Scratches and Mud Fever: Why ALWAYS the white legs?

Comments · 90

• SC

  @ScienceofRaisingHorses · 2 weeks ago (edited) · pinned

  Here is the list of products recommended by people commenting.<br>Best practice for treating (as in what vet recommend and what has worked for others) <br>Make sure the horse’s immune system has no reason to be depressed (good feed, address systemic diseases) <br>If possible, clip the area (hard to do, horses can get very sensitive there and clipping around the crust is hard) <br>Washes (to clean the leg and remove at least some of the bacteria that is on the skin):<br> <br>Betadine: <a href="https://amzn.to/4dzXtIj">https://amzn.to/4dzXtIj </a><br>Hibiclens: <a href="https://amzn.to/4AhI9tM">https://amzn.to/4AhI9tM </a><br>Nizoral shampoo: <a href="https://amzn.to/4iQlH4T">https://amzn.to/4iQlH4T </a><br>Davis Shampoo (Chlorhexidine): <a href="https://amzn.to/4h8olA9">https://amzn.to/4h8olA9 </a><br>Medica treatment wash: <a href="https://medicaveterinary.com/collections/equine-medicine/products/treatment-wash">https://medicaveterinary.com/collections/equine-medicine/products/treatment-wash </a><br> <br>Antibiotic creams, ointment and powders: <br>Keratex Mud Shied Powder: <a href="https://amzn.to/46nwADL">https://amzn.to/46nwADL </a><br>Furazone: <a href="https://amzn.to/4xRR03I">https://amzn.to/4xRR03I </a><br>Silver Sulfadiazine: <a href="https://amzn.to/4708G1b">https://amzn.to/4708G1b </a><br>M-T-G Oil: <a href="https://amzn.to/4j6HKnF">https://amzn.to/4j6HKnF </a><br>Sudocrem: <a href="https://amzn.to/4j8vUJL">https://amzn.to/4j8vUJL </a><br>Schreiners: <a href="https://www.equinelifestyleco.com/product/schreiners-herbal-solution/">https://www.equinelifestyleco.com/product/schreiners-herbal-solution/ </a><br>Red horse Honeyheel: <a href="https://redhorseproducts.com/shop/skin-care/honey-heel/">https://redhorseproducts.com/shop/skin-care/honey-heel/ </a><br> <br>Protection, softeners and protection: <br>Desitin: <a href="https://amzn.to/4z1frft">https://amzn.to/4z1frft </a><br>Zinc cream: <a href="https://amzn.to/4y8VXoX">https://amzn.to/4y8VXoX </a><br>Vaseline: <a href="https://amzn.to/4diTDmQ">https://amzn.to/4diTDmQ </a><br>Bag Balm: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Vermonts-Original-Bag-Balm-Moisturizer/dp/B01AASJCPA?th=1">https://www.amazon.com/Vermonts-Original-Bag-Balm-Moisturizer/dp/B01AASJCPA?th=1 </a><br>Desitin: <a href="https://amzn.to/4z1frft">https://amzn.to/4z1frft </a><br>Zinc cream: <a href="https://amzn.to/4y8VXoX">https://amzn.to/4y8VXoX</a>

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• AL

  @allysondoerfler8688 · 2 weeks ago

  I had a bay Arabian mare who contracted scratches in a white front foot. She had sensitive skin - I had to fight the flies from leaving her midline bald and even scabby her whole life. The vet treated it very aggressively with an oral as well as topical med. She did respond well to treatment and never had a reoccurrence. I had never heard of scratches before - hopefully this video will inform a lot of owners. Thank you!

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• DA

  @daniel_moretti · 2 weeks ago (edited)

  At the rescue where I volunteer a thoroughbred had horrible scratches for years before I started. It took another five years of working with our vet to cure the disease. <br><br>We would wet the pastern and apply a ketoconazole shampoo like Nizoral (OTC) or CK Shield (RX) and let it sit for around 15 mins. We&apos;d gently remove some of the scabs while rinsing off the shampoo, then towel dry and blow-dry. We would then put on polo wraps to protect the skin. <br><br>We tried Fura-zone and povadone iodine gel with no luck. The game changer for us was a silver sulfadiazine sweat wrap. We would liberally apply the SSD to the pastern and then wrap the pastern with plastic wrap. We&apos;d leave that on for hours, sometimes even a day. The SSD would penetrate the scabs and they would come off much easier.<br><br>To prevent reinfection, to this day, we wrap the back pasterns with polo wraps every night and take them off in the morning. <br><br>We do this because horses press their pasterns into the ground while getting up from lying down. It is this pressing/grinding that pushes dirt into the skin. This is why scratches are usually on the outside of the pastern. <br><br>He has been scratches free for the past four years.

  8

• DA

  @danceswithhector5867 · 2 weeks ago

  Thank you so much for another (always) amazing presentation and the &quot;science-y&quot; stuff behind mud-fever/greasy heel (as I&apos;ve known it here in Aus). &nbsp;Have just come through an awfully wet and muddy winter and decided to use Sudocrem at every opportunity as a prevention strategy. &nbsp;White hind legs - we made it without infection! &nbsp;I did not know those filament things were in there!

  1

• KE

  @kenmorris2290 · 2 weeks ago

  Yep, my partner had a bay Arabian with one white hind foot. We lived in a place with a lot of rain and mud in winter. Every winter the Arabian would develop scratches on that one white foot. She successfully treated the foot very similarly to what you describe and it worked. Eventually she did the same treatment preventatively. I mostly have had horses with black feet, but if I had one with a white foot, if the horse ever had an abscess, it would be the white foot.

  9

• CA

  @cakedesigner · 2 weeks ago

  @<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BhmBj28ISc&amp;t=560">9:20</a> wow super interesting ingredients... I&apos;d bet it&apos;s the lime and Sulphur that did the work on healing scratches from those ingredients... aside from clearly slowly poisioning the horses.<br><br>Acetate of lead <br>Flowers of camphor <br>Liquid of carbolic acid <br>Benzoated lard <br> <br>Acetate of lead = (also known as sugar of lead) &nbsp;ancient sweetener until they realized it caused lead poisoning ! (interesting history actually) <br> <br>Flowers of camphor = (crude camphor from the Camphor Tree is mixed with a bit of charcoal and lime) I bet this is why it would have worked back then on scratches, due to the lime and sulphur part of it….<br> <br>Liquid of carbolic acid = Found in low concentrations in antiseptics, disinfectants. Likely extracted from coal tar back then<br> <br>Benzoated lard = rendered pig fat with powdered benzoin (a aromatic resin derived from East Asian trees of the genus Styrax) it was a long lasting ointment base for medical salves and creams.

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• PS

  @pseudopetrus · 2 weeks ago

  I had a Belgian Draft rescue boarder at my farm, she had chronic scratches (likely from working wet fields), further the skin had scar tissue which made it impossible to fully eradicate. I had to work at it every day. I was fortunate to have a course sand paddock that stayed quite dry. But it was an everyday job trying to keep the scar tissue clean and soft, free from infection. Don&apos;t let a small problem become a big mess!

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• EV

  @evaquadrobics1399 · 2 weeks ago

  My horse has a mild form of this every winter, on his 3 white legs. Strange thing is i just noticed he is starting to get it a little bit now and only on his hind legs. And its not even muddy at all!

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• LO

  @lorryharries3972 · 2 weeks ago

  MTG worked for me. It softens the scabs so they all can be removed. Takes a couple of weeks of consistent application and removal of the scabs.

  3

• DI

  @dianesmigelski5804 · 2 weeks ago

  This is a topic every horse owner should know before getting their very first horse. <br>I read everything the library had on horse care and there are tons on hoof care but nothing much on scratches. My dad called it a form of heat rash where we live. We had high humidity and usually when we have had rain many days in a row I could see it appear. I was taught to use copper to heal them. It was mixed with turpentine and pine tar. We used it on all the frogs of the horses we kept. Especially a wet season. I think we still had a few issues but none disabling. I used the copper mixture and zinc oxide. I had no idea it caused such issues! I had an Arab mare I would treat every wet season for thrush. She was gray but had white socks. She was the most prone. I never gave her thinner skin a thought. But she was the one to have a very small issue. Our stall floors were ancient. Dirt/clay hard packed with sand overtop. I used straw in winter which also kept their legs off the ground. I have read many tips and tricks here. All of it useful. ❤ I thank everyone who posted.

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• NA

  @NatashaHodder · 13 days ago

  I was wondering when this would come out. My mare developed this while in the first couple of months of pregnancy and leg swelled to the hock (oh ffs). And of course certain medications are a no go while pregnant. Thank goodness it got sorted but so stressful. Bless my vet, he was injured and in the ER and answering my frantic texts with treatment planning at the same time. A real MVP

• KA

  @kathrynjaneway750 · 2 weeks ago

  My senior Arab gelding&apos;s horrible scratches was the first clue he had PPID. Even the vet didn&apos;t believe it because his top line was great and he didn&apos;t have the woolly mammoth look. Topical treatments plus antibiotics got him right as rain. Fungasol for the win.

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