cracked heels

[finefilly]

Emir is hopping lame! his heels are cracked quite badly cos of all the rain we have been having. been putting sudocrem on them. is there anything else i could try or is that good enough? i have Keratex mud fever powder that i can put on when he is turned out to keep them a bit drier but he is stabled now due to horrible wet weather

[jack]

slap the sudocrem thickly twice a day wash with hibiscub every few days but dry them well of i found that in the winter i will but sudocrem on jack to stop anything before it happens during winter so he tends not to get mud fever ect i found it better than anything eles ive tryed

[finefilly]

thanks! he never really gets mud fever in the winter but over the past few days his heels have got really cracked and sore. i will carry on with the sudocrem and try and keep them dry

[brigadier]

Cracked heels are horrible and Im suprised with the wet weather that someone hasnt had these sooner. They must be kept dry as said but also supple as they will continue to crack if the skin is allowed to dry out. Ive used a number of things but dont put grease on top of damp skin, dry them with a hairdryer first then grease them up, if theres any heat then use antiseptic gel with fly repellant in- although sudocrem is great is doesnt contain repellant so consider this. Also dont rub heels too hard with towels to dry them- this chafes the skin and infection can get in. They are really painful for the horse so even consider bute to help with the soreness!

[kateflashy]

if you can get there the aluminimum spray is brilliant if you dont mind silver legs , we sent some over to a friend in uk for hers

[finefilly]

Aug 22, 2008 14:11:36 GMT @kateflashy said:

if you can get there the aluminimum spray is brilliant if you dont mind silver legs , we sent some over to a friend in uk for hers

that sounds good kate, i will ask at our local shop if they have it. is it just called aluminium spray or does it have a trade name?

[racaille]

In France it's called Aluspray . It promotes healing and is great for scratches and grazes but should not be used on deep wounds as they can heal too fast from the outside, possibly trapping infection inside.

[finefilly]

thanks. all the horses are in now as the river that runs through the horses field burst its banks and has flooded the field! they can go out if we wanted as there is a dry bit (our field is very undulating and when it floods it leaves little islands of field and the horses usually wade through the water. however, i brought them in to give them a break from the wet. dazzle has a bit of mud fever coming on so been sudocreming him too. i am so sick of this wet weather. it is driving me mad. too emir for a walk up the farm lane to stretch his legs, at first he was a bit stiff but trotted up sounder than yesterday.

[ceej]

willow has them at the mo - d**n rain...for me its got tobe protocon, protocon, protocon......fab stuff and totally rapels further water damage ;D

(i also used it along willows back as he had a touch of rainscald (can you fricking believe it) and its gone....it promotes new skin/hair growth on the inside, is antibacterial and keeps any further water getting in...Brill.

[finefilly]

oooh that sounds interesting. YO said to pull all scabs off but i am a bit wary of doing that as i think more infection can get in. tonight i bathed it again in water and hibiscrub and put iodine spray on. i will put sudocrem on in the morning and turn him out hopefully. i turned him out for a bit today as field has dried up a lot and he was still a bit lame but didnt want to keep him in much longer as i didnt want him to get stiff, i thought it better to let him stretch his legs.

[haffyfan]

Murphs gone with mud fever now too! On Sat he had a couple of scratches which i thought he's done out hacking.....but they have been multiplying rapidly! Now he's got oozy scabs on all four legs (typical Murph has to do it in style!)

The vet has suggested that I remove the hair if possible, then clean the legs/remove scabs by washing/scrubbing with hibiscrub (applied neat first for about 10 mins to kill the bacteria), then dry throughly with kitchen roll or hairdryer (not really possible for me), then apply savlon (or other antispetic cream) then apply a barrier like sudocrem twice a day (but not for 2 hours after removing the scabs).

Now I feel awful because I want to treat it right it right away but sensibly I know without OH to hold him I won't get near him with the clippers (tiny handheld battery ones) and that if it becomes 'uncomfortable' I will struggle even to get the scabs off him alone so I am waiting as if I pee him off now it will make the job twice as hard later.

[finefilly]

i soaked Emirs scabs in warm water and hibiscrub and the scabs actually softened and started to come off gradually. i didnt really want to start pulling his scabs off as i have just got him used to having his legs picked up without a fuss and i didnt want him to be put off. he was ok with the water and hibiscrub and this seems to have helped.

[finefilly]

vet coming out tomorrow to see Emir as his cracked heel doesnt seem to be getting any better and i am sick of listening to everyone at the farm telling me to do this and telling me to do that..... the YO said to put a poultice on him to see if that will draw the infection out. i told her that there isnt any heat or swelling but she insisted that will help. so, i put a poultice on and surprisingly he still had it on the next day (i thought he would chew it off) and it was just soaking wet (no pus or anything had come out on the poultice) and now his leg is all puffy from the poultice. i rang the vet and he is coming tomorrow, rather speak to him about it and get some cream and treatment.

[finefilly]

vet came today and gave me antibiotics to give him for a week and said not to get it wet (hard job these days!). gave me protocon ointment to rub on every day and to ring him in a week if no better

[ceej]

Sept 3, 2008 13:57:20 GMT finefilly said:

vet came today and gave me antibiotics to give him for a week and said not to get it wet (hard job these days!). gave me protocon ointment to rub on every day and to ring him in a week if no better

see...protocon...love the stuff...Willows has gone after three applications

[florence]

Yes, I like protocon and sudocrem. It's easier to wash it off if you use warm water. Mud also comes off really easily in warm water and the added bonus is that it makes the scabs softer and easier to remove as well. I never used to clip the hair from my horse's heels in case of catching the scabs, so I used to just cut the hair very close with scissors. The hair is spbottomr there anyway and it gets enough off. He hasn't had mud fever for quite some time now, but I'm expecting it this year!

There's also another cream I use when this or any cuts first happen. I don't know what's wrong with my mind lately, but I just can't remember the name of it!!! It's in a tube, you get it from the vet and it acts like a poultice drawing out infection. It's very good. Now, what's it called? Arrrghhh!! I'll have to have alook at it when I'm at the yard on Saturday. If I remember.

[finefilly]

my friend lent me something called cut and heal when dazzle fell and broke his knees a few years ago and it was magic. after a week you could hardly tell that the had cut them!

[florence]

Dermisol!!!! It's called Dermisol (not sure of spelling) Anyway, not for daily use just at first to get any dirt or puss out.

[scattymare]

Ooh just posted another thread on this as Sancy has a cracked heel. Where can I find Protocon?