Bald patches!!

N

Newpurple

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I wonder if anyone can help. I have a young horse who lives out who I am just about to start competing.

She has recently been developing strange bald patches about the size of a 50pence piece on the tops of her legs. She also now has one on her chest. There are about 10 - 15 of these patches.

I have asked friends for advice and ringworm and lice have been suggested. It doesn't look like ring worm which I have had experience of because there are no scaps or anything that looks live! She has also never actually been anywhere to catch ringworm and my other three horses seem unaffected.

I have no experience of lice, but I would expect lice to be itchy as the very least and she seems completely unconcerned about these patches.

Does anyone have any ideas please?
 
sounds silly but could she have rubbed herself?? it could be some kind of skin condition though I know a pony that suffered from hair loss.
 
This is prime louse season Newpurple and lice aren't necessarily itchy but they do cause random patches of bald skin, sometimes quite large! There are 2 types of lice: the sucking louse that sucks the horses blood and the biting louse that eats dried flakes of the horses skin. Double yerk to both of them! My vets recommended Battles louse powder for one type (aaaaagh! can't remember which one!) and Frontline will zap the other. I'd certainly start with the most common and work up from there. NB - with ringworm you won't see anything moving around as it's a fungal infection rather than an actual worm. Take care as ringworm is infectious to humans too!
 
louse is a good place to start, as someone already suggested.
if you're not keen on insecticides try Barrier animal health louse powder as its effective but natural.
try giving a course of NAF detox just to make sure it isn't an allergic reaction to something (doesn't sound like it though) and even if it isn't it will help the body fight off any further skin problems even mud fever and rain scald (cleared my lads up in about a fortnight)
also, try washing the area, gently, with hibiscrub to kill off any fungal or bacterial infection.
 
My horse gets bald patches all over his body, but especially in the quarters area, but only in the winter and only where he is not clipped. He has had them every winter for the past four year, and severla vets later (including a biopsy and referal to specialist dermatologist) we have concluded it's an allergy of unknown origin. It tends to be better with a fleece rug underneath his normal rugs, but we're not too sure why that is.
PM me if you like and I can e-mail you photos of what they look like (basically just missing hairs, the skin underneath is fine, no scabs, no itching)
 
"If your horse says no, you either asked the wrong question, or asked the question wrong. "

OT Just for interest' sake, it was John Lyons that oriiginally said this, though PP may have quoted him.

Jackie
 
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