Intertrigo – the common infection in CPL horses
When we talk about secondary infections that affect CPL horses, intertrigo must be the prime candidate. It is a type of Moisture-Associated Skin Damage (MASD) that occurs commonly within the skin folds, when there is damp, heat and friction. Most often seen under the fetlock where the folds tend to be more advanced, it can be sore, lead to infection and attracts flies which can lay eggs that turn into maggots.
Dermatophilus congolensis and Malassezia pachydermatis are commonly found on intertrigo swabs (Kaiser-Thom et al 2021), while some horses have suffered with more concerning bacteria such as MRSA and pseudomonas. These complications make intertrigo in CPL horses very hard to treat with antibiotics.
Antifungal sprays such as Daktarin are helpful in some cases, as is clotrimazole cream. These are short-term methods only.
You should trim off as much hair as possible to help the air get to the skin, without clipping short into deep folds.
Red Horse Products HoneyHeel is becoming very popular and is incredibly effective for dealing with intertrigo in CPL horses. (It is best not to use manuka honey unless advised by your vet as it can be too strong and can dry the skin out too much, but if you’re going to use it please monitor the skin carefully and only use for a few days.) We have seen many horses improve in a matter of days after addressing skin fold hygiene and applying HoneyHeel, where months of prescription treatments have failed.
Shampoos like Malaseb® (POM) or Zincoseb/Sebolytic® can be very helpful in restoring the skin’s natural balance and eliminating grease and exudate.
Long term (where the skin folds are deep), intertrigo will often reoccur; so adopting a routine for your horse with more exercise, consistent movement such as on a track system or 24/7 turnout will also be helpful in reducing the lymphoedema and growth of the fibrotic skin folds.
Philip Langley’s horse improved in just a couple of days after clipping and applying Daktarin spray and Canesten. See below.
Diet is important. Adjusting it to reduce inflammation can be pivotal in chronic cases of intertrigo in CPL horses…
In the post below, CPL Facebook Group Expert Anna-Marie Colombotti pleads with other group members to always check their horse’s diet when they are experiencing really hard-to-treat intertrigo infections. Her horse was so badly affected he was lame and could not compete. Anna-Marie also recommends using calamine lotion to dry the area up when the infection is exudative, but only for 1-2 days. Battles® Summer Fly Cream mixed with emollient can be helpful for preventing the infection returning.
