You know that dryness, sometimes leading to peeling that horses can get on their elbows? What is you solution?
What is the root cause? Are they bruising themselves with their hooves or shoes or is it girth or ammonia from stalls?
To remedy chapped elbows, make sure your horse has sufficient bedding or soft ground in its stall or pen. Next, apply an emollient—preferably an antibiotic gel or cream—to the area. Finally, fly spray your horse often to keep the pesky insects away. These steps will help keep chapped elbows from becoming more than just a cosmetic problem.
Agree with the above of assuring a clean environment first and assuring no mechanical causes, rubbing etc. But other than that I would recommend Equiderma Lotion. Helps with a lot of things and I’d think it would also help here.
https://www.equiderma.com/products/equiderma-skin-lotion-for-horses
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I find the Eqyss MicroTek spray clears up scurf like that pretty well and it won’t leave a greasy residue.
Curry comb. And groom or rinse off sweat. Assuming there is no hair loss.
If there is a mechanic’s cause like s shoe rubbing then no surface treatment will fix. If it’s a fungal infection in the rain scald family then looking at overall nutrition and feeding flax can help as well as using an antifungal treatment.
While I’ve certainly seen irritated elbows on other people’s horses, IME they are not common and tend to have environmental causes that need to be solved. I don’t think I ve ever seen one on a barefoot horse, leading me to associate them with shoe boils.
Definitely find the root cause, that’s not “normal.”
I initially though my sensitive-skinned gelding’s flaky elbows were from the girth rubbing, so a Total Saddle Fit anatomical cinch was purchased and it DID make a huge difference in saddle staying put and no more rubbing of his elbows. Eqyss MicroTek helped soften the callouses a bit.
But a few months ago one of his still-flaky, still-calloused elbows became a cantaloupe sized shoe boil which required vet care. I added cushion sand to his dirt loafing shed floor (no stalls, and I’m not putting shavings down in that 15x33’ shed,) and he now wears bell boots overnight.
And despite the “shoe boil” name, my horse IS barefoot - he just tucks his hooves under himself when he sleeps.
My guy is barefoot, but likes to sleep in his pee spot, with his hooves tucked under. He has a big stall and plenty of bedding, but he always pees in one spot, then lays in that.exact.spot. :rolleyes:
I have been really diligent about grooming his elbows, both with the HandsOn grooming gloves and a stiff bristle brush along with good rinses after riding to keep the flakiness at bay. If I slack off it will start to get dry and flaky, but I get after it before it gets bad. If it did get bad, I would try equiderma or Tri-Care wound ointment.
I’m just talking about scurf. Dry, flaking skin, nothing more. It is quite common.
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Break out that soft rubber curry comb (those little circle ones) and make sure you do the elbows when you curry! I’ve noticed if there is a lack of good grooming, the elbow dandruff will pop up. Also, I feed everybody a good fat supplement, and haven’t had any issues with my retired horse, even when I havent groomed her for weeks. Usually it’s a combo of diet and not enough currying.
Another vote for Equiderma.
Yes - my horse has capped elbows (had gotten shoe boils before) and has thick, wrinkly skin at his elbows. In the summer, it’s one of the last places to get totally dry if he sweats or gets hosed off. I think the scurf is just a case of lingering dampness and an area that’s hard to groom/brush.
In the summer, I do ~1/4 cup of white vinegar in a small bucket of water and sponge him off after hosing - If I make sure to get the elbows good with the sponge, this usually helps the scurf clear up.
