Help me KILL THE SCRATCHES!!!

[anon40672407]

[QUOTE=clipper;9017556]
Try wrapping the legs with sauerkraut. You may have a stinky horse but this worked for a TB who just couldn’t seem to get them gone. It may be more difficult with a horse that lives out but you can put the sauerkraut on with saran wrap. Change to fresh bandages/sauerkraut daily. Cheap too.[/QUOTE]

That’s what we used on a white pony. Had to bag the leg in a baggie (very low on the heel) and one day the owner’s sister decided to go for a trail ride. She didn’t know what the wrapped baggie was for, so she just tacked up and went trotting off down the trail, with this baggie of sauerkraut on the foot. It pretty quickly wore thru of course, and then she was spreading sauerkraut everywhere. We had a chuckle over that one.

But it worked.

[snaffled]

My horse got bad scratches a couple years ago during the summer, he was turned out on sandy soil which drained really well even in the wettest of weather so I couldn’t figure out why this was happening. I asked for help on a forum and someone mentioned the photosensitivity, as it was mainly happening on his white sock.

What worked for us was, reducing his alfalfa, adding copper and zinc to his diet, and NOT scrubbing/picking scabs. I would apply a thick layer of the hydrocortisone/Neosporin/desitin cream mix to the area daily and then next day, wipe off as much as I could and then reapply. NO WASHING/SCRUBBING/PICKING. I was told the scrubbing/picking actually aggravated the issue and the scabs were his immune system trying to fight it. It cleared up within and week and he hasn’t had an issue since

[Gestalt]

[QUOTE=snaffled;9039115]
What worked for us was, reducing his alfalfa, adding copper and zinc to his diet, and NOT scrubbing/picking scabs. I would apply a thick layer of the hydrocortisone/Neosporin/desitin cream mix to the area daily and then next day, wipe off as much as I could and then reapply. NO WASHING/SCRUBBING/PICKING. I was told the scrubbing/picking actually aggravated the issue and the scabs were his immune system trying to fight it. It cleared up within and week and he hasn’t had an issue since :D[/QUOTE]

Ditto ^ I always shudder when I read that they are scrubbing the area. Not good! The one time my horse got scratches was at a trainers. His legs cleared up within a week of coming home, I think his were caused from stress. And I also second the feeding comments. I don’t understand the science of feed in a horses gut, but last summer I switched my old guy to a different senior feed and it is exactly what he needs. If you read the labels and compared with other 2 feeds I had tried they look almost identical. Somewhere between the bag and his gut the new feed becomes magic. No blanket needed this winter, he was warm and happy in his birthday suit and his weight is perfect as is his muscle tone for his age. (his hay and pasture situation never changed)

Just my personal opinion - too many additives make problems, they don’t fix them. Unless you really know what you’re doing it’s probably best to go with the simplest solution.

[Lord_Helpus]

This might not work, but it works for every other skin condition my horses have had:

Crest original or Crest anti cavity tooth paste. 2x/day. You might not see improvement for a week, but I now swear by it for skin problems.

[hessy35]

Not sure if someone already said it, but Equiderma is the ONLY thing that has worked on my horse. Use the Shampoo and lotion. But really you should treat from the inside out too. Omega 3 and 6, copper and zinc, make sure they are getting it.