Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

I'm not crazy about the whole picking off the scabs thing.  My horse  
got a bad case years ago.  I rinsed her gently without trying to  
remove anything, and bathed her with mild soap, then kept her as dry  
as I could (poor shelter was a problem where she used to live).  Her  
back healed up pretty quickly without much of a "yuck" factor.  In  
contrast, my friends horse got a bad case last year--she's a nurse  
and can't stand to let things alone.  She picked off all the affected  
areas very gently and carefully, treated it with solutions of some  
sort or another, and then lived with a bald horse who's back was like  
one big open wound for several days.  A healthier scabbing occurred  
within a few days, but sun was a real problem, so the blanket had to  
be on her when it was sunny--and dry--out, for weeks.  Ironically,  
this whole process seemed to lengthen the healing process because her  
back couldn't air out when it wasn't raining--she had to be blanketed  
to protect her from the sun.  Kinda' circular, difficult, and  
troublesome approach seemed to me.  Then again--I'm really really  
lazy and like to believe that less is more.
Good luck to you.
Mary K
p.s. the horse that came to me with a bad case of scratches seems  
bettered by the lazy approach too--his historically affected white  
pastern hasn't suffered even the tiniest bit since coming into the  
hands of someone who doesn't shave his fetlocks--I suspect that the  
hair acts as sun-block.  The previous owner couldn't bear letting him  
be scruffy.  I know that there might be other reasons he no longer  
has scratches on that foot, but I'm stickin' to the idea that leaving  
things alone for a while to see what happens works pretty well.



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