Anyone who has been around horses long enough will either have a horse that has this problem, have had a horse that had this problem, or know someone who is dealing with it. 

It commonly presents itself on the hind cannons of horses, mares, geldings and stallions alike.  Oftentimes, there appears to be mud beneath the hair that does not easily come off with regular shampoo.  Greasy dark crusts or "crud" form on the skin, and when the hair from the cannon area is tugged on, little tufts come out stuck together with yukky material.  On dark legged horses, it's often not noticed at all until the owner comes across it accidentally, but on white-legged horses like my own mare, it can be very ugly and obvious.

Most of us who notice it on our horses have heard it called by many names.  Cannon Crud, Stud Crud, Urine Scald, and non-specific dermatitis are a few terms many of us have run into, none of them being helpful or informative. 

I was always told by everyone I asked that it was "urine scald" but when my mare developed it on her nice white legs, I realized that urine was in no way the problem, either for mares or geldings with this skin condition.  My mare voids with her legs spread wide open and a wide arc of urine shoots up and out straight behind her.  How could her urine be "scalding" her when it never touched her legs?  I verified this time and again by examining her after she urinated.  Not a drop on her.  Hmmm.  As for our gelding, he voids with his legs spread out in a "parked" position as most geldings will, and again, he was bone dry after each examination.  There just had to be a name and solution for this crud.

After quite a bit of research online, I was finally able to nail the monster and put a name to it.  It's called "Cannon Keratosis" and it is a sebborhea-like condition that is present in many horses.  It's not a fungus, bacterial infection, rain rot, scratches, urine scald or anything similar. 

This crud forms when the sebaceous glands are overactive on the horse's legs or body.  Because of this, I highly doubt that it can be spread from horse to horse via brushes and other grooming tools, but I did not actually find any definative answer to that question.  My research did lead me to the conclusion that it cannot be permanantly cured, but but I was able to dertermine what needed to be done to control it.

All the material I read pointed to salacydic acid, benzoyle peroxide and retinol compounds.  Now, since retinol is hideously expensive and must usually be obtained with an RX, I concentrated on the other two ingredients.

I went to my local feed stores (our small town has 5!) and was unable to find a single equine shampoo that contained either ingredient, so I had to dust off my cobwebbed little brain and come up with a solution. 

I decided to purchase some foaming facial cleanser with salacydic acid in the zit cream department, and heisted some benzoyle peroxide cream from my 22 year old daughter's drawer.  Shame on me, but desparate times call for desparate measures!  I also wanted a brush that would scrub the area vigorously enough to loosen the crud but no break the thin, sensitive skin alone the bone. 

Now, when all my kids were newborns, the hospitals used to give us little rectangular white scrubbing brushes to loosen the cradle cap off of their little noggins.  Interestingly enough, cradle cap is actually seborrhea.  So one might say that our horses have "Cannon Cap!"  Gee...I simply amaze myself at my own cleverness sometimes! (cough)

Anway, after scouring the infant section in 2 grocery stores and 2 drug stores, I was unable to locate the type of brush I wanted.  I was finally able to find a round dish brush with firm white plastic "bristles" that stood up yet yielded when pushed.  Perfect.  And the long handle would make bending over and doing the legs easier as well.

Now onward to the fix!

First, you can forget going to the grocery or drug store and mickey-mousing products like I had to at first.  I was able to locate the product I needed online.  You can find it online, and even here on EBay.  Incidentally, this stuff can be used on bunnies, dogs, cats, ferrets AND horses.  It was listed for dogs, but I emailed the website's vet tech and was told that this is a perfect product for Cannon Keratosis.  Sure enough, when the bottle arrived, it did have a picture of a horse on it as well as the other critters I listed.  The link tells you what it is called.  It contains 2.5 % benzoyle peroxide, 1% salacydic acid and 1% sulfer.

DermaPet Benzoyl Peroxide Shampoo

Follow these steps for better looking equine legs:

1.  Obtain the shampoo listed above.

2.  Wet horse's legs and any other body parts that may be affected.  My gelding somehow got this crud on his neck as well, and it appeared to be exactly the same thing!

3.  Apply shampoo and let sit for 10 minutes.

4.  Scrub gently but firmly with a medium-firm bristled brush to remove crusts.

5.  Rinse area well and dry.

6.  Apply over-the-counter brand name or generic human benzoyle peroxide product.  I think the gel works the best.

Your horse may initially loose some hair on his legs in the process, but it should grow back as the condition is kept in check.

I hope this guide has been helpful to you and that you have great success in treating this annoying problem.  If it does not clear up with the steps above, please consult your vet for further diagnosis and/or treatment.

Peace and Happy Trails,

Anni