# Sallenders and Mallenders - advice please



## Vikki89 (20 June 2013)

One of my boys has what i now believe to be mallenders on the back of both knees and i think there is another patch appearing, doesn't bother him at all until I touch it. Anyone have any advice on how to treat/manage this?


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## MerrySherryRider (20 June 2013)

Its the scourge of feathered horse owners, isn't it ? If the skin is broken, then wash it with saline and apply something like Flamazine, which I think is still prescription only. However, sudocrem works well, but the downside is that its sticky stuff. If you want to wash the legs, try baby shampoo or T Gel shampoo/ any shampoo for eczema but steer clear of harsh disinfectants like hibiscrub.

 Once the skin is less sensitive- and the cracks have healed, keep on top of it by combing the hair regularly to remove any scabs that appear and apply something like liquid paraffin or baby/pig oil sparingly to stop the skin drying out and make combing or brushing easier. Watch out for sunny days when oil can burn the skin. 

 I usually check my lads legs every other day with my fingers to ensure he hasn't got scabs or cracks and a quick brush with a plastic curry comb down the backs of his knees gets rid of the scabs before it becomes a problem.


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## CazD (20 June 2013)

my mare suffers really badly with Mallenders.  If I don't treat it every few days then the skin cracks and bleeds. I've tried every lotion, potion and remedy going.  Pig oil worked for a little while then she developed an allergy to it and ended up with dry skin all down the backs of her legs.  I used sulphur of flowers mixed with lard with quite good success for several months but have now started using Emulsifying Cream which had made a major difference.


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## applecart14 (21 June 2013)

CazD said:



			I used sulphur of flowers mixed with lard with quite good success for several months but have now started using Emulsifying Cream which had made a major difference.
		
Click to expand...

At last I've found someone who knows about this!! Everyone thinks I'm potty when I talk about my FOS and lard but we used to use it a lot in the early to mid nineties for mud fever prevention and treatment.  You could get yellow FOS or green FOS not sure what the difference was.  On Sunday morning we'd wash off the weeks befores application with washing up liquid and warm water, dry and in the afternoon after we'd ridden reapply.  It would last all week, in those days you never used boots on your horses legs so it didn't matter, or if you did you'd just have greasy boots!

I thought I was really old and decrepid being the only one to have heard about this


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## MerrySherryRider (21 June 2013)

Yes  I used to use FOS too until horse reacted to it and then I heard of others who'd had similar problems. Guess its like everything, some are fine, some aren't, so patch testing is a good idea.


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## Lego (21 June 2013)

My lad used to have quite bad mallenders when I first had him, but have found through trial and error what works for him:

*It was worst when he was on a balancer with alfalfa, and again when he was alfalfa chop - to the point where any movement made the backs of his knees bleed, and he had raw patches the size of 50p, plus sore skin around. This was the worst point, and I was given steroid cream. A couple of weeks of steroid cream and it was under control... 

* When taken of alfalfa as scurfy etc, the mallenders got much better, and improved as I made his diet more 'barefoot' - no alfalfa, no cereals, no molasses etc.

* Further improved with linseed meal & mineral balancer; now just slightly rough skin about 5p sized - but you have to look for it 

* Pig oil actually made his worse - when I put it on his feathers, I have to avoid knee patches

* Sudocrem is great if it's sore, but generally just dab on a bit of E45 a couple of times a week keeps it at bay. Touch wood, it's now been fine on this management for over 6 months - only the very occasional bit of crud lurking in his feathers to pick out, and no broken skin.


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