Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
Somewhere in the middle of the summer, Speedy developed a crack just above his heel. My vet vet suggested I treated it with a wrap and antibiotic ointment, and it went away. A week later, it came back. I talked to the vet about it again, and he decided it was a form of scratches or something irritated by heat, flies, and dirt. He next recommended that I treat it with Genta Spray, a topical spray with both a steroid and an antibiotic. Here's what it looked like in early September when it was already improved. While I sprayed it daily with the Genta Spray, I went out on a limb and treated it with a second topical treatment, Equiderma Skin Lotion. I am not saying that stuff is what did the trick, but I've decided Equiderma is now one of my must have on hand bottles of goop. The crack is almost gone. It's not nearly as deep as it was, and the skin has closed steadily from the top and bottom. While I don't know which treatment did the trick, I do know the Equiderma helped with two other skin issues: the cannon bone crud and a nasty gash Speedy got last week. I have no media of Speedy's cannon bone crud, but if you've ever seen it, know that it's even funkier on white hair. I scrub it every day with a dry jelly scrubber, but to get it off completely, I have to draw blood. I used the Equiderma several days in a row, not following the directions at all - I just glopped it on and walked away. A few days (maybe a week?) later, I hosed him off and the crud was gone. I have no photographic evidence, so you'll just have to take my word for it. The stuff really does work. As an added bonus, there was no burning of the skin or irritation at all. He just had clean smooth skin to show for it. Last week, I came out to discover a huge hunk of dried mud hanging from Speedy's foot. I hosed it off only to discover it wasn't mud at all, just a hunk of flesh that he tried to tear away from just above his hoof. I cleaned it as best I could and put him back in his paddock hoping it would look better the following day.
Of course it didn't, so the second day I used a more thorough scrubbing technique. The wound looked pretty much like hamburger. I simply couldn't get the dirt out of the crevices. Speedy had somehow gouged into the flesh at the hairline of his hoof. While he was sound on it, it was definitely painful and swollen. Not knowing how else to get the encrusted dirt out, I doused it with my new best pal, Equiderma. (Mineral oil is the first ingredient.) The next day, I was able to get nearly all of the dirt to wash away. Only then did I feel comfortable coating it with a nitrofurazone ointment and wrapping it. Obviously Equiderma isn't going to heal a laceration, but the mineral oil did soften the caked on mud enough that I could pick it off. It's not a career ending injury, but it is annoying. I am sure he'll be good to ride later this week. I do wish he'd quit trying to mangle his back feet though. If Facebook has tempted you to pick up a bottle of Equiderma, I'd say get it. For $24 (at the Riding Warehouse), it actually seems to do what it says it does. Has anyone else tried it? 9/25/2017 02:02:34 pm
I tried it, and unfortunately my mare had what I can only call an allergic reaction to it. Some other horses at my barn have responded VERY well, but I guess it's a word of caution that not all horses respond well. 9/25/2017 04:28:43 pm
Someone else said her horse had a negative reaction (it was like it burned his skin). The first time I used it, I only applied a small amount to ONE cannon bone even though all four legs had the crud. I was worried about a reaction. It works great on Speedy, but I haven't yet used it on Izzy. He'll be the one to get some weird skin thing AFTER using it. LOL Comments are closed.
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About the Writer and RiderI am a lifelong rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010. Welcome to my dressage journey. About Speedy GSpeedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
About IzzyIzzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
National Rider AwardsState Rider Awards
State Horse Awards
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
TBD 2023 Completed … Pending 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Score 3: Archives
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