# yellow thick crusty scabs on cobs legs



## Lois88 (9 June 2013)

does anyone know what this could be its a yellowish thick crusty scabs.
 ive purchased my first horse recently and read up about different things but still unsure, she tends to stomp her back feet and nibbles at them ive washed with hibiscrub and used baby oil and sudacream to remove and soften scabs and try and relieve some of the irritation and also used netex mite powder the scabs are falling off but still quite thick at the back of the knee and fetlock area if anyone  has any sugestions or ideas on what it could be id be very grateful


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## Tnavas (9 June 2013)

Could possibly be some mud fever - a good wash with Nizoral should help clear the scabby areas.

Then allow to dry and rub in Neem Oil - it's a bit stinky but will kill any mites planning on setting up home and also protect his legs from the damp.

You can buy Nozoral from the chemist. Dilute in hand hot water and work well into the ahit right down to the skin. Rinse and repeat to clear the scabs - I sometimes have to use a nit comb along with the shampoo to clear the scabs away.

If they are very firmly attached don't pick them off just repeat the wash in a few days.


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## MochaDun (9 June 2013)

I'd probably say long term mites if she's feathered?  If not I guess it could be mud fever but it's been so dry recently I wouldn't have thought it would be very active at the moment.  Mites are usually seen through stomping, rubbing back legs against each other, and going at front ones with teeth and if you part the hair, lot of dandruffy stuff where the mites have burrowed under the surface of the skin - if long term persistant problem there might also be telltale ridges in the skin at the back of heels.  Mine had mites for the first time this winter and I just got the vet to give him the fortnightly apart jabs as sorted it out very quickly.  And as the mites died off I was left with large scabs coming off the fronts of his back legs until they healed.


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## AdorableAlice (9 June 2013)

I am trying a new potion with success at the moment.

Lime Plus.  It is a sulphur dip, stinks but seems to be doing the business.


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## MiJodsR2BlinkinTite (9 June 2013)

Mine gets this; you'll need to get some medicated shampoo (something simple like Tea Tree, no need to spend a fortune on something specifically "equine); and wash/scrub off the scabs.

THEN - after making sure the area is THOROUGHLY dry, apply some Sudocrem as a topical treatment. What you don't want is gunk and/or flies getting on the area.

IF you suspect mites, then dose with a wormer containing Ivermectin; three doses, at fortnightly intervals. This is what my vet prescribed for mine when he was itching and stamping his feet a lot, and biting at his fetlocks area. Mites are easier to spot on a horse like mine who's got pink skin & white hair, little black dotlets on the heel/fetlock area. They can cause intense itching.

The old horse books used to have sections on "mallenders" and "fallenders" in horses; I could never remember which one the back of the leg area was......... someone else on here might??


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## Lois88 (9 June 2013)

thanks for getting back to me she is feathered I wish I knew how to attach pictures so I could show you all a picture, when I bought her the last owner didn't treat her legs so ive been grooming daily and washing, creaming trying to do everything I possibly can for her to feel comfortable its a lot better than what it was.
I have noticed speckles of black and dandruff areas, today ive put some pig oil and sulphur on her legs and feathers as heard that's good for mud fever and also mites. 
if I have no success i'll try what you all have suggested and I guess if I have no joy ill get the vet out as I don't want to leave her any longer


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## MiJodsR2BlinkinTite (9 June 2013)

Lois88 said:



			thanks for getting back to me she is feathered I wish I knew how to attach pictures so I could show you all a picture, when I bought her the last owner didn't treat her legs so ive been grooming daily and washing, creaming trying to do everything I possibly can for her to feel comfortable its a lot better than what it was.
I have noticed speckles of black and dandruff areas, today ive put some pig oil and sulphur on her legs and feathers as heard that's good for mud fever and also mites. 
if I have no success i'll try what you all have suggested and I guess if I have no joy ill get the vet out as I don't want to leave her any longer
		
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Ooohh, be VERY careful with pig oil & sulphur, can make legs very sore esp if pink skin & white hair; I took the advice given on here and put it on mine, would never do it again

Hope yours is OK.

I've you've noticed speckles of black then its obviously feather-mite, so at least you've got an idea of what's causing the problem.


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## Lois88 (9 June 2013)

MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:



			Ooohh, be VERY careful with pig oil & sulphur, can make legs very sore esp if pink skin & white hair; I took the advice given on here and put it on mine, would never do it again

Hope yours is OK.

I've you've noticed speckles of black then its obviously feather-mite, so at least you've got an idea of what's causing the problem.
		
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I stayed with her in the field for abit after and kept checking her legs she didn't seem to be bothered by it being on her as ive read all different things on po&s if I notice it being very sore tomorrow ill wash her legs even if I have to dry them by towels, do you think it would be best getting the vet out for mites? I do have some net-tex mite powder but her feathers are quite long and thick still after loads of grooming and thinning etc lol and I don't want to cut/clip her feathers right off if I can help it shes coming on so lovely since ive bought her just want to do right by her


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## Lois88 (9 June 2013)

hope this works heres a pic of an area on her leg which is scabby not the greatest picture


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## tiramisu (9 June 2013)

Mine has the same on the back of his knees and when it flares up right over his fetlocks and heels too. .his has been a long term mite issue which hadn't been treated and his skin is damaged behind his knees and after 3 years of trying I've had to accept they're never going to be 'normal' but I just keep on top of it as best I can!  I keep his legs clipped short and wash weekly in hibiscrub. He gets dectomax injections when he is itchy/stampy and that really helps! Benzal benz was good too as was spot on (can you tell I've tried everything )


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## Lois88 (9 June 2013)

tiramisu said:



			Mine has the same on the back of his knees and when it flares up right over his fetlocks and heels too. .his has been a long term mite issue which hadn't been treated and his skin is damaged behind his knees and after 3 years of trying I've had to accept they're never going to be 'normal' but I just keep on top of it as best I can!  I keep his legs clipped short and wash weekly in hibiscrub. He gets dectomax injections when he is itchy/stampy and that really helps! Benzal benz was good too as was spot on (can you tell I've tried everything )
		
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aww bless him, i'm unsure of how long shes been like this I helped out the lady I bought her off for a couple of month and im not sure if she did anything to help her legs.
I hope i can get them better than what they are ive achieved a lot so far with her.
where can i purchase the benzal benz? how much are the dectomax injections roughly? its so hard finding out whats best to do for them


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## tiramisu (9 June 2013)

Igot the Benzal benzoate from my local agricultural merchants. It's liquid so a bit of a pain to apply as you have to get it right down to the skin but I found a paintbrush worked well!! 

The dectomax costs 12-20 quid ish per dose depending on size of the horse and they need 2doses a fortnight apart. I got it from my vet the first time and injected him myself, but oh has since started using it on his sheep so I just appropriate some from his bottle when he's not looking now!!!  ;p


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## Lois88 (9 June 2013)

tiramisu said:



			Igot the Benzal benzoate from my local agricultural merchants. It's liquid so a bit of a pain to apply as you have to get it right down to the skin but I found a paintbrush worked well!! 

The dectomax costs 12-20 quid ish per dose depending on size of the horse and they need 2doses a fortnight apart. I got it from my vet the first time and injected him myself, but oh has since started using it on his sheep so I just appropriate some from his bottle when he's not looking now!!!  ;p
		
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ill try the benzal first if this pig oil doesn't work and see if i have any joy with that if not ill have to call the vet and get her sorted.
do you have a cob also?


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## tiramisu (9 June 2013)

Lois88 said:



			ill try the benzal first if this pig oil doesn't work and see if i have any joy with that if not ill have to call the vet and get her sorted.
do you have a cob also?
		
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Yes I have a cob too...mites seem to be a standard cob complaint


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## Lois88 (9 June 2013)

yeah ive noticed a lot of people saying their cob has mites or mud fever


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## MiJodsR2BlinkinTite (9 June 2013)

I keep my traddie's legs clipped now; need to know what's going on with his legs and its a helluva lot easier to see what's going on and apply lotions & potions if necessary.

Trying to get a lotion into a lot of feather (and see what's happening in the first place!) is a total nightmare. I couldn't be @rsed with anymore, now keep him clipped.

Ever so much easier!! Plus he's far more comfortable with himself, poor lad.


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## Beausmate (9 June 2013)

Our cob has mallenders (front legs) and sallenders (hinds).  We treated for mites, just in case.  I got some seleen shampoo and ivermectin wash from the vet, cost about £50 but the vet had seen him shortly before for jabs, so no call-out fee.  If you go down the chemical wash route, make sure to soak them in it, all the way to elbows/stifles and along the belly.  The mites hang around up there too 

Dectomax is systemic, so it nukes them from within.  

He didn't have mites, just crappy skin.  I use Skincure on the open scabby bits and E45 on the thickened dry skin.  Working so far.  Also, cutting out sugar beet seems to have made a difference but I wouldn't know for sure unless I fed him some and I don't want to risk making his knees sore.

Annoyingly, there's no cure for mallenders so I'm going through a hell of a lot of cream!


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## piebaldsparkle (9 June 2013)

I find Hoof to Heel (contains Lanolin) works best on my mares mallenders.  I just slab it on and the scab soften and fall off the next day.


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## Tnavas (10 June 2013)

Lois88 said:









hope this works heres a pic of an area on her leg which is scabby not the greatest picture
		
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Is your horse getting Lucerne (Alfalafa) in any form? What I see is similar to mudfever - so the Nizoral may help to clear up the skin problem but if mites will need to be treated with insecticide as well.

For the person using hibiscrub - its very drying and probably not doing your horses legs any good.


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## Kokopelli (10 June 2013)

Looks like feather mites, does he also stamp his feet a lot?

Dectomax is brilliant we notice an almost instance relief.


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## Gloi (10 June 2013)

Hydrocortisone cream shifted the long standing mallanders on my Fell pony.


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## Lois88 (10 June 2013)

She stamps her feet but not as much as she used to as ive been trying my best to make her comfortable and trying to soothe the itchiness and soreness, I do have an insecticide shampoo which was given to me so will try that next time rather than the hibbiscrub


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## Penny Eater (10 June 2013)

Keep feathers clipped and use neem oil, brilliant stuff for cobs legs. I've had a lot of success using Ruggle-it oil and just recently tried Pioneer Midge Balm/oil which has the benefit of not smelling as bad as the ruggle-it but is just as if not more effective. 
Both contain Neem but also lots of other beneficial moisturising oils for the skin. Both are 100% natural and herbal, and don't inflame or dry already sensitive skin like insecticidal washes and pig oil can


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## Lois88 (14 June 2013)

tedmunster said:



			Keep feathers clipped and use neem oil, brilliant stuff for cobs legs. I've had a lot of success using Ruggle-it oil and just recently tried Pioneer Midge Balm/oil which has the benefit of not smelling as bad as the ruggle-it but is just as if not more effective. 
Both contain Neem but also lots of other beneficial moisturising oils for the skin. Both are 100% natural and herbal, and don't inflame or dry already sensitive skin like insecticidal washes and pig oil can
		
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is it best to clip feathers? i didnt want to if i didnt really have to as they are coming lovely apart from the scabs


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## Tnavas (14 June 2013)

Lois88 said:



			is it best to clip feathers? i didnt want to if i didnt really have to as they are coming lovely apart from the scabs
		
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I don't clip Serenety's as she has to be shown full feathered but I have to work very hard to get the treatment into the hair.

I usually wash them well with Nizoral first as it gets rid of the scabs - I will use a nit comb while I wash them as it gently lifts the scabs out.

I also always worm her with a Mectin based wormer as this does get to the mites to kill them from within.


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## Cinnamontoast (14 June 2013)

Just took similar scabs off my boy's legs today when he was sedated for something else. Mallenders as opposed to mudfever, I reckon, typical for feathered horses. Clipping didn't really help, you've just got to get the product on the skin and the hair isn't so thick behind the knee. 

Avon Skin so Soft got rid of the scabs last summer but it's pretty much year round.

Paintbrush on or put whatever product you use in a garden spray bottle and comb through thoroughly (there's a brush you can fill with oil if she's funny with sprays). 

Dectomax is a fab injection.


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## Penny Eater (14 June 2013)

I find it easier to keep an eye on the skin and treat any scabs with the legs clipped out, but it is possible to do it without clipping them, although more time consuming as you've got to be very thorough about checking underneath all the hair. I think if the horse has recurring mites it's recommended to keep feathers clipped - has certainly helped mine.


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## putasocinit (15 June 2013)

Mites, get vet to inject with dectomax or use front line and wash legs with niazarol.  Buttercups also cause similar symptoms like mud fever but horse wouldnt stomp legs with mud fever, poor baby please deal with it it asap.


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## Penny Eater (15 June 2013)

Dectomax and frontline won't necessarily get rid of mites permanently! If a horse suffers with mites and related skin conditions it's usually an immunity problem - sort that and the mite infestations won't recur, you don't need to stick insecticides in/on your horse...


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## Lois88 (5 August 2013)

Just an update ive used pig oil and sulphur not so long ago washed her legs in an insecticide shampoo daily grooming as always and the scabs have come away from the skin and looking healthy and not sore  so its a big improvement


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