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[RC] re: competition scratches - Sluys GuysHi Angie, I have been studying this condition for years because Blue gets scratches during a ride. I don't think that it is a fungus that causes the scratches that form during a ride. I believe it is his immune system overreacting to the trauma of the miles of trotting. He has white skin on his pasterns and thin skin as well. He also has a fairly concussive trot and a lot of flexion in his pastern. It's like he is getting blisters or something like chapped lips only on his pasterns. I think heat buildup in his legs contributes to it. He gets them worse in sand but that is because it is more abrasive. He also gets them worse when the clover is blooming because it makes him photosensitive and he gets a sunburn on his white skin so he starts a ride already irritated from that during certain times of the year. Blue is also a horse who stocks up easily, reacts to bug bites easily and has other mysterious skin flare ups from time to time. None of my other horses get scratches ever so It's not something on my farm.The best prevention I have come across so far (and I've tried everything!) is to start a ride with Body Glide on his pasterns. It is not sticky like Desitin so the sand and dirt doesn't stick to it. I keep applying the Body Glide until he starts actually breaking out then I switch to Desitin. With this system I can prevent them until much later in the ride. One thing that has my head scratching is that he hardly got them at all this past weekend at the National Championships and we went faster than we ever did before. Several things that were different were that I used Renegade glue on boots that seemed to give him a lot of protection from concussion and the weather was cold so his legs stayed cooler throughout the ride and also we did more cantering than we ever did before. So, maybe less concussion from cantering instead of trotting and the extra shock absorption from the boots helped. Still studying, Nancy Sluys . =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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