Warmbloods scabby feet

[emmawilkinson1]

Not sure if this is the right thread to put this on but I’m at a lost end with my warmbloods scabby feet
He’s got really bad scabs on his pastern and heal pad area. We initially thought it was a pollen reaction as it wasn’t wet when they first started but they look like mud fever scabs and just won’t seem to go. He’s very sore with them and it’s only on his white feet. We’ve poulticed them and have been lathering them in sudacream but they aren’t getting any better.
Any advice on what they could be and how I can get rid of them would be very much appreciated.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

I’ve always had really good results using Muddy Buddy by Lincoln in exactly the same place on my Connemara. He also only gets it on his one white foot. I never wash his legs but allow them to dry out when he’s in during the day and then reapply before he goes out at night.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

My Arab gets similar at the end of summer I think its caused by the dew on the grass.

I personally detest sudocreme it's just so thick and is basically keeping the bacteria in the skin as it doesn't breath.

Clean the area with warm water and thoroughly dry then use a steroid cream and a mud fever powder daily like Keratex or Lincoln, don't keep washing it but keep it as clean as you can I tend to just brush the mud off when it's dry with a very soft brush.

I then just cover the heel area with the powder once or twice a day, I do also find a basic hydrocortisone cream helps clear it up.

 

[TheMule]

It’s probably a bit of photosensitivity.
Keep it dry (definitely don’t poultice!), I’ve had the best success with Filtabac.
Sudocrem won’t help it heal

 

[Hackback]

One of mine has this on his 3 white legs. It started last year in August and continued until January. He was really bad last year - it developed into vasculitis - and he had goodness knows how many courses of antibiotics, plus steroids and topical creams. The vet thought it was photosensitivity due to liver damage caused by something he'd eaten, but bloods came back clear.

This year it started around the same time but it's not as bad. Only 2 vet visits so far, and that's only because the cream they supply has antibiotics and steroids so they have to do periodic examinations before they can prescribe it.

Current regime is sunblock on a morning before he's turned out, and vet's own cream when he comes in. I was using Filtabac but sadly it seems to be out of stock everywhere unless you're willing to pay £30+ for a little tube that normally retails between £8 and £9. The bigger tubs were all recalled some time ago.

So far we're keeping it under control but I'm scratching my head to think what could happen in August to trigger the reaction. I plan on having him allergy tested, but the next availability the specialist skin vet has is end of November.

Good luck with yours, please let me know if you discover a cure!

 

[Gloi]

Mine had this and I used filtabac on it which I think is the best thing. As he hadn't been handled much at this stage he wasn't well pleased with it being messed with. I was worried he would keep getting it but he hasn't again. I don't know if it is due to him now being on a broad spectrum supplement , something from his previous grazing, or if he has just grown out of it.

 

[bluehorse]

I’d highly recommend these: https://soxforhorses.com/silver-whinnys/

I used them on my warmblood who had really bad pastern dermatitis on his white legs, honestly some of the best ‘horse money’ I’ve ever spent. I had tried everything and cream provided by my vet and steroids tablets weren’t shifting it. It went on for months and the poor boy was so uncomfortable he was lame. I put these on and within a week it had started to improve, and almost completely healed within a month. I stopped all other treatment and stopped washing his legs, just put the sox on and changed them once a day for a clean pair. They were fine for turnout in the winter once I’d got the hang of taping them.

He had a small reoccurrence this summer on his heels so the sox went on straight away and did the job perfectly. I wouldn’t waste my time and money on anything else now.

 

[Hackback]

I've looked at these before but was put off by the fact they look difficult to get on/off. I'm guessing you have to tug them like a sock? My horse couldn't bear to be touched last year and I don't think I could have got them on/off without him. This year he's not as bad, although still kicks out if I touch a particularly sore bit while I'm applying his cream. I might look into trying them again.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

It can also be linked to immunity issues so make sure the horse is on a good vitamin and mineral supplement.

 

[bluehorse]

I've looked at these before but was put off by the fact they look difficult to get on/off. I'm guessing you have to tug them like a sock? My horse couldn't bear to be touched last year and I don't think I could have got them on/off without him. This year he's not as bad, although still kicks out if I touch a particularly sore bit while I'm applying his cream. I might look into trying them again.

There is a bit of a knack to it tbh. I made a mistake when I got them initially as my horses legs were very sore at that point. Having got them on the first time I took them off the next day to change them and he wouldn’t let me put them back on so I had to leave them off for another week or so before he would stand for me. When I did get them on again I left them on a few days and when I took them off to change again it had already started to settle down and he obviously felt less sore. He now lifts his legs for me when they go on. You do have to tug them but I was able to keep them away from his skin whilst doing this, they do stretch a bit after a while. Sizing is important though, and the most difficult but is getting them over the hoof. People sometimes use a plastic bag over the foot and leg to slide them on. the company can actually make you up a boot version with a zip if you speak to them but that works out quite expensive I think.

I know social media isn’t always a great source of information but I found this Facebook group quite helpful https://facebook.com/groups/799956067142780/

 

[Prancerpoos]

My trakehner had something that sounds very similar. She had an abscess that eventually erupted from her coronet after a week at the vet hospital on box rest. I think it was the stress of the hospital that caused the pastern problems and it went away after a couple of months. The vet said it was also probably linked to sunlight and it only affected her white pasterns, mostly just the soft little bit above the heels. She also had sores on her bottom either side of her tail. That also went away when she got home.

Has your boy had any new stress in his life?

 

[Hackback]

There is a bit of a knack to it tbh. I made a mistake when I got them initially as my horses legs were very sore at that point. Having got them on the first time I took them off the next day to change them and he wouldn’t let me put them back on so I had to leave them off for another week or so before he would stand for me. When I did get them on again I left them on a few days and when I took them off to change again it had already started to settle down and he obviously felt less sore. He now lifts his legs for me when they go on. You do have to tug them but I was able to keep them away from his skin whilst doing this, they do stretch a bit after a while. Sizing is important though, and the most difficult but is getting them over the hoof. People sometimes use a plastic bag over the foot and leg to slide them on. the company can actually make you up a boot version with a zip if you speak to them but that works out quite expensive I think.

I know social media isn’t always a great source of information but I found this Facebook group quite helpful https://facebook.com/groups/799956067142780/

Thank you, this is very helpful. I still have doubts that I would be able to get them on, given that it takes 2 hands to apply the cream (one to hold the kicking leg up and one to apply the cream) so I guess it would need at least 3 hands to get a sock on and even if hubby was available he would deem it 'too dangerous' to get involved. Horse might surprise me though. He's fine with other leg related interventions - picking feet out, putting boots on etc - so I thought I might cut the toes out of some welly socks or something and do a trial. In the meantime I've ordered some silver cream.

 

[Capalldonn]

it wasn’t wet when they first started

Are the scabs itchy? Could it be grass mites? If so you can try and wash with apple cider vinegar (1 part vinegar, 3 parts water).

 

[emmawilkinson1]

My trakehner had something that sounds very similar. She had an abscess that eventually erupted from her coronet after a week at the vet hospital on box rest. I think it was the stress of the hospital that caused the pastern problems and it went away after a couple of months. The vet said it was also probably linked to sunlight and it only affected her white pasterns, mostly just the soft little bit above the heels. She also had sores on her bottom either side of her tail. That also went away when she got home.

Has your boy had any new stress in his life?

Apart from moving yards when I first got him 7 months ago he’s been as happy as anything until these scabs turned up so I don’t think he’s had anything stress him

 

[emmawilkinson1]

My trakehner had something that sounds very similar. She had an abscess that eventually erupted from her coronet after a week at the vet hospital on box rest. I think it was the stress of the hospital that caused the pastern problems and it went away after a couple of months. The vet said it was also probably linked to sunlight and it only affected her white pasterns, mostly just the soft little bit above the heels. She also had sores on her bottom either side of her tail. That also went away when she got home.

Has your boy had any new stress in his life?

Apart from moving yards when I first got him 7 months ago he’s been as happy as anything until these scabs turned up so in

Are the scabs itchy? Could it be grass mites? If so you can try and wash with apple cider vinegar (1 part vinegar, 3 parts water).

he doesnt seem itchy in the he’s just lame as there really sore on him. He’s fine when he’s standing like not looking to itch then it’s when he’s talking or touching them he’s uncomfortable

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

If it's making him lame I would get a vet it could be infected.