On my 8 year old arabian geldings back legs there is something going on. At first I thought it was just dirt, but with a closer inspection i found it wasnt. It looks kind of like a scab, but it isnt. There is hair on it, and it is a dirt brown color. Brushing it doesnt help, it just makes the hair come off, leaving a bald spot. It is mostly on the right hind leg, but a little on the left. I have some pictures if they are needed. Any advice on what it is and how to treat it?

 When did you first notice the problem?  Was it after the jumping accident with your trainer?  This might be where the pole hit his legs and caused a rub.

One of my geldings is constantly "dinging" himself.  There's no visible injury, but the hair kind of lifts up and comes off with brushing.  It leaves a hairless spot for a bit, but the hair eventually grows back.  Does this sound like what your horse has?

Just for more information, post the pictures and maybe someone will have some other insights. 

That sounds an awful lot like rain rot.  I had a mare who got it in exactly those places all the time.  I treated it by using a nylon kitchen scrubbie (gently!) to remove the crusty scabs, then smearing the spots with Betadine mixed with baby oil (so it doesn't come off when it gets wet).  Couldn't hurt to try that. 

It definitely sounds like a fungus or bacteria that often developes on the cannon bone area. It is similar to rain rot and the bacteria that causes scratches also. The hair seems to have a waxy texture and a bit of dandur. There are all kinds of treatments out there for skin conditions, but a good daily wash and a antibacterial ointment will cure it right up. I am really fond of Nolvassan wash it suds nicely breaking down the body oils while disenfecting the area as well.

Hi!

It sounds to me like it is rain rot.  My mare used to get it alot when it was raining and very damp during the spring.  It was on the front of her back legs.  It looked like scabs, but it wasn't dry and crusty likes scabs would be. 

 The best thing I found for it was to wash her legs with a betadine shampoo or my vet used to give me this shampoo named Coaltar.  After she dried all the way, I would use M.T.G. on it.  It stands for mane and tail groom, but for some reason it works wonders on rain rot.

 Even if it is not rain rot, the betadine shampoo will not hurt your horse.  If it doesn't go away in a week or two, i would call your vet to make sure.

I dont think it was the jumping incident.The rain rot sounds about right. lll try the betadine shampoo to see if it helps. Thanks for the help.

Yup, Solo gets that cannon bone fungus too, it's funky and scabby looking, he gets it every year -- I hate it!  I've tried so many things to get rid of it, no luck so far -- the best has been just scrubbing it every day with my jelly scrubber to keep it clean and open to the air.  It's different from rain rot, my usual ACV treatment didn't nix it.

I have the same issue with my Arab's back legs, (one white, one bay), and one of my TWH's hind leg (the white one).

 I ditto the iodine shampoo, and would like to add to it something on I stumbled on the other day - lol lol

I was in Tractor Supply and saw a SPRAY bottle of 1% iodine for "minor cuts, abrasions, navel care on newborns, etc.

I thought "hmmm--- wonder how this will work on the fungus?"

I cleaned legs really good when they came in that night and liberally sprayed the 1% iodine on.  Amazingly by the next morning there was noticeable improvement!

I work and don't have time to wash legs in the AM, because stalls get cleaned.  I wiped their legs good with paper towels and re-sprayed.  When they came in that night, I had to look really hard to find any of the "black dot fungal debris" that builds up and causes all the problems.

If you can find that magical "1% iodine in a spray bottle", it should clear the fungus up "five minutes ago".  Plus if you're running late and/or exhausted and don't have time to wash legs every time, it will do it's own washing and there's nothing to build up on the horses' legs

It's only been four days since I started this routine.  It poured rain yesterday, raining today and our pasture needs bushhogged in the worst way, but it needs to dry out.  Point-being the horses have everything working against them for this fungus to stay on them, but it isn't. 

I am going to buy up a bunch of those 1% iodine spray bottles

Ooo, I'm going to look for that!!  Solo's is really yucky on his white leg and just looks crappy.  I've been trying for two years to get rid of it! 

My trainer told me to put burnt motor oil on the fungus. I put it on every day for a week, and its all cleared up!

We had that stuff runing RAMPID through my barn 2 years ago. Almost all 50 horses had it at one point. NOONE could find anything that would rid of it. We tried Mirco-tek, betadine, MTG, you name it. It wasnt till one of the owners, who was a pharmasist, made some crazy concoction that seemed to cure it. Of corse she was a snob and only HER horses could use it , so we all had to wait till it went away in the fall. Never found out what was in that stuff....

My guys got the fungus last year. Best thing to do is to scrub with betadine once a week and dry really really well. Then everyday switch between Fung-a-way, Scarlex, and athletes foot cream. Keep the legs DRY DRY DRY. The fungus usually comes from the wet fescue grasses. So if there is dew on the grass in the morning, keep them inside or off of it until its dry. Its such a pain in the butt, but the best way to get rid of it.

TwoSoxLover:

My trainer told me to put burnt motor oil on the fungus

Yikes!  Really?  I'm glad it worked, but used motor oil can be toxic.  It contains metals, such as lead, chromium, copper and zinc, which can be hazardous.  Along with the actual oil blocking the pores in the skin, I don't really think it's the best treatment.  And, if the engine has other problems, there may be coolant (ethylene glycol) in the oil.  Watch out what you're putting on your horse!

I use used motor oil to discourage chewing on wood.  Since it's something that will have a horse stop wood chewing, I wouldn't use it topically on my horse's skin.

This is "scratches"  it's a realitive of rain rot.  It's very common and can have many causes.

 Think of it this way, you know how your hands get all cracked and dry in the winter?  When you wash them they just get more dry and hurt even more.  This is sort of what's happening on your horse's legs --- plus the added bonuse of fungus/bacteria in there.  It's important that you remove the scabs but it can be very painful to your horse.  I do not reccomend hosing down the leg as that will irritate the problem more.

 Everyone at my barn uses Desotin (baby diaper rash cream) or any other diaper cream that you can get in bulk.  I usually brush as much dirt off the area as possible and then rub down the heels and other infected areas with baby wipes, this will clean them without using water and almost all baby wipes have lanolin in them which is very soothing.  Then I generously rub Desotin all the way up the leg -- as high as needed to cover all the scabs.  As I'm rubbing it in some of the scabs will fall off but I don't get anal about taking all of them off on the first treatment because they'll come off much easier after his legs have been covered in Desotin overnight.

There are many benifits to using diaper rash cream instead of other treatments.  Being designed for use on babies, it's gentile enough for your horse's skin.  It will moisturize and soothe his skin.  And if you put a heavy enough layer on it will block out water, at least overnight.

 I highly warn against putting gasoline or alcohol on your horse's legs.  You wouldn't want someone pouring that on your chapped hands would you?

 Good luck.