Triple antibiotic ointment has fallen out of favor in medicine in general because of massive resistance to it’s components and the likelihood of allergic reaction.
Zinc oxide cream is a good option, and also helps with any photosensitivity type stuff, which sometimes comes into play for recurring “scratches” if the diet has been addressed. I just buy generic, you don’t have to pay for name brand.
Good suggestions, thank you!
His diet is about 1.5 lb of Triple Crown Balancer and SmartSenior Combo supplement (joint/hoof/skin). I do not know what kind of hay she feeds but will find out.
Silver Sox. My mare had scratches, very persistent, last year. two of the three affected feet resolved with the vet-compounded salve but the 3rd just would not quit. A friend recommended the Silver Socks and suggested using until a hard frost, to keep the grass off the pasterns. DID work. Change daily
They come in a length that you can cut to size - 1 roll worked for 4 lengths for me.
I’ve used them too and they’re awesome!
I don’t have suggestions….but will second Gold Bond powder.
No one has mentioned not trying to brush wet mud off. The only horse on my farm who ever had scratches was owned by a woman who always tried to brush wet mud off. The vet suspected she “scratched” the damp skin allowing bacteria to enter.
This can easily take more copper and zinc, either in the form of MadBarn’s 3:1, or using cu and zn separately for less $$ (though 1 horse with the 3:1 isn’t terrible)
Thank you @JB. It’s easy enough to add additional copper and zinc to hopefully ward off any issues this spring.
The problem with washing often isn’t the wet. It’s the cleanser causing the skin to dry out from losing natural oils.
So the Smart Senior Combo includes zinc 400 mg and copper 100 mg. Mad barn’s is zinc 300 mg and copper 100 mg. Wouldn’t this be sufficient along with what is supplied in the TC Balancer?
That’s a big ol it depends.
Several things interfere with absorption, so you can’t really look at the cu/zn number alone and know if that’s “enough.” If there are still symptoms of deficiency, then upping supplementation is not unreasonable.
It has been my experience that most horses who get scratches (especially the ones that advance to cellulitis) have an underlying health issue going on. Examples:
So, I’d suggest doing some digging into the horse’s general health and immune function to try to reduce his susceptibility.
As far as treating acute cases, these tips have consistently worked for me:
Evaluating the diet is of course part of supporting healthy immune function. Be aware, though, that there is no evidence to support the popular online “more copper and zinc to ‘balance’ iron” practice. All metal ions (copper, zinc, iron, manganese, sulfur, etc.) are absorbed via the same transporters in the intestinal lining. Once all the transport sites are saturated, adding more of any nutrient doesn’t increase absorption, because there is no mechanism by which that can happen. Instead, I advise customers who are concerned about nutritional antagonists to ensure that the feed or supplement they are feeding contains sufficient copper, zinc, and manganese in the form of amino acid chelates, which are absorbed by an entirely different pathway and therefore bypass potential interference from antagonists.
There are some great shampoos that don’t dry the skin out due to soothing oils, but even then, washing too often isn’t necessary or desired here, but sometimes it needs to be done.
It depends. Personally, I’d 2-3 x that, because it won’t hurt, and it’s not unreasonable to need that much extra.
WOW Thank you all SO much. The tips and help has been so nice. So heres my plan/what I have done: I washed his legs with a nice anti-fungal/antibacterial soap. Dried well then clipped fetlock hairs and other obstructing hairs (did not take much hair off) I cut off enough to speed drying but not enough to disrupt the hairs from protecting his skin still. His diet is very good. I have confirmed he is getting daily zinc and copper so thats awesome. I have been keeping his legs super clean (not overwashing) and using the equiderma zinc oxcide paste and I am gonna see how that works. If that does not work, I am gonna try adjusting the soap I use and trying a drying clay to suck the moisture out that these dang scratches love so much. If that does not work I may just try a strong spray and mud/water repeller for his legs. I will update!
Lovely plan but I really would recommend you double dose the copper and zinc for a month. Just as others have recommended. That will clear up the scratches.
Checking that he’s getting it isn’t enough - whatever amount he is getting is insufficient. Needs more to overcome this.
Confirmed in what way? Meeting or exceeding by a bit, the NRC recommendations, can be half of what the individual actually needs
Healing isn’t about sucking out the moisture. It’s about soothing the skin, reducing inflammation, and providing a diet (in the majority if cases, IME) that creates healthier skin
I think this may have been because I mentioned I finally cured scratches with a clay ointment, which dried after application, unlike the other ointments that remain moist (many of which I tried and they did not work). The clay did work for us, although presumably it also soothed and reduced inflammation.
I came on to say almost the exact same thing. In my experience there are two types of scratches case:
Environmental where it’s very clearly an acute flair due to excessive mud and wet. Curing the scratches can be tricky while the wet / mud persists but almost immediately resolves after that with generic topical care
Persistent nearly-‘chronic’ scratches that seemingly no level of care fully cures and (if do get there) returns at the drop of a hat. Scratches persist even if no mud or wet. I have never seen a case like this that doesn’t end up linking back to another underlying health situation and – similar to Montanas_Girl it seems to be health conditions that have a strong nutritional / gut link.
I have a mare who had persistent scratches for 2 years and it flared into cellulitis at one point. Highly medicated ointments and SMZs would seemingly “cure” it but it would still return almost at random. Diagnosed PSSM2 (for unrelated symptoms…the scratches was not a clue at the time), adjusted her diet – hasn’t had a scratches incident in 4 years.
I’ve seen similar happen to horses that really struggle with ulcers, RID, etc. The copper / zinc may be an initial avenue to explore too!
Copper/zinc supplement did nothing for my horse, adding a higher dose of vitamin e made the skin funk go away in a week.
Wash with dandruff shampoo, dry with a blow dryer, add gold bond or corn starch to really dry, then leave them alone.
I think all the washing and rubbing prevents healing and causes it to spread more than helping. Just my thoughts.
I was not aware that it burns horses, but now that I have looked into the ingredients it makes sense. I will probably not be using it in the future
Thank you for telling me that
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
