Neither Uckele nor Horsetech sell poly copper and poly zinc in 12+ pound containers 
Glad the glycerine did what you wanted! Curious to hear what you see tonight or tomorrow. IME, the scabs just come back if they’re not kept “hydrated.”
Well, heck… can’t find it now… I like Uckele. Do your horses prefer the pellets or powder, Simkie?
Yes, I know the scabs will likely return, even if I do keep the SSD on them. I’ve gotten ahead of them now, so the skin’s tender pink margins of the scabs aren’t vulnerable to being ripped open if he caught them on something.
I do the powder but if you have a picky one pellets might be the way to go. It’s pretty strong smelling stuff.
what about baby oil if you are just trying to soften? I had good luck with dermalone to treat similar scratches this year. No typical swelling/fat legs like my usual cases, but raw bleeding yuck with no swelling.
My normal go to for typical dermatitis is triancimalone ointment that i slather on. I think only available by Rx as is dermalone.
I went thru this for 4 months+ and no clear up no matter what I washed the pony’s legs with, picked scabs or not picked scabs, used rx topicals, natural topicals etc.
In the end I read about using No Thrush powder on the area, covering scabs/skin in it daily and no more washing, no more picking scabs etc, just letting it be. I couldn’t believe this was going to work but I stuck with it, 3 weeks later all scabs (which had actually increased in size) fell off on their own and nicely healed skin. Just a suggestion 
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My mare had the world’s most stubborn case of mild scratches (no swelling, no heat, no oozing, just scabs) last winter that took several months to get rid of, and nothing worked, and I tried everything. I ended up applying Hey Where’s That Blue Stuff lotion every day and it was gone with ample hair regrowth in 3 weeks.
Since it’s been raining continuously raining for the last several weeks and Ms. Mare of course likes to stand in the one tiny muddy part of the pasture (never mind that the rest is dry including the shelter, water and round bale), she had a tiny scab that showed up on her back leg last weekend. I slathered her up the last couple of days and it’s already almost gone.
This. I think I posted this summer about my horrible struggles with my Holsteiner. I tried all of the tried and true treatments (Equiss, Equiderma) but they got worse so finally took him to the vet because I was concerned it was going to go into cellulitis . We shaved, we chlorhexadine scrubbed , we sprayed in expensive zinc spray…we paid a lot of money. I think it was Simkie who recommended the copper/zinc in the diet so we started on Uckele copper (1/2 dose) and Uckele zinc (1/2 dose) and it seemed within 2 weeks his skin was clear and stayed so the rest of the summer despite vicious humidity. His coat also darkened.
We do the pellets.
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Yay, glad it helped!!!
It is like magic, isn’t it? 
:yes:
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And the cheapest thing I’ve done!
Try neem oil. I’ve been using it for flies and ticks and discovered it is also great for healing things.
I would never sweat scratches. The skin is already super irritated. I use entederm which does a wonderful job of softening the scabs, healing the affected area and not irritating it further.
The one and only time my gelding had scratches, the vet advised me not to pick at them, and not to wash with anything strong, just Ivory soap or something similar. Once dry I applied Desitin (it may have mixed in Neosporin, I can’t remember now). The Desitin keeps the area dry and keeps moisture from reaching the skin. Gentle wash, dry, and re-apply as needed.
Good tip on the Zinc / copper supplementing. Zinc supplementation is always my go-to when I see skin problems.
For scratches, my old school vet recommends a mixture of Desitin , Lotrimin and Neosporin. Slather on, do not mess with it afterwards. It worked great for my mare.
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Equiderma is perfect for healing up scratches.
IME it does tend to work pretty fast :yes:
His coat also darkened.
Yep! It was while working to clear scratches many years ago that I discovered that adding copper and zinc, especially for the darker colored horses, the more it helped with sun fading.
SO much cheaper than normal coat supplements, coat sprays, so much healthier than avoiding turnout (which doesn’t even guarantee no scratches). Fix the diet first, always, then look to other things.
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Great info here. My old gal is battling it this summer. THinking about the color darkening properties for my other horses - are there any contraindications to adding zinc and copper to the diet?
The sweat reduced the scabs, and the SSD has kept them down, though the leg is ever-so-slightly filled today. Scabs are soft, smaller, I’m pleased.
However, due to rain in tomorrow’s forecast, he’s going to spend the night outside. Lets hope any moisture doesn’t cause another flare up.
I’ve gotta order the copper/ zinc. Really appreciate all input here.
On a fairly mild case of scratches this year, I washed with Hibiclens. I didn’t pick scabs, and I didn’t scrub, I just used a soft towel to work the Hibiclens in, and then hosed off. Then I dried the legs and slathered the affected area with Corona ointment. It worked very well.
Copper excess can be toxic which is why we are suggesting 1/2 dose.
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My gelding came out of the spring with four legs covered with scabs (even above his hocks!) and some weird scabs on his elbows/hips on the side he liked to lay in the mud. Since the otherside of his body was fine I knew it was some fungus/scratches type on the points, and the legs were textbook. I tried everything like creams, or wheres that blue stuff, but didn’t try any Rx stuff as it can be so harsh. A friend let me try some of her equiderma shampoo (I’m pretty sure it was the neem shampoo) and I washed with that after particularly sweaty rides, and dried well. That helped keep it from getting worse, but only the Equiderma skin lotion actually got rid of the scabs (in 24 hours, might I add!). I put this on (slathered, and then put more on after) every surface that looked dry or scabby, and then put him back out for the night. Came back the next day, having almost forgotten about it, and used the tiger tongue sponge (sensitive skin) and noticed I was getting a lot of dirt off- it was those scabs literally falling off with a pass of the sponge! I was afraid it would leave marks of “I picked at something I shouldn’t have” but since the lotion softened them up it was really just scabs- hair was left in place! It honestly looked as though he had never had scratches after one day. I probably cried tears of joy.
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