# Skin issues on hind legs? Help?



## PaintLover17 (Jan 3, 2011)

Is it on white socks? A lot of horses get a type of fungus on white legs. My mare has it too. Another boarder told me how to treat it and it works great. Put some ivory soap (big white bottle. You can get it cheap) on the spots and let it sit for awhile. Then rinse it and scrub firmly but not too hard with a brush. I use this small round plastic brush that looks a bit like a curry comb bit is softer and for people. A flea brush for dogs and cats works too. This usually takes the hair off but it will grow back quickly. If the fungus is bad you might have to do this twice. There are also antifungals out there that work but I do not have any experience with them.
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## PaintLover17 (Jan 3, 2011)

The brush I was talking about kind of looks like this: http://www.countrygarden.com/images/categories/C1077.jpg
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## LikeIke17 (Mar 18, 2011)

I heard that is a fungus that geldings get when they urinate and it gets on their legs. I usually just leave it. It's harmless, from what I've been told. Or pick it off and clean it regularly.


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## SocietyJoe (Jan 21, 2011)

Is it like scabby?

Joe get's that very bad on his hind legs, and its only just started to go away. 

Although harmless it doesn't help when you enter hacking classes and such. What I was told to do was buy anit-fungal cream, and let it dry out, then wash the area and brush it off. It worked for about a month, but then started to grow back. 

So I guess you have to keep doing it?


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## SAsamone (Nov 5, 2009)

My mare gets what sounds like the same thing all the time....it's actually just irritation from flies biting her legs....I wrap her legs when flies are bad and put MTG on the area that's aggravated, after scraping off and grooming all the icky stuff.


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## ScharmLily (Nov 23, 2009)

No, it's not on white legs, and it occurs year round. Also, it is on both my mare and gelding. I have not tried MTG yet, though I do have some so I may try it if the microtek fails.

Also, it is not scabby. It feels like little bumps when you run your hand over it, and if you pick it off it just looks like dead skin. Usually it "sheds" more (hair actually falls out when you pick out the lumps) in the spring and summer, but like I said, it is there year round.


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## SAsamone (Nov 5, 2009)

^^That sounds exactly like what my mare has. I just keep her legs wrapped and it goes away


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## MissPhoebe (Jul 13, 2010)

My mare that I rescued had awful fungus problems when I first got her, and because of how long it was let go, it seems to come back all the time. We had a very wet spring in Pennsylvania so this year it was REALLY bad. One part of her condition sounds exactly like you have described. For those spots I swear by MTG. It's really good stuff even though it smells awful. I spray it on the areas and don't touch it for a full 24 hours. Then I gently rubber curry the areas to slough off all the dead hair and loose skin. I usually only have to do this once and it knocks it out for a long time  

If it's too bad, like the rest of her spots, then I have to use something stronger, which is prescribed by the vet; however, your problem doesn't sound like it is quite to that level. Hope this helps!


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## laken316 (May 21, 2011)

It sounds like rain rot to me, especially since you noted it spread from one horse to another. Rain rot (contrary to popular belief) is NOT a fungus, it's a bacteria. Just had a long discussion with my vet last week about this because an Appy in our barn has the exact same problem. It hasn't even been raining that much, but a horse can contract the bacteria a number of ways other than from rain itself.. through a fly bite, a scratch, basically any break in the skin that can allow the bacteria in. The bacteria lives in very small numbers on all horses but only infects them when it penetrates the skin (when it rains a lot, the skin becomes soft and more permeable, hence "rain rot") Our vet gave us a light blue liquid called Betadine. She instructed us to scrub the infected area with the Betadine at least once a day, picking off all the scabs and loose hair. Rinse and pat dry. If a lot of hair is missing after the rain rot is cured, you can use BlueKote or MTG to grow the hair back quickly. Also be sure not to share grooming supplies with other horses, as it spreads quickly if not watched closely. Hope this helps!


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