Weird scabby lump things near coronet?

[dungrulla]

So I got a vet out and the consensus is that these are probably granulomas/some kind of granulation tissue from a previous wound/infection or possibly even insect bites–he overreaches so this makes a good deal of sense since he was on the track and somewhat neglected after he got off. We could try high-dose cortisone but it’s very likely they would just come back again and the treatment is expensive and I know from personal experience high-dose cortisone is pretty miserable for the critter on it…I’m thinking about it but not yet sold on the idea.

There is as far as the vet can tell no active infection associated with them. My understanding (it is possibly wrong) is that granulomas can be autoimmune-related as well, in which case not a lot can be done for them anyway

The other option is just to keep them super clean and wrap them in the summertime so flies don’t pick at them (though he was fine all last summer…still don’t want to take my chances) The vet’s not super worried about them.

If anyone has treatment suggestions for this I’m all ears, though I can press on them and even pick them off and it doesn’t really seem to bother him even a little so I’m trying not to be concerned.

[SportingSun]

Not everyone mentioned what breed of horse they have that has these, but every single one who did said they have a TB.
I wonder if that is a coincidence or not…

[Highflyer]

I am a huge believer in not messing with this kind of thing if it’s not causing an issue.

[RJC]

I have a TB with these! Only on her hind legs (which are black). When I first noticed them (I’ve had her for seven years), I didn’t think anything of it because I knew I had seen them on other horses. Years later, I was in a barn where no other horses had them and decided to try and treat. No luck.

The vet has been all over her back legs and she’s never commented on them and I’ve never remembered to mention it to her. From the posts I’ve read about cellulitis after the scabs are picked, I think I’ll let sleeping dogs lie. They only seem to bother her when I bother them.

However! she got a scrape on the inside of her pastern last summer from kicking herself during fly season, and it sloooooowly healed into a thin line of what seems like the same scabby grossness. She is NOT HAPPY when I try to pick it off after softening it for a few days, so I sort of gave up on it to be honest. She had the same injury on the other leg and it healed 100% fine. annoying.

[AA_Hunter]

My TB had a bad case of scratches when I bought him a year ago. It cleared up except for these rock-hard scabs like everyone’s describing. I thought it was still the scratches, but the usual remedies don’t work. One thing I tried that helped was to do a Furacin wrap overnight–the scabs really softened up and could be easily removed, at least the smaller ones. They’re really stubborn though. He has white stockings so it’s not attractive, but they don’t seem to bother him unless you pick at them.

[dungrulla]

This HAS to be a thoroughbred thing. Does anyone have a horse with these that is NOT a thoroughbred?

His ankles do seem a bit large as well (all the time) but this could just as easily be my absolutely TERRIBLE eye for conformation, and they are EQUALLY large and don’t seem to actually be swollen…just big. Especially since the vet didn’t mention anything about swelling.

[Groom_amp_Taxi]

[QUOTE=RJC;8006976]
I have a TB with these! Only on her hind legs (which are black). When I first noticed them (I’ve had her for seven years), I didn’t think anything of it because I knew I had seen them on other horses. Years later, I was in a barn where no other horses had them and decided to try and treat. No luck.

The vet has been all over her back legs and she’s never commented on them and I’ve never remembered to mention it to her. From the posts I’ve read about cellulitis after the scabs are picked, I think I’ll let sleeping dogs lie. They only seem to bother her when I bother them.

However! she got a scrape on the inside of her pastern last summer from kicking herself during fly season, and it sloooooowly healed into a thin line of what seems like the same scabby grossness. She is NOT HAPPY when I try to pick it off after softening it for a few days, so I sort of gave up on it to be honest. She had the same injury on the other leg and it healed 100% fine. annoying.[/QUOTE]

I posted my experience upthread, but I will add here that in my horse’s case, it seems like every injury or insult in the pastern area on the hind legs results in a new “lesion” - i.e. something is “off” about the way things heal (actually don’t heal) in that particular area.

My “less is better” approach this winter continues - I have little doubt that if I had not been so obsessive over the years about trying to find something to clear this up, current condition wouldn’t be as extensive as it is now.

Although we may not know a cause or a cure, I do wish most first line vets were better educated about differentiating between whatever these are and the more widespread “scratches” that respond to treatment.

[quietann]

If it’s the same thing, my mare has developed one of these on the back of her RH pastern (white leg) right between her heel bulbs but close to the hoof. It’s not bothering her at all so I am leaving it alone. She does have a couple of warts in other places and it sort of looks the same.

She’s a Morgan, obviously

I’ll see if I can get a photo tonight. She’s very good about not kicking…

[WNT]

Checking the updates here, and yes, mine is also a TB (21 this year). He probably first developed his little cruddies about four years ago. I tried the Krudzapper on them, it really softened up the crusts, but still have to see how it works long term.

[quietann]

No photo tonight; there was not enough lighting and the whole area was encrusted in dirt and ice thanks to our weather… I brushed it off but it was still filthy, so…

[RJC]

Reviving this old thread to report that my mare had a 10 day course of steroids for an allergy related cough, and her weird scabby things are now gone. The big one that’s been there for years is now a white scar, but the thin line of scabbiness from last year’s scratch and a smaller circular one on her other leg are totally gone without a trace. I didn’t expect that.

[Ibex]

On the comment above (I hadn’t read it after I’d posted)… mare I leased was in fact an OTTB.

[thatmoody]

Can you post pictures? Are these evenly spaced around his pastern or are they more random? Any higher on the leg?

[Posting_Trot]

How did I miss this the first time around?

I too have a TB (mare) who has had these things on her hind pasterns for the last 2 plus years. They’re mostly on the lip of the heel right where it meets the hoof.

They get better and worse, and they seem to respond to virtually any new treatment initially, and then they come right back even if I continue the treatment. She has one white hind and one black and they both have the issue.

I have also tried almost everything, homemade and over the counter. And probably some quack remedies too. Nada nada.

I’m pretty sure that the vets think I’m a slacker who just doesn’t follow through with their suggestions. Hah!

[HorseLoverJana]

[QUOTE=Posting Trot;8193764]
How did I miss this the first time around?

I too have a TB (mare) who has had these things on her hind pasterns for the last 2 plus years. They’re mostly on the lip of the heel right where it meets the hoof.

They get better and worse, and they seem to respond to virtually any new treatment initially, and then they come right back even if I continue the treatment. She has one white hind and one black and they both have the issue.

I have also tried almost everything, homemade and over the counter. And probably some quack remedies too. Nada nada.

I’m pretty sure that the vets think I’m a slacker who just doesn’t follow through with their suggestions. Hah![/QUOTE]

I could have written this, it’s so close to my experience with these mystery lumps. Only difference is I have a TB gelding (not mare).

[LuvMyTB]

I had one with this exact issue…TB mare.

[cmdrcltr]

Add me. I thought it might be a tick bite when it first showed up, but after reading this, I think it’s the same as what everyone here is describing. My horse is a Paint.

[quietann]

[QUOTE=quietann;8007981]
No photo tonight; there was not enough lighting and the whole area was encrusted in dirt and ice thanks to our weather… I brushed it off but it was still filthy, so…[/QUOTE]

Oh, since someone has revived the thread, it did turn out to be a mild case of scratches … I think. She got some swelling and heat in the leg and at that point I got a vet to look at it. We treated it for scratches and she quickly got better.

BUT, now, some months later, she still has a raised rough scaly area there. So I am wondering now if she had scratches and this thing, whatever it is. If I wasn’t about to be out of town for a few days, I’d take a photo. Maybe when I get back…

[Texarkana]

My one bay TB gelding used to get them, too. But only in the summer and only low on the front of his hind pasterns. I always hypothesized there were related to insects or fly spray, since he only ever got it during bug season and nothing in the world completely rid him of it, except winter.

He was prone to scratches as well earlier in life until I changed his diet. But the scratches were completely different and actually responded to traditional scratches treatment. The crusty bumps on his pasterns showed up every spring/summer, and while they would wax and wane a little throughout the season, they never responded to any treatment. The good news was he was never bothered by it and it went away every winter. Since you couldn’t really see it and it didn’t hurt him, I eventually stopped worrying about it.

[Quelah]

I call them summer scratches. Dunno what they are. Topical application of Panalog ointment (not cream) does a nice job of softening them up so they’ll come off easily. FWIW.