Aural plaque in ears

[Pinkatc]

My new horse was vetted pre purchase and one thing that came up was that he had aural plaque in both ears. Not 'plague' as I read it first time It doesn't seem to bother him at all - he doesn't mind you touching his ears inside or out, he just has what looks like little white scabs on the inner ear. Anyone else seen this, and will anything clear it up??

 

[dressagelove]

My horse has really, really awful aural plaques in his ears, they are huge and insightly, but in his past I think someone tried to get rid of them and it made him very head shy. I have had him three years now, and they haven't got any better, or worse, they just stay there. I havent bothered treating them because apparently they are extremely hard to eliminate. I have had to learn to live with them. His headshyness has improved though cos I stopped messing with them.

If they don't bother you, I would leave them alone!
horse eh, who'd av em

 

[MotherOfChickens]

my horse had them, like yours he wasn't remotely ear shy (actually he likes the inside of his ears scratched lol). they eventually seemed to resolve themselves although I did find that the midges bothered them in the summer so he has a mask with ears. they disappeared after 2/3 summers.

 

[quirky]

Yep, just leave them be.
They can look unsightly but they shouldn't cause a problem.

 

[Renvers]

One of mine has them - never bothered him at all. I haven't touched them as I understand that this can cause them to spread or scabs to fall into ear which is not very pleasant for the horse.

 

[katherine1975]

I had a horse with these, just leave them alone and they'll be fine. There was a small article in this weeks H&H that showed a horse that had had them regularly scraped out and it had made them grow back much worse.

 

[whizzer]

Best left completely alone, I've had my horse for 13 years & he's always had them. He's a bit ear shy but we've got to the point where I can groom,handle,trim them. Can even clip his whole head but he's not 100% happy with that so I just do a half head. He now even quite enjoys me having a little scratch inside them. He amazed me last year when after extensive sinus surgery he allowed us to dress his head several times a week & use a hood to protect the dressings(hood was earless though). We had to do this for 8-10 weeks & I thought he'd really hate it. The only thing I've never been able to do is put a bridle on properly! He seems to hate having his ears bent, so bridles get dismantled to be put on! My gut feeling about never fiddling with them was backed up by the article in this weeks H&H!

 

[rubydog]

Does anyone have any pictures of this problem? I share a horse who I think may have this problem but the owner said it was from his previous owner clipping the inside of his ears. They are like White scabs, not getting any better or any worse but they don't bother him.

 

[ThreeTB's]

My old lad has had them for years, they've never bothered him, vet said leave well alone. He is quite headshy and doesn't really like his ears being touched, but is ok to bridle and wears a flymask with ears in the summer.

 

[BlairandAzria]

My boy has them too. He had them when i bought him, one ear is alot worse than the other. Ive heard of many many different remedies varying from camrosa, aloe vera, germolene, to canesten cream. Ive just left his well alone- if he ever lets me near his ear i'll gently rub them to get the dead scurfy bits off if i can, but mostly i just leave him be- the only thing i have to do i put his head piece on from the wrong side- but other than that they dont bother him too much.

If i remember correctly there was a famous showjumper who had them as big a caulilflour in each ear didnt stop him competing to a high level if i am not mistaken.

 

[Molasses]

Another in the leave-well-alone camp.
I've never messed with them and they've never bothered my gelding.
If you google images of Lucinda Fredericks mare Headly Britannia she's a famous example of a horse with them that they really don't seem to bother her

 

[1Lucie]

I'm pretty sure this is what came up in my horses vetting two months ago... little wart type things in his ears. Vet advised me not much to worry about it but to make sure he had fly repellant around his ears to prevent it spreading. They havent really got better or worse since ive had him, ony i know they are there.

 

[Renvers]

They are like White scabs, not getting any better or any worse but they don't bother him.

Yes sounds like aural plaques, you are doing right thing in leaving them alone

 

[Jazzy B]

my new horse has got them, when he was vetted the vet told me to leave them well alone and they are of no harm. Since having him, it appears there are four other horses on my yard that have got them. Petplan won't insure his ears because of them.

 

[opinionuk]

my new horse has got them, when he was vetted the vet told me to leave them well alone and they are of no harm. Since having him, it appears there are four other horses on my yard that have got them. Petplan won't insure his ears because of them.

You mention that other horses have got them, does that mean they are contagious???
My livery yard would love that she already crib bites!

 

[Jazzy B]

I believe not, vet would have said so

 

[dogcalleddill]

My new cob has them. Vet told me to ignore them - mucking about with them can cause ear/head shyness. They don't seem to bother my girl at all and she's not in the slightest headshy so I think I'll just leave them and keep it that way

 

[milesjess]

Mine has them and cause him no probs

If you want pics google them or Headley Britannia has them and they certainly don't affect her.