Found scabs on your horse's legs?

Whether you've noticed a few small crusty patches or the legs have suddenly become much more scabby, don't start by picking, scrubbing and repeatedly washing them.

The aim is simple:

Clean. Dry. Protect. Repeat.

Here's exactly what we'd do.

Imogen Yule (verified customer) - 2 weeks between these photos.

Before doing anything, have a proper look and feel. A few dry, crusty or scabby patches are very different from a leg that is hot, swollen, painful or weeping.

Call your vet if:

→ the leg is hot or swollen
→ your horse is painful or lame
→ the skin is bleeding or weeping
→ the problem is spreading quickly
→ there are extensive or severe skin changes
→ your horse seems unwell
→ it isn't improving

There are lots of reasons horses develop scabby skin, so anything significant or persistent deserves a proper diagnosis. If you're dealing with otherwise comfortable dry, crusty or scabby skin, you can concentrate on good skin management.

If the legs are dirty and need washing, give them one proper clean.

Use an appropriate equine skin wash (anti-bac) and gently clean the area, paying particular attention to folds and creases where dirt can sit.

Don't scrub aggressively and don't start picking attached scabs.

Then rinse thoroughly.

And now for possibly the most important part...

Scabby skin and constant dampness are not a good combination.

Once you've cleaned the legs, dry them thoroughly.

Don't leave wet feather sitting against the skin. Don't leave moisture hiding around the heel or in skin folds.

Take the time to get right down to the skin.

And that means resisting one of the biggest temptations of winter horse care...

Horse comes in covered in mud. You reach for the hose. Not necessary.

If the legs are already scabby or the skin is vulnerable, repeatedly soaking them can keep introducing the very thing we're trying to minimise: moisture!

Instead, where practical:

Let the mud dry → brush it off gently → check the skin underneath.

Your horse doesn't need perfectly clean-looking legs every minute of the day. We care much more about the condition of the skin underneath the mud.

Once the skin is clean and completely dry, apply Collagen & Kelp generously over the dry, crusty or scabby areas.

Gently massage it across the skin rather than aggressively rubbing at the scabs. You want a good covering of product over the area.

If your horse is going back outside, leave a generous layer over the skin to provide a physical barrier between the skin and the muddy environment.

Think:

CLEAN → DRY → COLLAGEN & KELP → TURNOUT

If the legs are muddy, don't automatically wash everything off again.

Where practical:

1. Let the mud dry.
2. Gently brush away the dried mud.
3. Check the skin.
4. Make sure the area is dry.
5. Reapply Collagen & Kelp.

For horses living in particularly wet or muddy conditions, this routine can be done morning and evening.

The important thing is that you're not constantly washing the skin between applications.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“One week of Collagen & Kelp, I can’t believe the results"

Fran Corbelli (@francorbellix)

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"I used a small blob of the body fondant probably a max of about 3/4 times in the run up to HOYS, (in a desperate hope to reduce the swelling and crusting on this scab 😕 ) We haven’t been able to get rid of with anything: hibiscrub, black powder, Derma gel you name it we couldn’t get rid of it over the last almost a year, and oh my god it’s almost gone after a few uses!! It’s definitely going to have to be added to my next supplement order, it’s incredible!!!"

Imogen Yule (@immy_yule_sj)

Leave them alone.

Don't sit there picking at firmly attached scabs because you want the leg to look clean. And definitely don't scrub them off.

Be gentle when applying Collagen & Kelp and when brushing around the area. Your priority is looking after the skin — not removing every visible scab as quickly as possible. If the crusting is extensive, firmly attached, painful, weeping or you're unsure whether material should be removed, speak to your vet.

If you're looking at the leg thinking this has gone way beyond a couple of little dry patches, we'd involve your vet.

Significant crusting can have several underlying causes and may require diagnosis and veterinary treatment.

Your vet may recommend clipping, specific cleansing, medication or dressing/wrapping the area depending on what they find.

Don't tightly wrap damaged or inflamed legs simply to keep them clean. Incorrect bandaging can cause additional problems.

Once any required veterinary treatment has been carried out, good ongoing skin management becomes particularly important.

And remember:

Hot + swollen + painful + weeping + lame + spreading = VET.

That's the question we can't answer simply by looking at the word scab.

Scabbing and crusting can occur for lots of different reasons. You may hear terms such as mud fever, pastern dermatitis, rain scald/rain rot and other skin conditions associated with crusting or scabbing.

They aren't all the same condition and shouldn't automatically be treated as though they are.

If you suspect a specific skin condition such as mud fever, rain scald or dermatitis — particularly where the skin is painful, inflamed, weeping, swollen or persistent — your vet should diagnose the problem and advise on any veterinary treatment required.

The routine above isn't intended to diagnose or treat those conditions.

It's our straightforward approach to caring for dry, scabby or crusty skin and managing legs exposed to wet, muddy conditions.

Because sometimes the biggest difference you can make is surprisingly simple:

Stop soaking the legs. Keep the skin dry. Be gentle. And look after the skin underneath.

This guide provides general grooming and skin-care information and is not veterinary advice. Scabbing can have many causes and some require veterinary diagnosis and treatment. NEIGHKED grooming products are not veterinary medicines and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease.