Not gonna lie, I hate writing this post every couple of years. But. Eh, the urge to document is strong. So: Here we go again with the scratches / mud fever / fungus amongus / ugh / bleh / fml.
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this will be a post of decidedly Not Cute pictures. so..... please take a brief moment to appreciate charlie and royal napping together fully tacked and fully loose in the jump arena while we set our courses lol <3
(also, dear lord, charles.... suck it in, buddy!) |
Long story short... Skin funk is just like, one of those things that happens. All over a horse's body, different species and varietals. Ya know. It's like,
botanical or some shit.
True story, I knew one aspiring horse woman who thought that if she was just good enough at grooming, the skin funk would never happen!! And... Eh.
Mebbe that's true. But I legitimately doubt it.
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| ok. onto the gnar. May 28, step 1 is admitting we have a problem |
Charlie's sensitivities and vulnerabilities to skin funk happen on a very predictable basis. Specifically:
- He's most susceptible to rain rot during his coat transitions, where he's shedding out etc and there's a lot of loose hair and growth all at once.
- And he's at greatest risk for mud fever / scratches on his one white leg in late spring / early summer, immediately following the turnout rotation to overnight out / days in.
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step 2 is stealing borrowing drugs from the barn supply (don't tell anyone). except damn this is like a dog- or cat-sized treatment tube... not nearly sufficient volume for our needs, esp since it isn't even mine.... |
It's kinda an old wives tale that chromey chestnut horses are the hardest to treat and manage when it comes to skin conditions, and that was definitely my experience with Isabel vs Charlie. With Isabel, we endured a months and
months-long battle with scratches that went all up and down her cannon.
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| hmmmmmm. |
The only treatment that eventually resolved her issues was vet-prescribed Animax, also known as Dermalone and Panalog (among other names, I think). We went through 1.5 big tubes (
pictured here) of the stuff, and I held onto that other half-a-tube for legit
years even well past expiry for Charlie's various minor outbreaks. Bc damn, it works.
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| May 30. it's healing AND spreading at the same time. this is how fungus fools ya! |
That tube eventually ran dry tho... And what I need to do is just order more. Bc.... Being real with you all, I'm kind of set in my ways with how I treat these sort of skin ailments in horses. At the first sign of any sort of scabby grungy crud, I immediately break out the MTG.
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| we interrupt this broadcast to show charlie's hooves at 5wks+ in May, looking quite good! Yay! |
Because the MTG is just... my favorite. I just love it. True story, especially in the summer, I'll occasionally just rub down Charlie's entire legs (esp the hinds and hind cannons) with this stuff. Mostly to keep the skin happy but also maybe to ward off flies.
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| back to regularly scheduled programming: i'd prefer a prescription tbh but have been too lazy to call one in. MTG is otherwise my go-to, tho. i know a lot of people hate this stuff... but.... WHY? it's so good! |
I know there are a lot of haters out there, tho. A lot of folks don't like the smell. Or say it doesn't work. Idk. I love it. And in my experience, especially for stuff like rain rot or mild skin funks, this stuff clears it up usually in just one or two applications.
The second it doesn't work, tho, I don't even mess around with anything else over the counter. If MTG doesn't cut it, that's when I want the prescription grade stuff.
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| June 12 -- second eruption not as big as the first, and overall sensitivity far diminished. whew! still there, tho... |
We haven't quite gotten there this time around, tho. Mostly bc.... Eh, while Charlie was *extremely* unhappy and sensitive at the initial outbreak (like, trying to kick my face in type unhappy), since we've been trying to manage it, he's been pretty nonchalant. And it *does* seem to be clearing up.
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| June 14 --- looks so much better..... but for fucks sake, it's also still spreading. this is why this stuff is so gross guys. and why it's so easy to let the infections slide.... |
The worst thing about these types of infections tho is that they're sneaky and nefarious and always spreading and evolving and breaking out again right when you think you've got the thing licked. So idk. I might just call in for the good stuff anyway, since I don't really wanna steal from the barn's supply lol.
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| manager mikey, supervising as always |
Persistence is the name of the game with this kind of thing. Even if you're only treating every 2 to 3 days, that's still WAY better than like...
not treating. Tho, yea, obvi I see the best results when I treat daily. Verdict's out on whether "daily with OTC meds" beats out "every few days with Rx meds" tho. Who knows, we'll see!
How do you deal with this sort of thing? Do you let it run its course? Do you have favorite treatments? Does your horse just not have white legs, thus releasing you from this heinous seasonal ailment?? Or, maybe you're like my starry eyed barn mate above and manage to avoid the situation entirely bc of your perfect grooming protocols???? Do tell!
Skin gunk sucks. Subi sheds out with rain rot these days thanks to his old man back with zero topline that sits more like a table. And being a thin skin thoroughbred of chestnut variety, he strongly dislikes grooming (except on his neck/chest) and loves... mud.
ReplyDeleteI am in the anti MTG camp. I used it 2x and both Subi and Hayley had horrific reactions from it. Hayley actually got welts from it and went on a course of short course of steroids. And it was only a tiny area... Subi didn't react that bad but did jump when I tried to use it and you could tell it hurt so I tossed it and have never used it again.
I treat with betadine solution typically. This generally works for me and disinfects as needed and my guys don't react. Or, I see the vet.
betadine is like my best friend lol <3 tho i guess i usually use it in more of like a "cleaning" sense, then apply treatment after. and i've heard that about some horses reacting really poorly to MTG, which is an absolute tragedy bc i just love how the stuff even makes my own hands feel
DeleteIt appears I can comment in firefox on my other laptop? Woah. IF I put anything on after cleaning with betadine, I'll use medicated powder like gold bond. But otherwise, I just use betadine. My cure-all. Lol. But I also stick gold bond on everything.
Deleteoooh good to know that firefox works! i just tinkered around a little bit and the commenting issue does seem to be related to browser settings.... in chrome, if i enable third party cookies the comment form works. if i disable third party cookies, i can't get the form to connect to my account. which is dumb. but maybe that's the fix for other users too?
Deleteanyway. yes. love betadine, really and truly. i use that stuff constantly on everything!
I think it's so funny how everyone has their go to fungus treatment that they will not betray. Everyone at my barn is on the Equiderma bandwagon while I refuse to use anything besides Krudzapper after everything else gave Bobby's leg chemical burn. Special circumstances and all to say the least, but it seriously works the best lol.
ReplyDeleteomg yes it's like we will all live and die by our own weird little recipes and remedies lol.... i tend to believe it's bc.... there are just so many good products out there that DO actually work, or at maybe bc different things work better for different horses or in different types of environments? idk lol
DeleteFirst: Blogger is eating my comments on every google device I have and has been for months so I really hope commenting anonymously works (this is Alyssa froM Goosebackriding)
ReplyDeleteAs a pasture boarder in SC with a grey, sensitive-skilled grass hippo, there are a few things I swear by: Coat Defense, the paste not the powder (though I know others who swear by the powder, I don't like it). I plaster it all over any kind of skin funk including scratches or his sweet itch spots under his belly and around his sheath. MAGIC.
I also always keep a spray bottle of half listerine (the brown original kind) and apple cider vinegar, and add in a splash of betadine. I use this as both a treatment for skin funk and a preventative - every time I ride or groom and before I put his fly boots back on and toss him in the field, I spray his legs down. I also use this in his feet twice a week as a thrush preventer. Out of all the products I've ever tried this works the best!
Also, if Charlie lives in fly boots, make sure you're washing them frequently. I soak mine in diluted white vinegar 3ish times a month, the vinegar kills any funk that's living on them! Good luck, skin stuff is so so annoying!
ugh sometimes blogger really is the worst. if it helps, you are not the only one having that issue. i wish i knew how to fix it, other than maybe try using the "name & link" option rather than your google account?
Deleteevery summer i mean to bring some apple cider vinegar to the barn for general bathing (esp post-ride) and skin care... but for some reason i never get around to it. maybe this year will be the year????
I've tried name and link, it always just refreshes the page! Super frustrated with blogger but as you wrote a few posts ago, it feels like something we're struggling to keep alive so I try not to complain too much.
DeleteACV and white vinegar totally changed the name of the game for me with horse things. I'm so down for fancy products and am not particularly an "all natural" kind of horse person, but I seriously have found nothing better for general upkeep than ACV and brown listerine. Hope it helps you and Charles!
that is *so obnoxious* bleh.... it's almost like they're TRYING to kill the platform by making it so difficult to use. i feel like a while back i figured out something in my settings... something about third party cookies (i think you have to allow them?)? i really can't remember tho.... when it was really bad for me i got into the habit of copying my comments before hitting publish in case they got eaten ugh.
Deleteand YES, i am 100% on board with the old school tried 'n true solutions. like i even like washing my own hair with ACV bc it's just like so clarifying. honestly the biggest reason why i haven't made a point of getting it to the barn is that my locker is stuffed to the guts and can't at present fit another gallon jug of something... #hoarderproblems
This seriously happens to me all the time. I had to download opera on my mac to be able to comment... Nothing else worked. I'm happy I'm not alone? But I couldn't even comment anonymously...
Deletei think it's a google issue -- every time they change some sort of setting in the browser or in accounts or whatever, it becomes a problem again......
DeleteMy go to is mixing a tube of Polysporin and a tube of antifungal. I usually do this as I use it in the palm of my hand and apply. Applying daily works the best as it softens the crust, which you can gently remove, and then you can see any new areas and apply.
ReplyDeletehonestly i think treating daily is the key here, tho good drugs probably do clear it up faster than less potent stuff...
DeleteBlergh, the summertime skin stuff. I'm pretty sure that Dalton has girth gall so I've ordered a new girth and some salve to put on it. Best of luck to his treatment and hoping it doesn't spread much more :/
ReplyDeleteughhhhhh i haven't had to deal with girth galls before, tho i have known horses who basically live in a constant dusting of baby powder... hopefully you figure out something that works !!
DeleteYou know how OCD I am with grooming, and even I can't win with scratches. I had great luck using furazone (i know some people hate it) mixed with Desitin diaper rash cream. Pretry much 50/50. It makes a gross paste that really sticks. I layer it up for a couple days and then scrub it off and dry the legs really well and start over.
ReplyDeleteok lol that IS reassuring lol... i always think i'm gonna get ahead of the fungus but... nope. once it's here, it's here, and the infection just wants to run its course bleh. also that's interesting about the furazone.... as a kid barn rat at my first barn, i remember we were told to use that stuff ALL THE TIME, like i distinctly remember it bc we were also instructed to be super careful / wear gloves / wash hands / etc etc but yea, used it all the time. but for whatever reason, i can't remember the exact use cases or WHY we were using it. so i have a jar of it now, but it is just never the first thing i think of for any sorts of issues, other than maybe if i need to sweat a swollen leg or something... but maybe it would be good for this too?
DeleteI'm in the lucky group of having a chromey chestnut who has only gotten skin funk like once during the 6+ years I've had him. Thanks Peebs! I'm in the anti-MTG camp because I had it burn a horse years ago. I like washing with a dilute mix of chlorohex and then spray the crap out of them with EQyss Microtek
ReplyDeletei've def heard similar tales about MTG, just never seen it in person. like when i recommend it to people i do say to test it on a less-sensitive patch of skin or whatever... but man, i use it on everything -- the whole body up to and including ears. and it's so good for hair... like before i wash my hands after applying it, i wipe off all the excess into charlie's mane and tail lol... anyway tho, omg yes chlorhexidine is my *favorite* antiseptic cleanser -- it's so gentle and non-stingy. somehow tho i accidentally ordered like half a dozen bottles of betadine tho so i'm working through that before ordering more chlorhex...
DeleteSo I do also love Amimax, it is a steroid and thus, I try to avoid it when I can. Rio was too sensitive for MTG (it burned his skin) so I was introduced to what I think is the greatest topical of all time... Krudzapper! Not the spray. That doesn't work that well. Has to be the stuff in the tub. It's amazing. My vet recommended it years ago and I tell everyone who will listen how great it is.
ReplyDeleteyea i def only use animax when it's clearly an established outbreak that doesn't seem to want to respond to OTC stuff.... but i do love it, it works so fast!
DeleteI've only dealt with scratches a couple of times on Phantom - one was a full on photosensitivity reaction due to alsike clover toxicity, and the other two times I strongly suspect were also related to alsike clover (she was removed from that pasture as soon as we found the scratches). So in her, I kinda think scratches are her early warning signal for alsike clover.
ReplyDeleteOther than the first time when any white marking on her crusted over and the skin sloughed off (her poor muzzle looked like it had chemical burns) I've had luck with the Desitin/triple antibiotic/athlete's foot fungal ointment mixture. But the later cases were never that bad.
Ugh. I am thinking that the humidity does not help. I had a powder that help keep things dry (keratix mud shield). I use it on Irish's leg to keep the urine from staying and burning his hair.
ReplyDeleteARGH SCRATCHES!!!!!! My nemesis. Fred, who is a chestnut with two white socks (them old wives mighta been on to somethin!) gets scratches spring and fall and sometimes early winter if it is wet/muddy. Heck, he even gets scratches under the shoo fly boots (damp grass = scratches).
ReplyDeleteI find catching it early helps. I can't let it go or else it spreads and his whole leg will swell and he needs antibiotics.
What I've used is chlorhex wash, scrub and pick all the scabs (gross) and let dry. Then I use keratex mud shield powder. It seems to clear up after a few days of that.
Fred also had rain rot once, but with a rain sheet spring and fall I've been able to dodge that.
Scratches are the worst. I am lucky that scratches really doesn't happen because it is so dry here in Vegas, but my fav topical for absolutely anything is summer sore medicine. I happened upon it when a vet in Texas gave me a jar for the 10+ horses we had that had scratches. This stuff is amazing. Whatever it is they mix together with crushed SMZs just seems to work on everything. So whenever I need more, I call up the vet and order some and they ship it to me. To be fair the only thing I don't use it on is fungus - tea tree is the best for that so I use that spray from Teddy's Tack Trunk. I'm really lucky tho that Amber rarely gets any type of skin funk, and I definitely don't have perfect grooming protocols so I'm going with it's dry AF here and that's why I'm lucky lol. She just gets the typical back leg fungus here and there, and within 3 treatments of tea tree it's a lot better. I hope Charlie's skin funk clears up soon tho!
ReplyDeleteI think I have mentioned it before, but the No Thursh powder works great on scratches, too. It's my go-to for cuts and "wtf is this?" I don't know how well it would work once it's all scabbed over, but in general I put it on and then use my finger tips like a curry combs to scratch it into the coat.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you've tried a lot of things and have a lot more suggestions here, too! I hope you find something else that helps along with the MTG.