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  Discussion on Scratches Aggravated by Treatment?
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Member:
efobryne

Posted on Thursday, Dec 20, 2007 - 10:38 pm:

I originally posted in the Lameness area ( December 8 --NQR to lame to NQR and so on...)

My grade Percheron has had mild scratches off and on since I have had him over the past 2 1/2 years. Fortunately the condition has always been relatively amenable to basic treatment and even responds to that old standby, Corona Ointment.

The vet felt that his recent bout of lameness may be due to a small lesion that was located just above the bulbs of his heel on his left fore. She clipped him down to bare skin and shaved his other foreleg as well.

I told her that the local Mennonite (similar to the Amish) harness shop owners had told me to never clip him down completely. They have found that though the feathers can be an aggravating factor, to strip them completely can cause even more trouble. I mentioned this to the vet while she was clipping but she said that this was not the case.

She had me wash him with a antibacterial soap, treat him with oral antibiotics and use a cream that is used for cow mastitis on the scratches.

He is a mess! He is in way more pain now than when he was initially seen. Both front legs are quite raw where he has been clipped. I stopped using the mastitis treatment when it became obvious it was very harsh -- despite being built like a Sumo wrestler he has very sensitive skin. I switched to the Hibitane she had given me.

The weather here has been terrible which doesn't help. We had a snow/ice storm on the weekend and it has been very cold. The forecast is for extremely changeable conditions between now and Christmas -- we are expecting more snow, freezing rain and regular rain.

My horse is so uncomfortable and suspicious now it has become impossible to use a blow dryer on him. I am worried that due to the cold, towel drying will not be that efficient enough to prevent further chapping since I can't rub him any further.

So basically I have gone from one small lesion less than the size of a five cent coin to the entire back of both hooves being covered with raw skin. There is a new lesion of his right, previously unaffected, leg.

I have some Panalog on hand for my dogs. I am thinking of using it on the worst areas and then covering the whole area with Desitin. Based on the weather -- should I bandage? My horse will likely be turned out for a couple of hours if it is not too wet or given some time in the indoor if the weather is too poor.

This situation also raises the issue of how to deal with the vet. The barn owner and I have used this veterinary practice for quite some time, but we tend to ask for the head vet whenever possible. This is a new vet to the practice. Should I call her and update her on the situation? I imagine she would want to know about the outcome, but frankly I am not sure that I want to deal with her again. I was kind of surprised she would clip him so close in the first place -- I know I should have said something at the time. If she had just said to me a week ago, "It's scratches," I would have simply treated my horse the way I always do to clear up the lesion and we wouldn't be in this situation.

However, I understand that she is new. I think this is her first job out of veterinary college.
Member:
scooter

Posted on Friday, Dec 21, 2007 - 7:29 am:

Hi Jill, when my horse has a stubborn case of scratches the panalog was the ONLY thing that got rid of it....very quickly. I fought a whole summer of lameness and swelling with every home recipe known to man! None of them worked. I don't think the mastitis treatment is harsh, but it is only for bacterial infection. Your horse may have a fungus or something else causing his problem.

We put my horse on the generic panalog (dermavet) and oral antibiotics I think it was Azium and he cleared up within a week...I didn't wrap it.
Of course every horse is different, but this worked very well for me.

Hope this helps....good luck
Member:
scooter

Posted on Friday, Dec 21, 2007 - 7:35 am:

Sorry Azium is a steroid I think, not an antibiotic.
Member:
efobryne

Posted on Friday, Dec 21, 2007 - 10:01 am:

Thanks Diane.

I've called the vet's office and asked to speak to the head vet. I have also ordered more Panalog (forgot to ask for the generic) and bute.

I also had another thought about cleaning the area. Although it is a distant memory, I seem to remember that when using Desitin on babies, it tended to leave a residue and I had to use baby oil to remove it thoroughly. I am not sure this is the best course of action in my horse's case. I feel at this stage, the least amount of substances used, the better.

Really most of his problem now is extreme clipper burn exacerbated by chapping and then there are the small areas of scratches to deal with.

Suggestions for the best methods of cleaning, bearing in mind the cold weather and the problem of being sure that the area is dried thoroughly, would be appreciated.
Member:
vickiann

Posted on Friday, Dec 21, 2007 - 3:01 pm:

I have found the Desitin to be protective and healing, though in my experience Coronona made Scratches worse, as did a different product that contained beeswax. I think that the Desitin must "breathe" unlike those other ointments. Of course, I clean and treat the sores before applying the Desitin. I agree that clipping the area entirely probably made the situation worse. Any tiny nick to the skin can cause that area to get additional Scratches. Also, leaving a small feather helps the water drain and drip off the feather instead of just running down the whole back of the foot. There may be some instances when complete clipping is required, but in my mind it would have to be a very extreme circumstance to justify that action. When I have been unable to wash the scratches, I have taken cotton balls saturated with Betadine solution and rubbed the scabs off that way before applying ointment and/or Desitin. That sounds painful for the horse, but the condition is sometimes so annoying and uncomfortable for my horse, that he actually seems grateful for the treatment. Do exercise caution though -- good luck.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Dec 22, 2007 - 9:44 am:

Jill it does sound like you have a handle on the situation and I do believe the vet needs to know that close clipping an area so irregular results in a lot of nicks and razor burns that then become infected/inflammed.

Concerning cleaning, I understand your concern for drying this area in this type weather but do feel a mild antibacterial soap used once daily to remove the bacterial metabolites is important. I don't know if mineral oil will remove them. Have you considered a hair dryer for getting these areas completely dry?
DrO
Member:
efobryne

Posted on Saturday, Dec 22, 2007 - 6:41 pm:

I tried using a blow dyer on him at the beginning -- let's just say that horse and I managed to survive the attempt. We will not be doing it again. Because of this whole experience I can barely use my trusted fetlock shears on him anymore.

I called the vet and spoke with both the vet involved and the head vet. The original vet came out to look at my horse and of course my horse had turned the corner overnight. The chapped skin is finally healing over and the scratches lesions, are looking like they are starting to dry.

But here's the part that vets will hate. I had stopped washing him. I was brushing the area off with a very soft dense body brush (which I will have to discard after this has all cleared up) and absolutely slathered Hibitane onto the most of the area. On one of the more isolated problem areas on his right leg I tried some Eqyss Medicated gel, which is a holistic product. I wasn't expecting much out of this because I have used their fly spray and although it smells very nice, it is not as effective as the normal sprays. However the gel is supposed to create a 24 hour barrier to moisture and it seemed to work.

I gave the young vet the bottle to look at and she said that many of the ingredients made sense as to why they would work.

My vet agreed with no longer washing him because of the weather conditions but to keep him as clean as possible and treat with Panalog and Desitin over the scratches and Desitin over the chapped area. We are continuing with the oral antibiotics and he is having Bute for the next five days. She took back the mastitis ointment but they can't understand why it would have irritated him because they have used it successfully before.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Dec 24, 2007 - 7:29 am:

Jill for recommendations on training horses to tolerate, even look forward to, mildly adversive events see, Training & Conditioning Horses » Behavior and Training » Modifying a Horses Behavior: Conditioned Responses.
DrO
Member:
efobryne

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 26, 2007 - 12:50 am:

Thanks DrO. I have done some work with my horse on dealing with unsettling events and had scheduled a "bomb proofing" expert(an ex mounted police officer) to come and help with him before the lameness developed. My horse is a very timid and reactive creature who has reached late middle age with this type of behaviour so I feel that some professional help might be in order -- especially since he is such a large horse.

I went out today and he is severely lame with a very swollen hock on his right hind. But there is no significant heat in the hock nor discernible sore spots aside from the hock.

I will check him tomorrow a.m. and if there is no significant improvement I will call the vet in for an emergency call. Based on how things go, I may be posting in one of the lameness forums again.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 26, 2007 - 10:21 pm:

To help you understand how to evaluate swellings Jill see, Diseases of Horses » Skin Diseases, Wounds, and Swellings » Swellings / Localized Infection / Abscesses » Diagnosing and Assessing Swellings in Horses.
DrO
Member:
corfiela

Posted on Monday, Dec 31, 2007 - 10:49 am:

This will sound a bit crazy, and perhaps your situation has gone beyond a simple remedy. But, here goes. Last summer my gelding developed scratches on three of four heels. It was horrible and it kept getting worse. I washed it and it was so painful for him. He became most uncooperative. There was a vet at the barn for another reason, but I asked him to look at my horse. He started listing off all the drugs and treatments and when he was finished said, but you could try Vicks Vapo Rub first. And I did and it was like a miracle. I didn't wash the areas, I just glopped the Vicks on 2 x a day. I saw healing immediately. My horse had red, raw, open sores the size of half dollars on three legs and within a week they were merely pink. The scabs would easily come off or just sort of dissolved. I have no idea why this worked, but it did and I like to pass it along. Good luck getting your horse well.
Member:
eoeo

Posted on Monday, Dec 31, 2007 - 12:58 pm:

It will work on sores that are getting proud flesh too. Glob it on, cover with plastic wrap and wrap vet wrap over it. Leave it for a couple of days. Do that a couple of times and see what happens. EO
Member:
lynneh

Posted on Monday, Dec 31, 2007 - 3:43 pm:

Hi folks, I've got even another solution that worked great for me. My vet and I adapted treatment for my horse's painful 'scratches' infection from what finally worked with my dog's hot spot (it also flared out of control after clipping) Panalog hurt too much to put on- too stiff I think. Nothing helped. After washing with antibiotic soap, a little gentle, towel drying I slapped a big handful of PURE ALOE GEL on the lesion and left it alone. Did this every day. Instantly stopped the pain and irritation, cured the hot spot within days and worked just as well on the horse. I used Betadine soap on the horse and rinsed it off well but I suppose any antibacterial, medicated soap would work. The aloe is cheap, gentle to apply and pulls the inflammation out of the lesion quickly making it comfortable almost immediately. Any residue is easy to clean off as it's water soluble. My horse went from lame to sound within hours but I kept him quiet for a couple days to prevent the skin from cracking again. I keep a supply on hand now for any inflammatory type injury or lesion, (helped on a cinch sore while trail riding too). Just another thought. Good luck Lynne
Member:
eoeo

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 1, 2008 - 3:53 am:

That sounds like a good idea. I have a friend who has a dog that has hot spots periodically. He ends up having to wear a dumb looking collar to keep him from licking them and making them worse. I will pass this on to her.
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