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Wednesday, December 23, 2015

an end (?) to the scratches

While our treatment phase will remain ongoing for a while longer, I'm starting to believe Isabel is actually already cleared of the nasty fungus (or whatever it was, we never got a formal diagnosis) that has ruled her RH leg since August.

lens flare can make anything look better, right?
The leg would improve, then blow up with a fresh outbreak, like clockwork, for weeks on end. I initially treated with BM's homemade Desitin mixture, then switched to MTG when things looked under control and we were in the scab softening and removal phase. When it blew back up again I switched to Derm-X, a product that successfully treated a similar outbreak on Kaitlyn's mare Tillie.

surprisingly hard to photograph, but you get the idea
Things got serious after I broke my leg, when Isabel suddenly went untreated for over a week and the leg blew up to cellulitis-size (thankfully she didn't actually have cellulitis) and she was painful and sensitive up to the stifle (tho never lame on it).

horse may appear darker than she is
At that point, BM took over treatment, starting with a homemade tea tree oil and honey mixture. I would have preferred to stick with the medical grade Derm-X... but was satisfied knowing Isabel was getting daily attention in my absence. And figured they'd learn quickly whether tea tree oil was sufficient for scratches that had been established for over two months.

Because naturally (lol puns), it wasn't sufficient. So we opted to call the vet, who pulled out the big guns and put Izzy on 2wks of Doxy and provided a prescription-strength topical nystatin-neomycin sulfate-thiostrepton-triamcinolone acetonide ointment (try saying that 5 times fast).

our weapon of choice
This has proved effective, and the vet dropped off a second bottle after the first was finished, recommending that we go through the entire second bottle too just to be sure. So our current daily treatment plan is: 1) scrub with a betadine dilution, 2) dry leg, 3) apply prescription topical ointment, and 4) leave mare in for 45min to an hour for it to fully dry.

sunshine nap attack
And now that I'm back on my feet again I've resumed responsibility for treating the leg. Which is obviously much easier now that it isn't painful for the horse any more, so she stands quietly. The leg itself looks fantastic - hasn't blown up in a couple weeks and the hair is filling in quickly. Fingers crossed that's the last of it!

32 comments:

  1. Poor Iz! Hopefully this will be the end of the funk.

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  2. MAN that was a nasty infection! Definitely rivals D's scratches from hell. Glad your vet brought in the heavy artillery! That pink skin looks great!

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    1. super nasty, but things are looking very promising now thank god

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  3. Aww, poor girl! Good news for both of you that it's finally clearing up!

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  4. so glad its clearing up finally! It seriously was some persistent stuff...

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    1. omg it's been so awful for her... but this ointment whatever is great. you should apply it one night to see what it's like, it only takes a quarter-sized dollop to coat her entire leg from the hock down

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  5. i love chromey chestnut horses (especially mares!) but the scratches thing is brutal. my last horse was the same way - big hind socks that got DISGUSTING the second they got wet. It got to the point where I rinsed her off with white vinegar after every ride in the summer because she was a disgusting mess.

    animax, however, is magical. its expensive as holy hell but I always had a bottle on hand with her to start treating it. Also do you use betadine solution or scrub? when i was treating lexy for scratches I used the scrub and found that a bit easier to work with because it suds up nicely.

    anyway keep fighting the good fight, i feel your pain.

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    1. thanks! i'm storing away the vinegar and animax tidbits for future reference haha. luckily this mare hasn't typically gotten so bad, and i've managed to preemptively avoid outbreaks with regular MTG treatments, since she typically responds really well to it.

      the issue with this particular outbreak is that it started at the same time we were treating a wound and didn't realize what was happening until it had already spread all over her leg (under the silver spray used for the wound)... ugh.

      so yea this one got out of hand before we even knew what was happening. boo. but finally it seems to be under control now. i've been using betadine scrub, but diluting with hot water for sponging on. so far it's working pretty well (and it makes the betadine last longer since we're using soooooo much of it)

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  6. Hopefully it won't come back!!! Twister did this one year. Literally took a year to get rid of. So frustrating.

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    1. ugh i've definitely heard similar horror stories before and am still slightly paranoid that we could go down the same road... which is why we're still treating with a full second bottle of ointment even tho she looks clear now... hopefully it'll do the trick!

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  7. Congratulations on coming up with something that seems to be working! I will cross my fingers that there is no recurrence.

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  8. What good news! Here's hoping it doesn't come back for a rematch next year!! ;)

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    1. so far we appear to be on the 'every other year' schedule with this nonsense, so maybe we'll get a breather next year ;)

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    2. Better than nothing, right? Ugh!

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  9. Glad to hear your back on your feet again and yay Izzy for feeling better too! Things are looking better going into the new year (:

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  10. Replies
    1. she's definitely got the 'flowing locks' look down pat ;)

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  11. When I saw your post in my news feed I was so happy. Soooo glad to hear that she's on the mend finally.

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    1. you and me both - every time i see that nice tight leg with the hair filling in so quickly, i heave a deep sigh of relief...

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  12. Fingers and toes crossed & mucho continued healing vibes being sent to Izzy y tu

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    1. thank you!! so far things are still looking quite promising!

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  13. Suz gets the skin funk on her one chrome-y leg, so I feel your pain. Glad Iz is feeling better.

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    1. ugh the skin funk is the worst. our BM actually said she uses a flea comb on her chrome-y chestnuts' legs after every ride just to get all the gunk out

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  14. Yahoo for it clearing up!

    Have you tried Verticyn?

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    1. vetricyn was on our list of things to try, but so far this stuff is getting it done

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