Kay,
I'm new to these boards so excuse me if you've elaborated on this
before but.... When I got Amiga last fall she had crusty sores on all
4 legs-mostly around her ankles. Over the winter I got them all clean
and healed. Then around April she started breaking out again. They
just pop out, sometimes bleeding and they itch her like crazy. Is
this
another consequence of this disease? We're trying some homeopathic
remedies to help. Right now I'm putting Desitin on them and keeping
fly wraps on her legs to keep her and the flies from biting them. I
feel so sorry for her. I think it's going to be a very long summer!
Barbara

Barbara,
I am not sure that the hives/bug bites/scabs/itchy allergic reaction is part
of Cushings, but maybe just something that happens with a compromised immune
system. I have read from the pet forum, before I lost the site, that many
equines suffer this same problem, with or without Cushings, I fear. It is
just so predictable, with Pandora Mule. I hate that she suffers this every
year. I have used my own steroid cream on her, but if I order it for her it
is $69 a tube, which is good for about 2 applications, not very sensible and
not that effective. I have tried sprays, no sprays, espiol products, skin so
soft preparations, medicated bag balm, gentle iodine, lime suphur wash ( I
think it was, for more of a fungus problem) and even plain brown vinegar
(which seemed the most effective of anything --- operating on the "You can
catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar principle.") So here
we are again. Oh, the thing that I did link to Cushings, or at least to
foundering, was that the real cure for her skin problem, unfortunately, in
hindsight, was Azium. Both the vet and I suspect that this caused her major
founder problems. So you win some and you lose some. This was about 5 years
ago, and since then we have been watching her suffer numerous hoof abscesses.
In all fairness, she had them previously too, just not so many! She is now
17 years old and I can not tell you how many hoof abscesses she has had and
been treated for, just too darn many, that is for sure. But she has this
marvelous, "I can make it" attitude and that is what makes her such a
treasure. She is a patient patient and never gives up! Yep, I love her,
every inch of that scabby little body, I love her! Kay

One year we had the scraping done and it was ringworm, after that the
scrapings each year were neg. for ringworm. It is a bug allergy, we are
pretty sure. (Black flies??? or "No see'ums") but if you didn't know better,
one might think "rain rot" for a mule that goes in and out of the barn
whenever she chooses, and never stand out in the elements. We did the
fulvocin for ringworm, and that worked like a charm. That was quite a few
years ago, and that was stubborn stuff, luckily it did not pass to the other
mule or Daisy Mae, our mini donkey. Yep, vet checks her out each year, then
ends up giving her the anithistamine injection and the hives go away. The
scabby legs, chest, underbelly and various other little spots remain, but the
itchiness seems to decrease, and that is my goal. I hate to see her rubbing
on everything and the rubbing just intensifies the itching. We all know how
that goes! Well, we are just biding our time and doing the vinegar today.
That gives her a little relief, it seems. Kay, ready to call the vet when
the first "big welt" appears

Hi Barbara,

Crusty sores like that are not something I've heard of before with
cushings... but that doesn't mean that its not related. It honestly
sounds very much like a fungus type skin condition, or greasy heals
or scratches... has your vet looked at it? Do you have or can you
get any good close up pictures of it?

Robin
Desert Springs Sport Horses
http://www.Sportshorses.homestead.com
(best viewed in explorer 4.x or newer)

--- In EquineCushings@..., "Barbara P."
<MorganPinesFarm@a...> wrote:

Kay,
I'm new to these boards so excuse me if you've elaborated on this
before but.... When I got Amiga last fall she had crusty sores on

all

4 legs-mostly around her ankles. Over the winter I got them all

clean

and healed. Then around April she started breaking out again. They
just pop out, sometimes bleeding and they itch her like crazy. Is
this
another consequence of this disease? We're trying some homeopathic
remedies to help. Right now I'm putting Desitin on them and keeping
fly wraps on her legs to keep her and the flies from biting them. I
feel so sorry for her. I think it's going to be a very long summer!
Barbara

Kay, that the vinegar seemed somewhat effective also makes me wonder
about the fungus possibilities... what I've tried quite successfully
on my guys now and then when someone comes up with a crusty spot that
I'm suspicious of fungus with is to get human athletes foot/jock itch
stuff -- lotramin, that sort of thing. I'm sure it would be
expensive if the condition is extensive, but it works on things that
nothing else seems to touch. The other things you might try is the
standard betadine wash... put enough iodine or betadine or betadine
scrub into a bucket of water to turn it colored some, or buy an
iodine medicated wash, wet the horse to the skin all over with the
hose first, then lather up with the betadine/iodine mixture all over
and let it sit for 10 minutes. Don't let it dry, you may have to put
a little more water on some spots to keep it from drying, then rinse
really well and get it all out. Do that once a day or every second
day or so for a week to 10 days, then stop and see if the hair starts
growing back in & sores healing...

You are absolutely right about the Azium, it IS a steroid and that's
the last thing you'd want to add to a Cushinoid horses system I would
think, since the big problem already is overproduction of cortisol.

Hope perhaps one of the things I've mentioned above might help...

Robin
Desert Springs Sport Horses
http://www.Sportshorses.homestead.com
(best viewed in explorer 4.x or newer)