Anyone know what this is?

AFlapjack

AFlapjack

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Hello there :D
I've only just joined but have to admit, I've been reading the forum for a couple of months now.

Just wondering whether any of you may be able to help me and a shetland pony!

Around Dec 09/Jan 10 our shetland pony started rubbing her hindlegs to the point where she was bald but no skin was broken.

Probably a month later other shetlands in her herd started rubbing their faces around their muzzles - these rubs were smaller - the largest being about a hand size - but the skin was broken, sore and parts were bleeding. We got the vet out and took a skin sample but found nothing; no mites/lice etc. Applied cream and shetlands that had rubs on their faces cleared up but Daisy's legs didn't.

At present, Daisy has progressed her rubbing and has bald patches on her flanks and has rubbed nearly the whole of her neck. I have absolutely no idea what has caused it and at the moment am using Nettex Itch Stop Salve Complete and it seems to be helping; some hair has grown back. Also the other shetlands have started rubbing their necks - luckily none are half as bad as Daisy but I want to stop them as soon as possible.

Here are some photos of her, sorry for the bad quality - it was raining and she desperately wanted to eat her hay :rolleyes:

Her hindlegs with new hairgrowth:
SDC10362.jpg


Her neck:
SDC10357.jpg

SDC10365.jpg

SDC10366.jpg



Thank you
xxx
 
are you sure she doesnt have extra friends? depending on the weather where you are a good bath and extremely good rinse with a bit of vinegar in the final rinse might help! maybe she got too hot and started a itch/sratch cycle. my shet has been getting too hot on the mild days.
 
Definately Lice.Don't panic there seems to be alot of it about at the moment.
They look to be quite heavily infested so i would buy some deosect.Available from vets or online.roughly around £30.Follow the instructions carefully.You dilute about 100ml in a litre spray bottle(check with the info on tin as it has been a while since i used it)and spray your ponies thoroughly from head to toe.(Mind their eyes)Wear gloves and really rub it in thoroughly.You will have to repeat this process prob every fortnight until the little visitors have gone.Oh and worm them with an ivermeticin wormer too as this can help if they are the blood sucking type of louse.Don't worry you are not the only person that has had this problem lately.But you will need to act quickly cos as the weather gets warmer the little blighters will breed like crazy and they will rub them selves raw.It can be difficult treating very hairy ponies,so if you aren't getting rid of them satisfactorly you may have to consider clipping their hair so that you can really get to them.(but wait until it is warmer and try the above first)Good Luck.
Oh and by the way last year our pony had the same prob and vet also suggest it wasn't lice.......He was wrong!!!!!!
 
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I'd echo marlyclay. Definitely lice!!! My new rescue Shetland came with patches exactly like your pix (she's a little black hairball too). I hunted long and hard but couldn't spot the tiny white specks that you can sometimes see creeping slowly through the hair. But she was forever nibbling at her own flanks, rubbing her head - her muzzle was especially itchy and she rubbed great sore patches. Round her neck, she found it harder to rub so she just had hairless patches there. I applied Frontline Spray (dog strength) down her mane,along her spine, tail base, neck and (by squirting it into my hand first), carefully round her face. Rub well in. For heavy infestations, you also need to wash rugs, numnahs, grooming kit and any other horses or ponies yours is around! The Frontline effect is immediate. As others have said, you need to repeat after 10 days or so because unhatched eggs are unaffected by the products that kill the adults. So the eggs cheerfully hatch out after 10 days or so and bingo, your pony is re-infested! A Frontline spray should cost no more than about £35 and a bottle this size will last a shetland pony for ever! I bought a huge tub of Battles Louse Powder before I realised it is a waste of money except as prevention. I've used it now by scraping the top layer off Molly's deep litter shavings bed, sprinkle the Battles all over, cover with shavings. That should prevent the little buggers living in the bedding. A final PS - check yourself as they can get onto people too!
 
We think mine had lice last year thanks to a horse that came to lodge for a while. The vet couldn't see anything on skin scrapes, but Switch (pour-on fly repellant stuff) cleared up the problem. Two of the horses were just a little bit itchy, but one reacted really badly and had large areas of his face and chest where the hair and top layer of skin just sort of fell off - it was quite scary as the patches appeared the first day the size of about 50p pieces and by the second were the size of the palm of my hand, all weepy and itchy. He had that cream that is a bit like Dermobion, the name of which escapes me, to help with the itching, as well as the Switch. I think you can only get Switch through the vets.
 
I'd ask your vet if treating her with imaverol would help, it seems to work on many itches that appear. (ringworm treatment but works on other things too).
It does look like lice but if you are positive there aren't any it can't be.
Only other thing I can think of is a weed in the field they are ingesting and it's causing the itching.
 
henryhorn said:
I'd ask your vet if treating her with imaverol would help, it seems to work on many itches that appear. (ringworm treatment but works on other things too).
It does look like lice but if you are positive there aren't any it can't be.
Only other thing I can think of is a weed in the field they are ingesting and it's causing the itching.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I will try Deosect and see if it clears - if not, I will contact the vet because it's getting out of hand. Could be something they're eating but it would mean the weed is in four different fields. :confused:
I'm not 100% positive they don't have lice, I just assumed because the vet hadn't found anything, it couldn't be lice. If that makes sense? Fingers crossed it is lice and the Deosect clears it! Thanks again xxx
 
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