White leg care

[taylorelaine]

My one horse has four white legs, right below the knee—should I be bathing them more frequently than black legs? I brush his legs every day, but they always look so dirty, and I’m mostly concerned about scratches and rain rot developing on the cannon bone. He’s been home under my full care for about two months now, and before that, he was at a show barn where they handled most of the grooming, and his legs were always clean and free of fungus.

I’m afraid to over-bathe because I don’t want to strip the skin of its natural oils, which can cause problems too—but how much is too much, and how little is not enough? Or is the crud not even a bathing issue? Should I be currying his legs too? I’ve heard that you shouldn’t curry below the knee, so I never have.

I was thinking of starting to cover his white socks daily with Desitin or Coat Defense powder for prevention and protection—is that too much? I’ve never had a horse with white legs before, and I just want to make sure I’m doing what’s best and staying on top of anything that needs more attention compared to black legs.

[Mosey_2003]

That’s all too much, yes

Just give them a nice thorough brushing every day and feel them up thoroughly to make sure you catch any possible scratches etc early and he should be fine. Certainly don’t slather him in Desitin, he’ll be filthy plus you’ll be keeping his skin moist and asking for trouble.

[taylorelaine]

Thank you for the response! I just realized I didn’t mention that his legs currently have rain rot on both back legs on the front of the cannon and that’s why I was wondering if I should be doing more because I’ve been brushing his legs everyday for the last two months and when he first came home his legs were clean and clear and at the old barn he never had fungus, so I’m just wondering if I’m missing something extra? I put Equiderma on the spots yesterday and covered it with desitin. Is that okay until it clears up? I figured the desitin would act like a barrier to moisture, even though everything is dry right now, but I was thinking maybe his urine is splashing on his back legs and that’s what’s causing it? Should I use coat dense powder on this spots even after it’s cleared up as prevention and to help keep dry? Also, when I put the Equiderma on yesterday some of the fungus and hair fell off and the spots left behind were pink and I figured the desitin would protect those sensitive areas.

[Mosey_2003]

Well that’s a little different then, lol.

I’ll let the folks that are active in the horses respond to which products would be best for that, I’ve been out of touch too long to know what’s out there now.

[NaturallyHappy]

I don’t think the stuff on the front of cannon bones is actually rain rot, although I don’t know what it actually is. Curry them and get all the loose junk and hair off. You may need to wash them w betadine to get the goo from the Desitin off. Then spray w Vetrysin. Works like a charm for me. Legs need curried regularly, too.

[Mosey_2003]

I always liked those small rubber curries with the many little fingers for currying legs, if it’s just scurfy and not actually raw that would be a good start.

[Simkie]

@taylorelaine

I just realized I didn’t mention that his legs currently have rain rot on both back legs on the front of the cannon

Cannon keratosis, not rain rot.

A benzoyl peroxide shampoo is apparently the best bet. A gentle curry when you groom usually keeps it in check. It’s not an infection.

Or you can just ignore it.

[taylorelaine]

Thank you! I think currying will help a lot too, I was just nervous to do so because I’ve heard you should never curry below the knee. I use the handson gloves for his body to curry - are they gentle enough to use for legs too? Should you curry legs in circular motions or is it better to curry in downward brush strokes? Also, should I be using desitin on the white parts of his legs during mud seasons as prevention?

[Simkie]

You can absolutely curry below the knee, just be gentle.

I like the soft side of these for this type of thing

https://www.sstack.com/schneiders-jelly-scrubber/p/13465/

(You can get them anywhere, this was just the first pic I found with both sides showing.)

If he’s prone to crud, desitin won’t hurt. If he’s not prone to crud, it’s probably not necessary, but you can still do it if it makes you feel better

[taylorelaine]

I definitely need to bathe his legs too they’re greasy and dirty - should I use something more gentle instead of betadine? Since I already treated his legs yesterday with Equiderma or will it not hurt to use a medicated shampoo? Also, is bathing legs with shampoo once a month too much? I notice after a month or two of only brushing and rinsing with water his legs are no longer white, but I also don’t want to compromise the skin barrier too.

[taylorelaine]

Thank you!!

[NaturallyHappy]

@Simkie

Cannon keratosis, not rain rot.

Thank you!

[endlessclimb]

Isn’t it fun having your horses at home?

I curry and de-shed lower legs all the time. I find it incredibly rewarding to watch the legs “tighten up” when there’s a bunch of hair that wants to come off. I’ll use one of those Slick and Easy grooming stones for hair removal down there.

I’m lucky in that my gelding has never gotten cannon-funk. But my good friend’s horse does. Gentle currying a couple of times a week with an application of a thin layer of equiderma keeps it at bay.

[Simkie]

@taylorelaine

I notice after a month or two of only brushing and rinsing with water his legs are no longer white, but I also don’t want to compromise the skin barrier too.

What was his life like before you brought him home?

There ARE often some trade offs, or there can be at least. For example, if your trainer kept his legs clipped, they would appear very clean. But letting the hair grow provides more protection from bugs and probably has less risk of developing crud.

Or if he wasn’t turned out, but you are, he may just have more opportunity to get dirty–but more turnout is better for the horse.

There’s nothing that says you have to keep him show ring clean, unless YOU want that. Racehorses are bathed damned near every day, and usually have gorgeous coats, so if you want him to sparkle, just wash him and don’t worry until you see a reason TO worry.

Cannon keratotis is also greasy looking, though. That’s not a “dirty” thing, just a skin development thing.

Having socks that aren’t blindingly white, or having a little cannon crud, won’t hurt him. But you can decide how important that is to you…and it’s okay if that’s different than how important that was to your trainer. (For anything! That’s the beauty of bringing them home )

[ClassyJumper]

Equiderma skin lotion works amazing for cannon crud. Also, fly boots might help keep the whites a little cleaner between shampoos.

[luvmyhackney]

What changed for horses feed besides hay?

Might be worth supplementing vitamin e and flax to help with scruffy legs.

My horses have white legs and I rarely bath them, 2-3x a year max. I curry legs and rub down with soft cloth. I do hose if sweaty, but try to avoid legs.

[cayuse]

I have one with 4 high whites. I brush with a soft rubber curry if needed and only washed before shows unless he got really gross. Now he’s not showing they get scrubbed as needed which is not often, a couple times in the summer and that’s it. I use Head and Shoulders as it seems to lift out any crud that’s lurking quite well.

[RedHorses]

Currying the legs keeps the build up of the excess skin cells and oils that is cannon keratosis away. Currying all by itself is highly effective, but you can do the other stuff too if you feel like making things more complicated.

[exvet]

I have a feathered breed. The majority of my horses are bay but I have tended to have splash genes in my breeding stock to socks abound. I have never, ever had scratches in my horses. I don’t bathe regularly but for shows. Some I do clip for showing but never my stallions and certain mares (breed shows). I tend to use medicated shampoos because I have them for my dogs and malaseb and benzoyl peroxide shampoos both seem to help all my 4 legged critters. I do brush my horses legs but tend to gravitate towards rubber curry brushes or those jelly like brushes with ‘fingers’. On the white legs if there are stains I use corn starch for breed shows to help make the white, ‘white’. I put it on dry and after schooling give a good soft brush shine and we’re good to go. I am also a huge show sheen fiend (for showing). Honestly for every day I just do enough to make sure there are no foxtails or plant material in their feathers, don’t really care if the socks/legs are black, white, green or poop colored.

[outside_leg]

Do you keep your horse’s (or their legs) clipped? Mine show year round, so they’re almost always clipped, and it cuts down immensely on the amount of crud and gunk that can get trapped. Even our retiree gets a full clip periodically to keep him comfortable, and I always keep his legs clipped, especially in the mud season (chestnut with three knee high socks).

Beyond that, it’s mostly maintenance. Curry and brush daily. Like others, I use the hands on grooming gloves for those areas.

If there is fungus present, I like Equiderma. Be careful about mixing it with other products though. My vet warned that she’s seen horses pop hives when people used Equiderma and micro-tek in combination.