Any ideas?

[Ambers Echo]

Dolly has always had sensitive skin. Sometimes hives suddenly appear then just as quickly vanish. These issues have been present intermittently since we have had her - ie over a year and in any season.

Then a few weeks ago she developed circular lesions alongside hives and we called out the vet who said it looked like ringworm. We treated her as if it was but the skin scraping came back clear and then a biopsy also ruled out any fungal or bacterial infection and confirmed that it is a very mild allergic reaction of unknown origin.

She seems totally un-bothered but I would quite like the lesions to go away! Especially because she looks like she has ringworm and I feel I need to carry a letter from my vet round with me stating that it is categorically NOT an infectious skin condition of any kind. I have cut out alfalfa to no effect. So she is now just on pink mash and haylage. Vet is willing to prescribe anti-histimines but says they are unproven in horses and as she seems totally unconcerned he recommends we just do nothing unless they get worse. There are no hives anymore. Just a few small, flat, circles. No scabs or hairloss.

I know a few HHOers have had horses with hard to pin down allergies so wondered if anyone had any bright ideas.

 

[TheSpottyCobby]

Dolly has always had sensitive skin. Sometimes hives suddenly appear then just as quickly vanish. These issues have been present intermittently since we have had her - ie over a year and in any season.

Then a few weeks ago she developed circular lesions alongside hives and we called out the vet who said it looked like ringworm. We treated her as if it was but the skin scraping came back clear and then a biopsy also ruled out any fungal or bacterial infection and confirmed that it is a very mild allergic reaction of unknown origin.

She seems totally un-bothered but I would quite like the lesions to go away! Especially because she looks like she has ringworm and I feel I need to carry a letter from my vet round with me stating that it is categorically NOT an infectious skin condition of any kind. I have cut out alfalfa to no effect. So she is now just on pink mash and haylage. Vet is willing to prescribe anti-histimines but says they are unproven in horses and as she seems totally unconcerned he recommends we just do nothing unless they get worse. There are no hives anymore. Just a few small, flat, circles. No scabs or hairloss.

I know a few HHOers have had horses with hard to pin down allergies so wondered if anyone had any bright ideas.

Have the exact same at the moment with my boy. Cut out all sorts and they still pop up. I've been using Gold Label wonder gel which is soothing and clearing them quite quickly. I think mine is getting slightly too warm under his rugs at the moment, but he has PSSM so he has to be warm... I can't win!

 

[Foxglove]

Do you think it could be heat rash? Mine came up in hives last year which initially presented like ringworm, but grew bigger and scabbier. She looked like Typhoid Mary!
The scabs came off leaving bare skin. She is chocolate dun and the strange thing was that the hair that grew back was dun, despite her being completely chocolate on the part of her body that had the hives beforehand.
Although not generally prone to allergies I do always bathe her in Earthbath Aloe and Oatmeal Shampoo - bought initially for an over sensitive boston terrier and recommended by my small animal vet, but it seems to do a great job on the horse as well - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Earthbath-...d=1582801451&sprefix=earthbath,aps,149&sr=8-2

 

[Ambers Echo]

I think Katie does over-rug her slightly. Despite my best efforts! It is hard because the yard is generally an over-rugging yard and if Katie puts her out in a thinner one she will often get messages saying 'I've brought Dolly in for you as she looked really miserable and cold!" Which makes her feel guilty and also judged. Ive learned to totally ignore people who make comments about my poor cold horse but she is younger and less confident to go against the grain. But I had not considered it might be warmth related.

I'll try those ideas for bathing and gel.

I know exactly what you mean about Typhoid Mary. I am embarrassed taking her anywhere! That's the trouble with skin conditions - they are on public display.

 

[HeyMich]

My mare absolutely hates being too warm (she's only ever in a 100g rug, even in blizzard conditions). She has had repeated bouts of a strange skin irritation, which looks a bit like rain scald, on her sides and flanks. I totally think it's a heat rash. It clears up with hibiscrub and clipping. There are scars all over her shoulders and sides from previous years (before I got her).

A friend also has a horse who is intolerant to types of cereals, and has had various skin tests done to confirm which ones (not just Alfa). It might be worth chatting to your vet about doing the equivalent of a skin prick test to see if it's diet related??

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[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

Could it be the haylage? It could be that you get a bale with varying sugar content, or some other variable, every now and again. I know a horse who's hair completely falls out due to the sugar in it ( mane, tail, body.. everything!).

 

[Ambers Echo]

I'll switch her to hay and see what happens... Have also bought some Wonder Gel and shampoo from Viovet. Fingers crossed something works!

 

[TheSpottyCobby]

I'll switch her to hay and see what happens... Have also bought some Wonder Gel and shampoo from Viovet. Fingers crossed something works!

Even if the wonder gel doesn’t work for this I generally like to whack it on for any minor scrape or irritation, it’s so funny as you can see where I’ve been applying it as the coat has grown through so quickly just in those areas.

 

[JFTDWS]

My mare comes out in ringworm-esque patches when stressed, while showing no obvious signs of stress They also scrape clean - fortunately I was in poloX circles at the time and nobody seemed to care... Now she actually shows her stress and doesn't lose lumps of hair, which is easier to deal with.

I'd think over-rugging is the most likely cause though.

 

[milliepops]

Could it be the haylage? It could be that you get a bale with varying sugar content, or some other variable, every now and again. I know a horse who's hair completely falls out due to the sugar in it ( mane, tail, body.. everything!).

I have a horse that can't eat meadow haylage or she gets lumpy. Horsehage brand is OK but the generic meadow stuff is no good. Won't hurt to try swapping. The only problem with changing lots of things at once is you won't know which thing worked but I do understand wanting to try everything possible and I'd be the same!

 

[TGM]

Definitely worth cutting out the haylage for a while to see if it helps. We have one who often came out in hives for reasons we couldn’t pinpoint. We cut out haylage for an unrelated reason and no more hives. Then one day he got into the wrong field and gorged on haylage - and within a few hours was covered in hives again!

 

[ihatework]

The rugging is a quick, cheap win and definitely worth persuing.

Otherwise it could literally be anything environmentally. A friend has a horse like this and they do give the occasional steroid jab if it works for competition withdrawal. They have also undergone allergy testing and immunisation. It’s quite lengthy and not cheap so I wouldn’t jump into that unless really needed.

 

[ycbm]

Carrots? I've just linked carrot stretches with a neck rash on my alfalfa sensitive Appyx, and I've heard of others that can't be given any amount of carrots without getting hives.

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[Shay]

I've a Connie who does this - if he gets too warm he will come out in lumps which then form into perfectly circular patches that look just like ringworm. It just happens to be how his body expresses being over-warm. He is now clipped out and lightly rugged (thankfully hes a warm horse). We also use an asbolsutely clean high quality wicking under rug which is changed daily as we found the grease even on a light rug would make it worse.

 

[Ambers Echo]

She get carrots very rarely, ycbm, but thanks for the suggestion.

Thanks Shay, that is really interesting. I will definitely deal with the rugging then first whatever Katie thinks!

 

[fairhill]

My mare developed a couple of small lesions, one between her front legs and one inside her hind leg, from eating linseed.Which she was getting fed to improve her skin condition...

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Carrots? I've just linked carrot stretches with a neck rash on my alfalfa sensitive Appyx, and I've heard of others that can't be given any amount of carrots without getting hives.

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WE had one who was sensitve to both alfalfa and carrots - she was an Appaloosa with Arab and TB breeding.

 

[Melody Grey]

I’d go back to real basics, rug as lightly as you can get away with, good hay as weed-free as you can get.
I’d also cut out any hard feed- I swear by pink mash but I know people whose horses have not been good on it.
Possibly obvious, but deep clean your grooming brushes?