bertie123
Active Member
My elderly mare ( at least 25) has always been scurfy and a bit itchy but the last 3 weeks are awful. she began by being insanely itchy then we noticed an awful bald patch under her forelock which was raw and bleeding as she had rubbed it. This appeared to be spreading to her face. I instantly thought lice! We searched and searched for a sign of a crawling thing but nothing. We bathed her anyway in a medicated shampoo for such a thing to be on the safe side and also treated with pest powder. the poor girl looks dreadful especially on her face. significant amount of hair loss. As the sore patches have healed the skin is waxy and flaky and you can pull the dry flakes off. Trouble is the poor girls hair comes too. The vet came and agreed she could see no lice. tested her for cushings and she's done a week of antibiotics. bloods have come back no Cushings. I have another horse living in close proximity to her showing no symptoms, so doubtful its lice, and as I said, I can see nothing. As one patch heals another appears, but they all seem to be sparked by bites. We can see new red puncture wounds. worst affected areas have been face, mane and between back legs. No issue with tail.a few patches on belly and sides. I am treating it as an allergy to flies. We moved 3 weeks ago here and I can only assume she's encountered a gnat which she has reacted to. Ive had her 5 years and never known her react like this. vet says continue to bathe and soothe and flyrug etc and review. she has dandruff like flecks in her mane too. She's been very slow to shed this year which is not helping. anyone else had a flare up like this suddenly?. Its so frustrating
. She does get a bit of sweet itch and senstive skin but its only as she got older this has started happening now. She has it on her legs and in the armpits normally but the vet did scrapings and stuff and never found anything in it. 
It's a battle now keeping on top of it, but we'll keep going. I hope your veteran improves.
