ALSO IN VETERINARY - does this sound like ringworm?

The Boy

The Boy

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Hi, 2 days ago I noticed 3 raised lumps on horse's side (just behind saddle area), alll about the size of 20p piece. These haven't got bigger and no others have appeared. Horse is not bothered with me touching them and I have removed the top off one and he didn't flinch.

This revealed red sore skin underneath. Lump itself is like thick scurfy/greasy scab with all the hair attached.

Is this ringworm?

Any advice very much appreciated.
 
Potentially, yes. Ringworm is not itchy or painful and they don't mind it being touched usually. It's usually not raised or swollen though. The hair and skin detatching will make it feel like a lump but once the 'scab' has been removed it is usually completely flush with the skin. The scab is flaky and dry skin (like super bad dandruff) and isn't usually greasy or weepy unless it's an old lesion (which can start to weep a bit)

It is usually always entirely circular and starts off as a small patch and spread outwards. It's quite distinctive once you've seen it before.
 
Got the exact same thing on 2 of the hunters in the same place, just behind the saddle. Raised patches, hair fell out, greasy and liable to scabbing. Vet took a look and thinks they are fly bites. Been covering in Sudocrem and giving a good dose of ignoring it :)
 
asommerville said:
could it be rain scald?
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Id say more likely this too. Ringworm is very contagious and Id think others would be affected too. Ive seen it on a human! and it actually had a raised red ring to it about just under an inch in circumferance.
You could try bathing in Virkon E as a precaution.
 
Also, a bit like a cold sore, it's usually on seen in immune deficient horses, so the young, the run down or the very old.

It thrives in dark warm moist conditions so most commonly seen in horses who spend a lot of time inside, with rugs on. And it's almost exclusively cattle ringworm horses have, so if you've got cows in with the horses, its MUCH more likely to be ringworm.

My 2yr old was the classic case: youngster who was a bit weedy and underfed. Had been living indoors over winter as a herd in a cattle pen, on a beef farm. He had the classic circular patches of slightly thickened, bald reddened skin with hair loss starting from the middle. Didn't mind them at all. Although, as a completely unhandled baby, he did think he was doing to dissolve when I rubbed the cream on :rolleyes:
 
sounds like a bump from something else, insect bite maybe.

I think i have ring worm on my foot.
its round red and vet itchy.
its just a fungal infection like athletes foot. your horse would find it irritating and itchy (like i do)
so sounds like your horse has something different.
 
Thanks everyone
The first area from which I had removed the thick scurfy 'lump' just looks like a bald patch now.
Thought I'd better treat it as ringworm just in case, so last night I removed most of the lumpy bits from the 2 other sites (wearing rubber gloves as precaution).
Horse didn't mind apart from the odd moment when I had obviously caught some attached hair by mistake. The skin under these was not red/slightly raw like the first site.
All 3 sites are flat now that I've removed the scurfy 'lumps'.
I plastered the exposed skin in wound cream (anti bacterial AND anti fungal so thought it would be better than the athlete's foot cream I bought yesterday, if these are in fact some odd fly bites).
No other lumps have appeared, his coat is otherwise in good condition.
Think I will keep applying the cream and keeping an eye on it!
 
As gross as it is, I've got ringworm on my leg right now and it 1) itches like hell and 2) isnt scabby. The skin remains soft, just red and raised a little. The bacteria that causes it takes what it needs from your skin and thus spreads, leaving a clear/normal spot in the middle of the infected area where there's nothing for it to feed on. It also takes hair with it, so if your horse has ringworm whether it's been rubbing away at it or not, there's usually a roundish bald patch. It's really contagious, and usually more than one ring is present.

While I'm here I might as well let you know that if you personally find you have ringworm, dusting with athletes foot powder then coating in nail polish to suffocate the bacteria is the quickest and easiest way to get rid of it (usually within a day or two).
 
Kallibear said:
Yep, extremely in humans! Raised red patch that itches like nothing. But not in horses. They usually don't even notice it.
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Neither of my horses would allow me any where near it without a fight when they had it, so I know they where bother sore with it.
 
kellybee said:
As gross as it is, I've got ringworm on my leg right now and it 1) itches like hell and 2) isnt scabby. The skin remains soft, just red and raised a little. The bacteria that causes it takes what it needs from your skin and thus spreads, leaving a clear/normal spot in the middle of the infected area where there's nothing for it to feed on. It also takes hair with it, so if your horse has ringworm whether it's been rubbing away at it or not, there's usually a roundish bald patch. It's really contagious, and usually more than one ring is present
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1) it's NOT itchy in hairy animals like horses. It's uncomfortable to touch at the most.

2) it crusts over/goes flakey sometimes and in hairy animals the hair and top layer of skin can come off just like a scab

3) it's caused by a fungus, not bacterial.

4) it eats the hair down in the follicules, not the skin. That's prob why it's so itchy on non-hairy skin as there's not much for it to eat!

5) yes, it is very contagious but needs direct contact with the lesion (or the scabby bits that come off) in hairy animals.

Believe, I've seen it many times in horses and cattle. Human ringworm is not the same (althougn it's the same fungus)

Athletics foot powered will work but climitrozole cream (generic thrush cream) is most effective.
 
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