Verified answer

It sounds kind of like rain rot. Rain rot is a really common thing for horses because it is caused by a bacteria that lives in dirt. The dirt gets on the horses skin when they go out in the paddock, and thus the bacteria is moved to the skin. It kind of rubs off and feels either oily or dry, depending on the severity. It takes persistence to clear up, but if you commit, you're horse will be better in about a week.

Scrub it really well with betadine surgical scrub (available at your local tack shop) and rinse it off. Rub the area with a towel until it's dry. Apply a horse anti-fungus product (do not use your tea-tree oil stuff). MTG, Calm Coat, Cowboy Magic's Crudbuster, and Muck Itch are all really effective. They all smell bad and feel gross and are hard to wash off your hands, so I recommend wearing rubber gloves when you apply it. Shake the product well, and then squirt some into your hand and apply liberally over the affected area. The next day, wash the area again, but this time not with betadine. If you use the betadine too much, you can dry the skin out, which will give you a different problem entirely. This time, use a mild non-moisturizing shampoo like suave or vetrolin. Do the same thing you did previously with the towel and the anti-fungus product. Repeat this until the fungus has gone away.

Obviously, this treatment is a bit labor intensive, so the easiest strategy once you get rid of the fungus is prevention. Every time after you ride your horse, wash his legs off really quickly with a mild shampoo. This will remove any dirt and prevent the growth and reproduction of the rain rot fungus (or any other fungi).

Best of luck!

As far as i know i think its just the normal winter hair coming out. The past few weeks of riding and brushing the white stuff comes out along with the loose hair. I havnt noticed it to bother any of our horses and seems to be fine it hasnt done it the last 4 times i've brushed all our horses so i assume it will just go away. But i dont know cuz yours could be a different thing to mine. If it worsins maybe call the vet or get it looked at. If it is somethin harmful post it please i would like to know if i need to worry bout somethin:) Good luck hope its nothin bad.

I'm not sure, but I've noticed that many horses are shedding strangely this year. The hair is coming out in patchy clumps instead of evenly.

It appears to be nothing harmful (especially if your horse shows no pain or itchiness) - The warm to cold to warm to cold weather that we had this winter and spring could be the cause...

To be on the safe side, though, I'd check with my vet.

My mom's horse does the exact same thing except between his front legs. She started putting MTG (Mane & Tail Growth) on it every few days and it completely disappeared. We think that its just dry skin although when described to other horse people we've heard the term rain rot. Just as forewarning if you decide to use MTG: it smells like bacon and you have to wash your hands pretty good to get rid of the smell. But it WORKS!

Does it leave bare patches? I wonder if it is the tail end of mudfever? I would not tea tree oil on any horse as it can cause extreme reactions on sensitive animals and it really is not fair on the animal. If the vet is around, I would ask him what to put on it. It really is difficult to tell you exactly what it is without seeing it. Or ask your riding instructor who will be able to see it.

your horse is just loosing its winter coat. the flakey bit are just dandruff thats been lingering in the long hair. mine is doing the same although now the vet has been to check out her lameness most of it has gone lol. so really dont worry. a vet has seen mine today, her leg hair is exactly same and the vet never mentioned it being a problem x

at a guess by what you have said i would think it is mud fever.