Tiny flecks of dried blood on outside of front left leg...ALWAYS!

[swillowness]

If they hadn’t been there for so long and kept coming back, I’d chalk it up to bugs, but this is just strange. While grooming during the winter, I noticed a few hard, TINY flecks of black things on my horse’s front left leg. There weren’t many, so I figured it was where a stubborn bug bit him or where he’d managed to find something to get himself into. Now, several months later, they’re still there and increasing. It looks quite a bit like flea dirt and comes off with a curry comb. Sure enough, it’s back the neck day. Only that one leg, though. He’s been a bit off on that leg recently as well, so I’m starting to wonder if it’s related.

Thoughts?

[cheerio280]

My horse gets some sort of skin scurf that sounds like what you describe. A picture would be helpful.

[Cindyg]

My donkey gets something similar, but it really is blood from bug bites. He doesn’t get it in the winter.

For the bug bites, I rinse and scrub his leg with Listerine every day, then fly spray.

[swillowness]

I’ll be darned, it WAS bugs. I got some fly bands for his legs. Boom, no more bites. Weird that they’re only on the one leg though.