptic mite infestations in the past. He is now clipped, scab and mite free. He received dectomax a few months ago, which worked a treat and I'm now washing with a selenium-sulphide based shampoo every 1-2 weeks, which seems to be doing the trick. I shall also be looking into PO & S as a winter option. Currently, there is no itching and hardly and scurf. Also, the mallenders he came with have almost cleared up - just one persistent bit left :)

But, his pasterns seem permanently damaged with scars and thickened skin. He has a corrugated effect down the back of his hind pasterns and there's evidence of similar on the fronts, but not as severe. There's also a couple of small nodules in the crease of his foot. But, there's no lesions, cracks, sores etc. All seems fine.

Having googled (far too much!), it seems this might fit with symptoms of chronic progressive lymphodaema (CPL). I had a vet checking and they just said chronic pastern dermatitis caused by mites. But I know vets are not so aware of CPL. So, I just wondered if his condition is likely to be purely damage caused by mite infestations, or if he might have an underlying CPL condition. By the way I have his full medical history and he's never been lame or had any major health issues...

I have also put him on a high quality balancer and linseed to help skin. And, he's on a short immune boosting supplement...

Would also appreciate any further tips on this condition and ongoing management.

Thank you.
 
I have a similar type of horse. Nearly on top of it with much the same treatment as you have done.

I used Selsun shampoo on the lumps of hard skin in her hind pasterns and had a good result, took a while but they did break down eventually. I am currently using LimePlus wash (stinks to high heaven) but works.

Can I ask you what you are putting on the sallenders ?
 
Owners of feathered heavies and cobs are pretty much unaware of CPL, mainly because so few vets are familiar with the condition. Added to that, most cases of itchy legs are attributed to feather mites, so giving the complaint an identification of chronic pastern dermatitis is a catch-all phrase to identify itchy, crusty pasterns (the condition is found in smooth-legged, unfeathered horses, as well).

From your description of your horse's condition, you appear to have quite a bit under control. Well done you! It is back-breaking work keeping those legs/pasterns clean and dry. There will be scar tissue at the site of previous outbreaks, so the way forward is to try and keep the skin well moisturised. That is a balancing act because you don't want to give the mites an environment to set up shop, so to speak.

There is a very informative and interesting article about CPL on the harlequinfarmsgypsyhorses.com website. This is not to suggest that many cases of mite infestation are CPL. However, it is food for thought.

I've been fighting the mite onslaught with my Shires for many years. My girls get a course of three Dectomax jabs ten days apart twice a year. It does help. However, and this is my observation with my lot, I have found that the girls become hyper-sensitive to the mites as the Dectomax wears off at about 5 months post their last course of injections. Their reaction to the mites is quite pronounced. Much as I would like to discontinue the drug, I find it is the only course of action that really works and gives them relief.
 
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My cob is the same - his worst affected leg is his right hind and it has the thickened, ridged skin and nodules around the pastern. I don't know if its possible to get rid of the thickened skin once it's there, I've heard lymphatic drainage massage can help but have never tried it. His other legs are ok, and I manage the condition by keeping the legs clipped and using neem oil (I tried ruggle-it oil but have recently found pioneer midge balm to be more effective - both contain neem which is brilliant stuff at keeping mites away). I have to keep his legs clipped or he gets a reinfestation and the itching/scabs start again.
The best thing I've found for his mallenders is hypericum & calendula cream from Helios.
I agree vets don't seem to recognise CPL as a condition, and I've no idea if mine has CPL or just skin damage from mites and itching, sorry that's probably no help! It seems to be more recognised and known about in America from the websites I've seen.
 
Thanks all.

I too am washing every week or two with Selsun..seems to be the cheapest form of selenium sulphide shampoo. Thanks for the recommendation for the lime wash.. I will look at,purchasing that.

My vet suggested I dectomax every year with annual vaccines, but not sure if I should opt for 6 monthly. Guess I should wait and see if any itching returns.

My cob had mallenders mainly on one leg... I have found that the shampoo has helped this and sometimes I am putting sudicream on it. It's all cleared up apart from the worst bit in one leg (which is sort of a small, hard, raised area). However a month ago he would flick his leg up when I rubbed cream or shampoo on int, whereas now, he's letting me touch it quite happily. So must be improving.

Assuming the worst and it is CPL. Is the disease progression likely to be very slow, if he's managed carefully ? He's 11 now and obv the current state of his legs are not impacting in his life in anyway...
 
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Oh, and thanks for the neem product recommendation too. I've recently been reading about neem, I shall google the product suggested,
 
Welshboy said:
Assuming the worst and it is CPL. Is the disease progression likely to be very slow, if he's managed carefully ? He's 11 now and obv the current state of his legs are not impacting in his life in anyway...
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I'd be interested in answers to that too - mine is 15 and it doesn't seem (touch wood!) to have got significantly worse since I've had him. Some affected horses grow enormous nodules that start impeding their movement, so it is something I worry about.
 
tedmunster said:
I'd be interested in answers to that too - mine is 15 and it doesn't seem (touch wood!) to have got significantly worse since I've had him. Some affected horses grow enormous nodules that start impeding their movement, so it is something I worry about.
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Lets hope the answer is therefore positive Tedmunster. How long have you owned yours? Of course they may not have cpl, but just damaged/scarred skin from mites.. Seems its goimg to be a difficult question to answer..
 
The good balancer and micronised linseed should help and even do the trick. I know a horse who had very thickened skin due to severe sweet itch and that combination has returned his skin to normal and also reduced SI symptoms dramatically.

Incidentally my SI (mild) pony has also had much reduced symptoms this year with a good balancer. Takes a while to have an effect so persevere.
 
gillrossini said:
Hi THere, my vet told me not to use Solvitax oil in his food..apparently the mites love it!..howeverI am curious to linseed oil?????..
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Hi, it's micronised linseed (actual seed) that we're referring to. My understanding is that this form is better metabolised than the oil..

Thanks for replies regarding benefits of balancer & linseed. I've also put him on a one month echinacea based immune booster. Fingers crossed this will all help the condition
 
Maybe I've just been lucky - My horse with a lot of feather arrived with heavy mite infestation which, according to the previous owner ' he always had'! With vet advice ( after identification of the little beasties) I washed with Selsun, leaving it on for 10 mins before washing it off. Did this 2 weeks running. Since then I have used Diatomaceous Earth (DE) which is used in the poultry industry to get rid of mites, and is also used internally in horses to get rid of parasitic worms. Its cheap, can be used in the horse's bedding ( which of course will also be infected with mites as are rugs, bandages etc). I dust it into my horse's feathers occasionally now since he has showed no further signs of mites. The legs were ridged with thick hard skin when he arrived. After treatment and about 6 months they are as good as new - no need for creams ( I was warned against PO and S) injections or flea sprays. Just a cheap, non invasive multi use product!
 
HappyHooves said:
Maybe I've just been lucky - My horse with a lot of feather arrived with heavy mite infestation which, according to the previous owner ' he always had'! With vet advice ( after identification of the little beasties) I washed with Selsun, leaving it on for 10 mins before washing it off. Did this 2 weeks running. Since then I have used Diatomaceous Earth (DE) which is used in the poultry industry to get rid of mites, and is also used internally in horses to get rid of parasitic worms. Its cheap, can be used in the horse's bedding ( which of course will also be infected with mites as are rugs, bandages etc). I dust it into my horse's feathers occasionally now since he has showed no further signs of mites. The legs were ridged with thick hard skin when he arrived. After treatment and about 6 months they are as good as new - no need for creams ( I was warned against PO and S) injections or flea sprays. Just a cheap, non invasive multi use product!
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Well done. That's good news. As it happens I bought some of the Nettex powder (which is the same as DE). So my approach is to wash legs with selsun every two weeks and dust with powder the week imbetween... very similar approach to you. The good news is that I spoke to previous owner today and apparently the ridged hard skin on the back of pasterns has been there since she owend him (7 years) and she doesn't think it's got any worse. So chances are it's more down to mite damage than CPL. But, def want to keep the horrible things away :)
 
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