Foot stamping - the cause and cure?

Roxy's Mum

Roxy's Mum

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Jul 21, 2009
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Roxy stamps her rear feet a lot - one in particular.

She did this a lot during the summer which then tailed off and seemed to stop, but now seems to be back with a vengence.

She's a bit funny with her backs being picked up but OH & I have managed to have a good root through her feather (there's a lot!) when putting on pig oil & sulpher and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Her hooves are fine when I have looked & the farrier has not noticed anything.

Is she likely to have lice? She doesn't itch them at all and her fronts are fine. What would any of the other symptoms be? :unsure:

She is turned out 24/7, unrugged, unclipped, with mares. Their fields are regularly rotated. I do have some footstamp that I obtained last summer, only for her to stop after it was delivered.

All suggestions welcome :happy:
 
mites?

foot stamping is often a sign of mites in horses. Might be worth treating for them as as far as I remember they're invisible to the naked eye so you wouldn't spot them.

my friend's horse had them and she sprayed him with frontline spray. worked a treat :smile:
 
It could be mites. Izzy had them two summers ago, just in his back feet.

My vet's gave me a spray to use, think it was Frontline, and I had to apply it a couple of times. You can get an injection but Izzy's wasn't too bad so the spray worked. I then started using Pig oil and sulphur and haven't had a problem since.
 
Sparklie said:
mites?

foot stamping is often a sign of mites in horses. Might be worth treating for them as as far as I remember they're invisible to the naked eye so you wouldn't spot them.

my friend's horse had them and she sprayed him with frontline spray. worked a treat :smile:
Click to expand...

You beat me to it!:bounce:
 
Fab, thanks everyone. I might phone the vet for a quick word to see what they suggest - otherwise I might go out & get some frontline and see if that makes a difference.

Thanks again :happy:
 
Yeah mites would be my first option too :) Dont think you can see mites - they are tested for by skin scraping

Though madam stamps because of her allergy to flies - she tries to itch the inside of the other leg, misses and then stamps as a result.
 
mites, sometimes they diagnose on sight but can often be a Skin Scrape, a few types so treatment dependent on which it is. If feathered then they will prob need to come off!
 
Joe went through a foot stamping stage a while back when his mud fever was healing - it was so bad at one point that he had antibiotic injections from the vet, so I am guessing that when the skin was healing it made him itch hence the stamping (he lost his shoe because of it!).
Do hope you find the cause and get it treated soon Roxy.
 
def would say mites as shes pretty heavily feathered isnt she?

I have taken to clipping Rosies feathers off which does seem to help, but for many years kept the feathers on just had her have Dectomax injections which kept them away!
 
Lemme said:
mites, sometimes they diagnose on sight but can often be a Skin Scrape, a few types so treatment dependent on which it is. If feathered then they will prob need to come off!
Click to expand...

I agree there are different types of mites. Dont google it, if you dont want to be bambozzled.

Have you noticed her nimbling her legs. Sometimes that can indicate as well as stamping.

I have a hairy legged cob. He gets patches of what looks like blood spots and crusty. But you say you've checked. I use PO & S too. I dont cut the hair at all.
My only query as you say you are using it. How are you applying it? It was pointed out by someone on here that you need to paint it on the skin not the hair. So I pull the long hair upwards and sort of daub on with a paint brush. Its no good on a hairy leg just painting on the top of the feathers as it doesnt penertrate through to the skin.
 
Last year Flip was stamping, but it was more like he was trying to itch his back legs against each other. He finally damaged one of his ergots as a result and the vet recommended dectomax injections - four - 2x2 within 2 weeks even though he couldn't see any mites on him. Cue huge vet bill and I never really felt it worked. Sure enough I started to notice him stamping and itching again during the summer - he would give you the camel face if you scratched his heel. I read heaps on here about it as I didn't fancy paying the vet again - frontline spray is ideal but you need to clip really to get it to the skin and also is only available on prescription for dogs so you have to lie to your vet afaik. I went and got the frontline spot on for large dogs - about four pipettes - 1 for each leg and just spotted it around his legs below the knee. I then waited I think it was 10 days and then did it again to catch the eggs. After about two weeks I was happy he'd stopped stamping and got the pig oil and sulphur on him. I wanted to do that to start with cause it would have stopped him getting them but if I'd put the pig oil on once he had them it wouldn't have got rid. Apparently they don't like the oily texture and won't climb on but its pointless if they're already there (again, afaik!)
Since then every time the trimmer comes he gets pig oiled afterwards - every six weeks. So far so good.
I saw that foot stamp stuff - expensive and annoying to have to constantly wash legs.

Is Roxy really itchy on her legs? Give her a scratch and see how she reacts!! It was just the hind legs with my boy but I did all four.

Hope you find the cause mrs and can sort, not nice is it.
 
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FM...yes frontline spray is prescription only for dogs or cats from your vet. The spot on is a different drug. It will work but it will only last for one month. The spray should last for 3 months

Good luck RM
 
Yeah, I did worry about the effectiveness of the spot on but thats to get rid of them and then the pig oil should keep them away (wonderful stuff!) This was just my experience of it - there was no way I could clip and Flip's feathers are quite short and thick - not long and silky like Roxy's - I tried lice spray and it was murder trying to get to the skin. When that didn't work I looked into the frontline and decided I would have more luck with a spot on that the spray. (sorry long waffly explanation!!:redface:)
 
Yep another vote for mites, you can use frontline spray but also pig oil and sulphur is good for getting rid of them. My lightly feathered mare also gets dry, itchy skin in her feathers and the pig oil conditions her skin really well
 
MITES. Get your vet out and ask for skin scrape and dectomax injections. My poor Beth has had a secondary infection and now LV, an auto immune reaction which has affected her liver. I'm up to around £600 in vets bills in 2 months. See my dermatitis thread in veterinary section.
 
I spoke to the vet yesterday afternoon - he says it sounds like mites (feather mites rather than harvest mites). She doesn't seem to have an itchy mane or tail, just the stomping of the back feet.

She doesn't try to itch them against something or together. Just stamps.

I've been applying pig oil & sulphur with OH; one of us parts the feather while the other gets it good & rubbed in at the skin – starting at the bottom. The trouble being she can be a bit temperamental about her back feet being touched & picked up. For the most part she’s okay but when she decides she’s had enough she’ll get a bit stroppy.

The vet couldn't remember if I would need a script for Frontline but said they sell it over the counter at the vet & they would be happy to give me some as a vet from there has seen Roxy within the last 6 months. He said they could also try injections but obviously involves a vet coming out twice and is more costly.

Will go & collect some Saturday (50 mile round trip!) and give it a whirl. He said that if that does not work her feather may have to come off :cry:
 
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