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HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Skin Diseases, Wounds, and Swellings » Hair and Coat Problems / Itching / Irritated Skin » Scratches, Grease Heel, Dew Poisoning, & Mud Fever »
  Discussion on Scratches on face as well as legs?
Author Message
Member:
Lynnie

Posted on Tuesday, Oct 12, 2004 - 1:31 pm:

I have a 6 year old paint mare that developed scratches on her rear legs (pasterns only) in the late spring this year. I've treated it all summer long (Furasone/Desitin/Cortizone Cream/Neosporin/Lotrimin AF) mixture. The scratches goes away, but always seems to return if I stop treatment for any length of time. How do I get rid of this for good, or am I simply stuck with it?

In addition, this same mare now is developing what look like scratches sores on her muzzle. They are flat, oozing sores, with a hard crusty top to them. Could this be a migration of sorts of the scratches, or possibly something else? Her muzzle is predominantly light colored, although she's been pastured for several years and has never had a sunlight sensitivity problem, etc. No different food source or pasture either. Any ideas for cause and/or treatment? Thanks.
Member:
Hwood

Posted on Tuesday, Oct 12, 2004 - 4:24 pm:

Lynn,

Are you making certain that you wash and COMPLETELY dry your horse's affected areas before applying the cream? (I use Desitin with good results.)

I, myself, have never heard of "scratches" migrating to a horse's muzzle, and I don't know if it is a possiblility . . . what does your vet say? Have you called him to get an opinion? Have you tried cleansing the muzzle sores and drying them and applying medication?
Member:
Kthorse

Posted on Wednesday, Oct 13, 2004 - 6:50 am:

Hi my horse had the same symtoms that kept returning for about 6 months.
Most important as holly said make sure its dry before you put anything on. For this reason I washed every day with oil( any but not mineral) let the oil soak a bit then used paper towels or a regular towel to get as much oil and scabs off,gently of course. then I would put a layer of cortisone cream then desatin over the top. I would wash once or twice a week with Nolvasan scrub. Or spray with Nolvasan. I found the oil way worked better. For some reason the more I did it would stimulate it to come back. I found less is better. Washing with oil is very mild. On his nose I just kept cortisone and tons of Desatin. It finally went away. I check his legs every day and if I think they look like it might come back I just do the oil thing. Dont know if this will work for you as different things work for different horses. Some are just prone to it like mine and yours.
Katrina
Member:
Ryle

Posted on Wednesday, Oct 13, 2004 - 10:07 am:

The biggest factor, with Scratches is the moist surroundings. You really need to keep your horse from walking thru or grazing in the damp grass. This may mean keeping her stalled until the dew dries off your pasture or if it's rainy and damp, just keeping her stalled. It's the moisture that makes her skin more suceptible to these infections and that's why she gets them on the areas that would constantly be exposed to the damp grass. So, until you control that factor she will probably continue to have this problem.

I don't think I would use oils as they trap moisture against the skin and you can't get the area as dry. It's like the oils that I put on my leg after shaving, even though I rinse my legs well after applying it and towel dry thoroughly, my legs still end up a bit oily for a while, so with hairy legs it would be even harder to completely dry. Washing for a few minutes with chlorhexidine shampoo every day will soften and loosen the scabs so that they can be removed. And you can dry the leg much better after a soap and water wash.

If the medications you have been using clear it up for a time, then you can continue to use them or rather then trying to apply several ointments you could use Derma-vet cream, which contains a steroid, antibiotic and antifungal agents. And it comes in a non-oily formulation that can be rubbed into the area and not hold in moisture. And apply the Desitin over that. (Note, the Derma-vet cream isn't cheap! But if you've been battling this a long time it might be worth a try because it comes in a large bottle.)

Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Oct 14, 2004 - 7:48 am:

Hello Lynn,
The article on Scratches contains a number of management factors you have to institute to control this. The fact this is on the white parts of the nose suggest a sunburn component even though she has not had the problem before, for more on this and why it might be happening now see the sunburn section of, Equine Diseases » Skin Diseases » Overview of Hair Loss & Irritated Skin for more on this.
DrO
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