Can a full clip cause heat rash?

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asterid

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My mare is full clipped. everything off except head a legs. She has been clipped 3 times already this year and last clip was last Monday.

Yesterday and today I have noticed a heat rash after she has been ridden. Never had this before in the 18 months I have had her, except when I used just only a Shires wick away half pad in the summer, which caused more heat and a rash!

I have not changed numnahs, washing powder or anything like that.


Am going to try a brand new cotton numnah tomorrow to see if that helps. Do you think it is from the hair growing back and causing irritation?

Any suggestions? All welcome.
 
Unlikely I'd say. You didn't use different clipper oil I take it?

About 3 or 4 years ago we had a really, really mild autumn like this one has been. Very warm and wet. My horse developed a very odd 'rash' - he came up in lumps like fly bites, which were painful to the touch, then scabbed over and scabs fell off to reveal bald spots. Vets advice was that there was a heck of a lot going around, it was a bacterial infection (Staphylococcal foliculitis), he'd seen 3 racing stables with it recently and that experience showed there was no point in doing anything with it - he didn't even want to see the horse. Told me to wash him once in dilute hibiscrub, dry him thoroughly, then leave him well alone but make sure he was kept dry. Took about 2-3 months to go completely, and for a month I couldn't ride as could not put the saddle on. Could be similar?
 
No change in clipper oil.

The rash goes over night then reappears after riding.

Am thinking it could be the numnah.

Nightmare!
 
My mare has had a similar thing... she's stabled overnight and if I leave her in her turnout overnight she comes up in bumps on the saddle area. She's fully clipped and I did have a 100g liner under the rainsheet but since she's been in at night (as of 10 days ago - I'm mean, she's been fully clipped since Sept and out overnight) have had to remove it as she breaks out in bumps even though she doesn't feel too hot, doesn't feel cold either with minimal layers!

Currently she's in a rainsheet during the day, goes out about 4pm with a mw neck cover on then comes in at 7pm and is stabled overnight in a thin fleece combo. Ride early before work and back in just a rainsheet then at 7:30am til she goes out at 4pm.

Should point out that she looks like a wimpy TB and used to struggle to hold condition but is actually tough as old boots and so far is holding her weight well in spite of the atrocious weather we're having here.

My vet reckons he sees a lot of skin complaints due to people over rugging so check you're not inadvertantly overheating your horse. I feel mean but it works for us!

ETA my mare had a similar thing to SCs horse two Winters ago and had dreadful bald patches under the saddle and on her quarters... fungal infection but flared up twice after feeding alfa a during Winter. Since then hve avoided Alfa A and been fine. But this Winter's skin thing is different and is much more like heat rash, very small raised bumps only under the saddle (and appear overnight) but come and go.
 
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Interesting that you've noticed Alfa-A Oil being a possible cause. My horse has just had a flair up of bumps like you describe. The peeling off of scabs to leave a small hairless patch. He has a blanket clip, about three weeks old and it's only on the clipped parts. Mainly on his hind quarters. I thought he was too hot to start with so pulled rugs off gradually he's now naked and still toasty :eek: How guilty do I feel! My clipped horse is rugless and out in a field! Although he has added a wonderful mud coat of his own! It's a good job I'm not riding at the moment!

Anyway, I put him on Alfa-A Oil for the first time this winter. There seems to be a distinct correlation between the bumps and the amount of Alfa-A he's getting. I'm about out of the Alfa-A so I'm going to cut it out and carry on treating it as I am at the moment. As a fungal infection. There was a niggling in the back of my mind about the Alfa-A, but I was talked out of it...

I wonder if anyone else has noticed their horses reacting adversly to it?
 
I've heard of a few reacting like that... for what it's worth, happened to my mare twice, a year apart, went really scabby and had horrific bald patches and not a problem since. Current thing is definitely heat rash and been fine since I yanked her liner out.
 
Found out what it is. It is a stress rash caused by heat from riding. Felt along her back last night and she really winced. This morning took rugs off rash had completely gone like previous morning, but back still sore. Explains her totally irrational hissy fit yesterday when riding.

Got back woman coming out next week.

Bizarre. Fingers crossed once her back is mended that the rash doesn't reappear!
 
My tb is allergic to alfa A too !! it gives him filled legs and barley bumps, he cant have any hard feed at all just cheapest chaff and beet and adlib haylage. :D
 
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