Cob/feathered horse owners help! Scurfy / greasy skin

ladywiththebaby

ladywiththebaby

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Mar 6, 2007
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This isn't a veterinary or health problem, more of a general question, so putting it here but feel free to move this mods if this is in the wrong place.

Please could people with feathered horses and/or cobs, please describe to me what you see if you dig down into the feathers where the hair meets the skin. My boy has large amounts of scaly, scurf. Because of his recent mud fever, I am now obsessed with his legs and don't know what is normal!

Is this what people refer to as grease? Or is that something different? This isn't wet at all its dry. And it kind of peels away from the skin in pieces the size of, ermmm...... half a flat pea?? (Really struggling to think of universal small things!!!). There is a load behind his good knee (the other one is recovering from either some kind of mud fever/sallanders or some other dermatitis thing, and is getting there). If I dig into it with my fingernails, it feels scabby - just how the bad knee felt when it was all bleedy and scabby - but this isn't scabs, it's just these clumps of dead skin which still has hairs growing through it so it kind of sits just above the skin?

And if this is grease, then perhaps what he had on the bad knee was more of a build up of that which then cracked, and ripped the skin, rather than mud fever and related to bacteria??

I kind of need to know what is normal, and what needs 'treating' - and what to leave alone!

Thank you!!
 
this is very common on feathered horses, you can get rid of it by clipping out and shampooing to take all the bits off or even combing it out. it's called greasy heel and very very common, if they get it really badly then clip and get air into the area
 
I had a very good look at Bens legs (which are fully feathered) last night as I applied my monthly application of pig oil and sulpher. His legs were freshly washed on Sunday as we went to a show.

When I dig down to the skin, I see pink skin. That's it really. I do understand what you mean by scurf because that is how they used to look before I started to use the pig oil, but he no longer has any scurf at all on his legs. The hair near his skin is bright white which shows how much his feathers protect him.
 
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Have you any photos?
You could be describing bits of chestnut that's broken off and stuck to the feathers.
 
newforest said:
Have you any photos?
You could be describing bits of chestnut that's broken off and stuck to the feathers.
Click to expand...

No I don't have any photos - will have to get some. No def not chestnuts. This is white and is rife on all four legs from knee down. Also at the base of his mane.

So is this something that def needs treating and not leaving well alone D&T? Would adding some kind of oil help? I added some to help soften scabs but to be honest I couldn't really get down to the skin well enough. He was last clipped about 6 weeks ago so hair is about 1 inch long. But if its grease, is adding more oil the last thing you should do? I have been plastering him daily in keratex mud shield powder - will this help or hinder?

I am worried about using pig oil and sulphur as his last bout of 'mud fever' (not really sure that's what it was) happened the day after applying some on that exact patch. But I did bandage it that night so maybe could have been relate to that too??

Re the clipping - I'm not sure what to do there either. My original plan was to keep him clipped all year round as old owners said he gets itchy heels which is controlled by clipping, but now it's so wet and muddy I felt like the extra layer would give a bit more protection??

Aaaagh confused.com!!
 
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I agree with greasy heel.

I tend to leave alone as it doesn't bother him when left but his skins sore if I start trying to comb it out. Fairly common on coblets. If sore though id clip and clean. I however want to keep wombles feathers and he isnt sore
 
Ah the curse of the hairy horses! Solly and my previous mare used to get this quite badly. With the mare I could only use pig oil, she had a very extreme reaction to the sulpher, and I am ashamed to say I didnt test carefully before using it. But if I was vigilant with working the pig oil right into her feathers and down onto the skin it really did keep her skin clear of all scurf and nasty bits.

With Solly I was able to use the pig oil and sulpher. He was a little inclined to mud fever as well, and it kept it at bay for many years, until he was quite old and unwell with an immune system that was under challenge to say the least. But for many, many years his legs and feathers where free of any scurf or sallanders, mallenders or mud fever.

Well worth a try I think, but put it on a very small patch first, leave for three days and if no reaction put it on a larger area and wait another three days. Now would be a good time to start, whilst you have his feathers shorter, so easier to really work it in to the skin. Once you have it under control it is much easier to apply anyway, because their feathers become very silky and soft and easier to work through with the stuff.

BTW , there is a distinct lack of piccys of you and himself on here...tch tch!:redcarded:
 
if he gets itchy heels then he may be better clipped out and then a barrier cream put on for the mud - the Barrier H stuff is good, as the mud doesn't stick.

it all depends how bad it is and if he is bothered by it - Rose has a bit of it from time to time but doesn't concern her i.e. you don't see her rubbing it or biting it.
 
With my feathered cob I keep her feathers shortened is the best description. They don't touch the ground, so I can easily get to the bulbs and heels to keep my eyes on.

I have only just started using pig oil and sulphur just to stop the mud sticking and a preventative for mites-if she has any. Not tried it before, mine is Lincoln.
 
Oh dear I'm not even sure what's lurking beneath Flipo's feather! In my defence, his feather isn't the same as most cobs. You can't easily part it cause it's short and thick. He has had a couple of patches of skin on his back legs, about an inch or so in diameter, that have kind of crumbly stuff you can scrap off. It's been that way for years and he's none the worse off for it. Other than that, I will need to check! I just pig oil and use my fingertips to rub the stuff into his skin but it's really difficult to see his actual skin!
 
Rubic tends to get this slightly round her fetlocks. I don't think it is anything to be concerned about and is best left alone IMO but it can make horses more prone to mud fever if the skin is chapped at all.

I'm putting Rubic on a new balancer which is meant to be good for her hooves but also people using it have reported that their horses skin has really improved on it too so I'll definitely keep an eye on it on Rubic and see if it makes a difference.
 
Rubic tends to get this slightly round her fetlocks. I don't think it is anything to be concerned about and is best left alone IMO but it can make horses more prone to mud fever if the skin is chapped at all.

I'm putting Rubic on a new balancer which is meant to be good for her hooves but also people using it have reported that their horses skin has really improved on it too so I'll definitely keep an eye on it on Rubic and see if it makes a difference.
 
Cortrasna said:
Ah the curse of the hairy horses! Solly and my previous mare used to get this quite badly. With the mare I could only use pig oil, she had a very extreme reaction to the sulpher, and I am ashamed to say I didnt test carefully before using it. But if I was vigilant with working the pig oil right into her feathers and down onto the skin it really did keep her skin clear of all scurf and nasty bits.

With Solly I was able to use the pig oil and sulpher. He was a little inclined to mud fever as well, and it kept it at bay for many years, until he was quite old and unwell with an immune system that was under challenge to say the least. But for many, many years his legs and feathers where free of any scurf or sallanders, mallenders or mud fever.

Well worth a try I think, but put it on a very small patch first, leave for three days and if no reaction put it on a larger area and wait another three days. Now would be a good time to start, whilst you have his feathers shorter, so easier to really work it in to the skin. Once you have it under control it is much easier to apply anyway, because their feathers become very silky and soft and easier to work through with the stuff.

BTW , there is a distinct lack of piccys of you and himself on here...tch tch!:redcarded:
Click to expand...

:giggle: Oops sorry about the lack of pics Mrs C! It's pure laziness I'm afraid! If I could get them straight on here from my phone there would be more, but having to upload them to Photobucket first makes it seem too much hassle :giggle: have slapped my wrist though and will try harder! Have attached one the lazy way just for you though! This was after Millie and I were caught out in the WORST hail storm I have ever known a few weeks ago!

Anyway, back to the subject. Ok, I will try a patch test first, and maybe clip again when the hair gets a little longer and just maybe it will be drier??
 

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http://ihdg.proboards.com/thread/93046

salanders and malanders = Greasy spot.. is it like this?

picture.php


That's not Shadow's knees, but he has a similar problem with both fronts. I tend to pick off the worst, and put udder cream on them, or aloe vera gel. They don't seem to bother him at all.
 
May has slightly skanky knees, well crumbly flakiness, i oil and comb and actually keeps them from getting any worse but its always there to some extent if i go a bit mad and try and get rid of it it makes it worse and her skin sore so its kept at bay where it doesnt seem to bother her..
 
Dark Storm said:
http://ihdg.proboards.com/thread/93046

salanders and malanders = Greasy spot.. is it like this?

picture.php


That's not Shadow's knees, but he has a similar problem with both fronts. I tend to pick off the worst, and put udder cream on them, or aloe vera gel. They don't seem to bother him at all.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's what the sore knee looks like. The other legs are just white dandruff type flakes stuck in hair on the cannons.
 
Silver gets it - I liken it to ezcema - dry skin... Causes flaking/dandruff... Dryness causes skin to crack... Bacteria gets in and so forth.

Well oiled is our solution too - just helps to keep the skin softened and reduce splitting
 
Puzzle gets this too! It makes her really itchy, poor love will scratch on anything she can! I have found Pig Oil and Sulphur to be the only thing that works for her, if your boys' mud fever has cleared up could you try and little test patch again? Maybe just the Pig oil without the sulphur at first? As Cortrasna says, sometimes they can have a reaction to that bit.
 
I started using baby oil 2 days ago on his better knee, just because I happened to have some and it's black skin there so hoped it would be less sensitive. Seems to be ok (ie not reacted to it) plus presumably will help keep mud away. So will carry on using that for a week or so and see if that seems to help. He had some really stuck on bits in there the other day which felt scabby (but they aren't scabs, just hard flakes of skin). They seem softer already i think. Today in Morrisons I saw baby oil with aloe Vera - wonder if that would be good?

Here I a rubbish photo of the general scurf. This doesn't show how rife it is and the pieces of flaky skin are smaller here than they generally are, but Sherman was desperate to get out and was fed up with me fiddling!!

 
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