Unusual overreach? Not sure on how to resolve this issue..

[Jordi222]

Hi All,

Here's a picture of how I find the leg (I apologise for the hairyness - it grows quickly!)
Just so you can see the positioning on her front leg

 

[I*HM]

We've had something similar with a hairy traditional - horizontal cut/scab approx 1inch long right on the crease above his ergot. He has quite sensitive skin and think it's dermatitis from a combination of regular bathing (and subsequently, damp legs), hot feathers and picking up dirt, sand, dust in said feathers. Been keeping it clean with hibiscrub, not letting the skin around it dry and too much and trying to keep him on good ground and rubber stable mats to stand in on rather than a full bed.

 

[Jordi222]

We've had something similar with a hairy traditional - horizontal cut/scab approx 1inch long right on the crease above his ergot. He has quite sensitive skin and think it's dermatitis from a combination of regular bathing (and subsequently, damp legs), hot feathers and picking up dirt, sand, dust in said feathers. Been keeping it clean with hibiscrub, not letting the skin around it dry and too much and trying to keep him on good ground and rubber stable mats to stand in on rather than a full bed.

It's got me thinking that as we are on a clifftop, it could be a reaction to the salt in the soil we have.. Possibly drying her skin out? I try to keep her as clean as possible and we love Hibiscrub in our yard
Also, as you've mentioned not letting the skin dry around it - should I use something like acqueous cream as opposed to sudocrem?

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Hi Jo1987,



If I turn her out in a brushing boot, it heals up and disappears, but this is not a great long term solution as they always end up torn and ruined

This is the bit that stands out for me. Your boot is getting damaged somehow. Grass doesn't tear boots up, hoofs do. Most things like mud fever or dermatitis would get worse if a horse wore a brushing boot 24/7 whilst turned out because the bacteria would get trapped under there and the boots often seem to hold moisture themselves too. Lots are made of neoprene and people tend to think it's waterproof, I don't know why, just wash a brushing boot and see how you have to squeeze the water out and how long it takes to dry. There's nothing bacteria and fungi love more than a warm, damp area so with a boot on you'd expect it to get worse. The same goes for turnout boots too, they're great for mud fever prevention but no good if the horse already has mud fever because it just traps the bacteria in.

From the photo it does look like she has creases in her leg you can see where the hair goes in different directions and the flaky bits do look like dermatitis. The cut does seem to be where a crease is but it doesn't look horizontal enough to be just a crease to me, it does look a bit like a cut. Is she shod behind? I think it's unlikely an unshod hoof would cut the leg like that especially if the edges were rounded off. But if the hoof is sharp at the edge or chipped and constantly scraping her with each stride I can see how you'd end up with a wound like that. If it was me, I'd be taking the shoes off and keeping the edge of the hoof rounded myself between farrier visits to see if that solved the problem.

Hibiscrub is harsh and drying. If you're washing with that daily, that alone could make the skin sore and prone to cracking. I've met plenty who swear by hibiscrub usually for mud fever, but they can't seem to see that if their horse still has problems despite daily washing with hibiscrub then their chosen "cure" surely isn't working and something needs to change.

 

[I*HM]

It's got me thinking that as we are on a clifftop, it could be a reaction to the salt in the soil we have.. Possibly drying her skin out? I try to keep her as clean as possible and we love Hibiscrub in our yard
Also, as you've mentioned not letting the skin dry around it - should I use something like acqueous cream as opposed to sudocrem?

meant to say dry out too much - as not a vet, I would think that as long as what you used did have a moisturizing element, it should help. To me it seems like the skin is irritated and dry, hence the cracking. We've just been using sudocrem when its been really bad and keeping an eye on it/keeping it clean and it hasn't flared up again since last week. Showed it to the vet when he was out last and he wasn't particularity concerned, said to just mind it!

 

[Jordi222]

This is the bit that stands out for me. Your boot is getting damaged somehow. Grass doesn't tear boots up, hoofs do. Most things like mud fever or dermatitis would get worse if a horse wore a brushing boot 24/7 whilst turned out because the bacteria would get trapped under there and the boots often seem to hold moisture themselves too. Lots are made of neoprene and people tend to think it's waterproof, I don't know why, just wash a brushing boot and see how you have to squeeze the water out and how long it takes to dry. There's nothing bacteria and fungi love more than a warm, damp area so with a boot on you'd expect it to get worse. The same goes for turnout boots too, they're great for mud fever prevention but no good if the horse already has mud fever because it just traps the bacteria in.

From the photo it does look like she has creases in her leg you can see where the hair goes in different directions and the flaky bits do look like dermatitis. The cut does seem to be where a crease is but it doesn't look horizontal enough to be just a crease to me, it does look a bit like a cut. Is she shod behind? I think it's unlikely an unshod hoof would cut the leg like that especially if the edges were rounded off. But if the hoof is sharp at the edge or chipped and constantly scraping her with each stride I can see how you'd end up with a wound like that. If it was me, I'd be taking the shoes off and keeping the edge of the hoof rounded myself between farrier visits to see if that solved the problem.

Hibiscrub is harsh and drying. If you're washing with that daily, that alone could make the skin sore and prone to cracking. I've met plenty who swear by hibiscrub usually for mud fever, but they can't seem to see that if their horse still has problems despite daily washing with hibiscrub then their chosen "cure" surely isn't working and something needs to change.

Funnily enough, her rear hooves are both a funny shape (being minded by the farrier) as she came to me with one outgrowing abscess and one in the process! One hoof is pointed slightly- on the same side as the soreness on her front leg. Possible connection?

She is only shod on the front two currently