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Zena
Junior Member
42 Posts |
 Posted - 30 Oct 2010 : 11:55:53 PM
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I have now ruled OUT l.v with my mare and feel that it is a bacteria/fungus which is affecting her leg. it is growing in a circular shape and f someone can tell me how 2 post photos im quite happy . was aggresive with it tonight n washed with hibiscrub plus took scabs of with shedding comb then applied fuciderm cream and im convinced that i will see improvment. upto now ive left it alone covered with tubi grips and kept out of sunlight .she has never been lame still schooling but it is making her leg swell especialy overnight .exercise brings swelling down .its jst spoiling her looks and annoying her and me . can anyone help .had anything similar and please tell me your route of treatment because ive been at this since june this year with vets included n still no forward thank very much xxx
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Rui
AL Admin
6761 Posts |
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stuart
Silver Member
United Kingdom
335 Posts |
Posted - 31 Oct 2010 : 10:39:00 AM
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Ask your vet to take a swab............ When cultured you will have a name and a treatment plan.
Hope you get to the bacterial cause.  |
North Norfolk |
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ali bali
Gold Member
Scotland
641 Posts |
Posted - 31 Oct 2010 : 10:41:32 AM
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Hi, sorry to hear you haven't managed to crack this yet. I've added a link to a topic I started last winter re the ongoing problems I had had with Malis leg. I have also ruled out lv after extensive stabling/sun chaps etc. There are photos for comparison, though I guess one condition can look much like another.
I'm afraid I can't offer any definite solution, Mals leg cleared up last spring at exactly the same time and pace as the mud. However having tried almost every traditional mud fever remedy and two separate vets treatments for mud fever to no effect I think there must be something else underlying. All attempts at treatment actually seemed to make things worse 
In the hope of avoiding the problem this year I had arranged to have a hard standing exercise area put down to keep him out of the mud. It was to be laid by the end of summer at the latest but unfortunately the contractor hasn't started yet (though I am promised this week coming crossing fingers wildly!). Of course in the meantime a roughly circular 1 1/2" diameter patch has appeared on a front leg  As I dont have the facilities in place to keep him out of the mud I have decided not to try to treat it at all. In fact apart from carefully monitoring it for any rapid deterioration I am literally not touching it at all, no cleaning, no creams nothing. For the last 6 weeks it hasn't got any better or any worse so until I can ensure it will stay 100% dry then I am going to leave well alone.
After that I'll give it a few weeks to see if it spontaneously clears up like it did this spring and if not then I'll have to go down the topical steroid route suggested by the vet as Im beginning to think there is an element of allergy to this as well as infection... I just know the process of removing the scabs will make it worse before any treatment can make it better 
Sorry I cant offer any solutions, I know how frustrating and expensive it is. Luckily it seems to bother Mali less than it bothers me!! |
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ali bali
Gold Member
Scotland
641 Posts |
Posted - 31 Oct 2010 : 10:45:51 AM
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| Cross posted with Stuart, should have said, had a swab taken, Staph Aureus (sp?) infection detected. Treated for same with no improvement. Vet said trouble was often get secondary infections once skin has broken down but obviously the staph infection wasn't the original cause for us :-( |
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KittyB
Silver Member
United Kingdom
295 Posts |
Posted - 01 Nov 2010 : 1:59:57 PM
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| My vet doesn't think my mare's condition is/was anything to do with UV light now after weeks of being in during the day. Fortunately we seem to now have turned a corner. Her foreleg which was initially the first one to flare up is now healed. A bit lumpy where the dregs of scabs haven't yet come off, but no more sores. Her hind legs are now reducing in inflammation and soreness due to washing every 3 days with Maloseb shampoo (for dogs (!) antifungal and antibacterial) and putting on Fuciderm twice a day. I lather up the shampoo and leave it on for 10 mins, it helps to soften the scabs which can then be gently picked at. She's also back to her bossy self and chasing the geldings round the field. I'm not yet out of the woods, but we're nearly there. My next course of action, if the Fuciderm hadn't worked, was a skin biopsy. |
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ella
Gold Member
United Kingdom
786 Posts |
Posted - 01 Nov 2010 : 2:02:16 PM
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When my 3 all had staph. aureous dermatitis it was a complete pain to sort out - 3 courses of TMPS, Fucidin & lots of Hibitane. I prefer the soap-free Hibitane to scrub which causes more problems of it's own. I think the Hibitane had better effect than the oral antibiotics.
It did clear eventually, although i was starting to worry about MR-staph. aureous when it was so persistant. |
   
"If an 'alternative treatment' has reliable effect it becomes classified simply as MEDICINE" D.B. |
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mogwai
Platinum Member
England
2717 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2010 : 07:00:35 AM
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I would say without question, get it swabbed. Until you know exactly what you're treating it's going to be tricky to get to the bottom of it. I know it's hard but i'd avoid scrubbing at it until you know that will do it good. If this has been going on since june the skin will be so delicate and damaged and scrubbing may make things a lot worse.
A swab shouldn't cost much and if it is bacterial you'll have a clearer idea of how to treat it.
Ros |
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Zena
Junior Member
42 Posts |
Posted - 05 Nov 2010 : 10:28:04 PM
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| hi all swab has been took and awaiting conformation.fuciderm certainly helped swelling reduced and not so angry lookin but was still present so got the swab done so i know what is goin on .worth it in the long run to know what your dealing with . |
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sub
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
1919 Posts |
Posted - 08 Nov 2010 : 6:49:23 PM
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Do you feed Alfalfa?
My mare had exactly the same symptoms and nothing seemed to shift it, but when we took her off Alfalfa it cleared up within a week or so. |
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zelus
Bronze Member
England
137 Posts |
Posted - 09 Nov 2010 : 07:29:37 AM
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| Caroline Reeves wrote a article on this in the AHS mag summer 2008 its very good and yes Alfalfa was mentioned in the article as a possible cause.Caroline states at the top of the article 'TRUE ALLERGY OR HYPERSENSITIVITY TO THE SUN IS RARE IN HORSES.MORE COMMON IS PHOTOSENSITIVITY,LIGHT RELATED SKIN INJURY THAT IS TRIGGERED BY CHEMICAL IMBALANCES IN THE BODY' I have had two horses with this in for backing and they both started to clear up when the area was cleaned with water dried and Vaseline was applied, if you start to pick the scabs off before they are ready a secondary infection will occur and swelling of the the leg. One of the Arabs was with me for 3 months and it took that long to clear up!!! |
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Roseanne
Moderator
United Kingdom
6708 Posts |
Posted - 09 Nov 2010 : 9:37:57 PM
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I had a mare who was on box rest all one winter because of a similar complaint that started as 'mud fever' but in the summer when there was no mud at all.
When she had to be moved from that yard to another, where the diet was not Alfafa, the problem cleared up (admittedly with washing/drying too). I am convinced it was because of the Alfafa. She never had it in her diet again, and she has never had even a touch of the complaint since (a full 12 years). |
Roseanne |
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KittyB
Silver Member
United Kingdom
295 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2010 : 1:45:20 PM
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Can anyone recommend a good chop/chaff that doesn't have Alfalfa in it. I currently use Dengie Hi Fi Lite, but having read the advice regarding not feeding Alfalfa to susceptible horses, I'd like to try and find a substitute. One that's not heavily molassed too.
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debsnboz
Bronze Member
202 Posts |
Posted - 16 Nov 2010 : 7:50:50 PM
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| Spoke to couple of feed companies today - both recommended products like readi (sp?) grass or grass to go? Both products just freeze dried grass, so good as a chop which still have nutritional value as opposed to the chopped straw, and mollasses free. Sorted. |
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pinkvboots
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
3290 Posts |
Posted - 17 Nov 2010 : 2:15:21 PM
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| We bought a mare with a patch of scabby lumps on her hind leg same as Ella's picture, I have washed it countless times removed scabs used Fuciderm cream and sudocrem but it just returns my vet is giving us antibiotics now so will let you know how it goes. I do feed her Alpha a lite but she had this condition before we had her and I know she was turned out for years before I had her without any feed. |
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Zena
Junior Member
42 Posts |
Posted - 30 Nov 2010 : 6:03:42 PM
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| Hi all vet says its mudfever and all that ive done has been good but just hasnt cleared it i have a white powder that i am to put on her leg (bandage for 10 days) i will try remember name n post asap it at yard . but so far it has took the swelling right down . scabs still there but feel loose now after 5 days of treatment. My vet is Andrew Miller n he knew straight away what it was wish id got him sooner . but also i do feed alfalfa added oil but always have in the past 3 yrs of owning her .she likes it ! but shud i stop it? what is there that is similar that i can try ? this might b whats causing it ? but this year from mid summer is only time this has appeared i would of thought if it was her feed it would of shown by now ? she always gets feed all year round thank x |
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debsnboz
Bronze Member
202 Posts |
Posted - 12 Dec 2010 : 8:59:46 PM
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| Have you got the name of this powder zena? Borris has had this on his white leg since early august and i have nearly nailed it using the magic animalintex! I really works to gently remove scabs and reduce swelling. But it is not gone and there are a few bit up his leg now. OS i would love to know what you are using. |
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similar symptoms please.
