Is This Home-made Scratches Treatment a Good Idea or Not Good Idea

[skykingismybaby1]

I have been mixing Captan (an agricultural fungicide) into zinc oxide and applying to clipped legs twice a week with great results. Last year (first year retired on pasture board) my 26 yo gelding with four white legs was a mess. Scratches all up his legs to the knee and funky, scratches like mess, on his rump…

My vet suggested Captan as an “old school” method. I have mixed captan with water in spray bottle to spray legs, sprinkled it on directly to top line, and this year mixed it into zinc oxide. And this season he only has a few small scabs that fall off after application.

[CindyCRNA]

@Equibrit

You can put the solution in your wash bucket with shampoo or use surgical scrub like Hibiclens.

Cholorhexadene shampoo for the win! At least this was the recommendation of the vet. I hauled him in to my vet as he seemed worse than Wed and had lesions all the way up his legs. The vet felt he was just a horse that was particularly suseptable. We trimmed the legs with a number 10 blade, scrubbed his legs with a chlorhexadene scrub (he had to be sedated at this point as the chlorhex must have stung) scrubbed off all the scabs (again!) dried the legs and sprayed the with a “natural zinc product” . Home care is day turn out (he was on night) shampoo legs daily with a medicated shampoo from the vet which is chlorhexadene, ketoconazole and 1% hyrdocortisone, dry, spray legs with zinc product and 7 days of an antibiotic. I have never had a horse that that Microtec wouldn’t cure. Being a Holsteiner, the hair on his legs is a little denser so I will probably have to shave every spring.

[OneTwoMany]

Our homemade brew is

1lb jar of nitrofurazone
1lb jar of generic zinc oxcide diaper rash cream
1oz of generic triple anti-biotic cream
1oz of generic anti-fungal cream

Mix together and return to the 1lb jars for convenient storage.
Costs less than $20, works great.
Apply liberally daily.
Softens the crusties so they fall off while protecting the underlying skin.