Can someone please tell me whats wrong with my horse?

liss1987

liss1987

Well-Known Member
Joined
27 April 2009
Messages
123
Visit site
Hi there,

My horse has been scratching himself raw the last few weeks, Iv called the vet out who couldnt find anything wrong and said to de-louse/mite him. So i did that but no improvement.

I called them again to say there was no improvement, only for them to tell me to use some other stuff and try again in a couple of weeks if no improvement.
He was then diagnosed with cushings disease (after chasing the vets for blood test results for 3 weeks) and they said he could be itching as a result of this (it was caught early, he does not have the traditional curly coat) and they said to keep delousing and using his medication and in a few weeks he should be fine.

In the meantime my horse is rubbing himself bald and is obviously frustrated and annoyed. I feel so sad to see him so uncomfortable but the vet doesnt seem to be too bothered. I dont believe it is a result of mites or his cushings disease, and I think he needs more medical attention, however the vet seems to be putting it off until they feel the cushings disease medication shouldve taken affect.

I would add some photos showing what his skin looks like but there dont seem to be any options to add a photo on here?

Can someone tell me if their horse has had something similar or does anyone know what could be causing it? It looks like very bad dandruff to me :/
 
Sorry no help i'll leave it to someone who knows what this could be but could you have a different vet up for a second opinion?
 
How many layers is he wearing? Could be getting too hot. I had a TB whose previous owner insisted she wear about 20 rugs. When I got her she had bad flakey skin. I was the areas with tea tree shampoo, and it went. I also cut her rugs down to 2 max, as she was quite a naturally warm horse!
 
I'm sorry to hear about your boy.

Firstly to add a Photo which would certainly help try loading one onto photo bucket then downsizing and copy as an img.
I would certainly be seeking a second opinion from a different vet. There are a number of reasons and it may be a process of elimination. Allergy or change in feed/ bedding. I don't really know anything about the treatment for cushings but has this started since he has been on medication? Which again may indicate an allergic reaction. Also where is he scratching? All over or in one particular area as around the rear end for example could indicate pinworm. Photos would certainly help especially for those who have experience with cushings.
 
he only ever wears 1 rug, hes been in a heavy weight in the snow recently, although i tried him in 2 thin light ones to see if that made a difference, just incase he was over heating like you said, but no difference :( he started itching on his belly and it now seems to be all over in any place he can scratch himself, although no evidence of an infestation of any kind and no response to 2 difference de-lousers?

i am thinking of getting another out to check just incase, but wanted a few other peoples opinions first too
 
Possibly a food intolerance? What his his diet and has anything changed?

My boy is sesnitive to dietary sugars and alfa a makes him go like this. Since I have had his forage analysed and minerals balanced he has been much better.

Has your vet taken skin scrapings?
 
cambrica said:
What is he being fed and what bedding is he on?
Click to expand...

He lives out 24/7, he can come in if he wants, which when hes been ill or lame etc he has done, but hes not needed to come in for weeks.

hes fed speedibeet and calm and condition as hes a TB and i was advised those feeds are high in calories without sending him bonkers. he needs to be on a low sugar diet too due to his cushings.

he was wormed last week and is regularly wormed too.
 
CBFan said:
Possibly a food intolerance? What his his diet and has anything changed?

My boy is sesnitive to dietary sugars and alfa a makes him go like this. Since I have had his forage analysed and minerals balanced he has been much better.

Has your vet taken skin scrapings?
Click to expand...

His diet hasnt changed in about a year, no skin scrapings have been taken yet, the vet seems reluctant to do so until his cushings medication has kicked in to see if it all improves. hes only been on it a few days at the mo.
 
My mare has just been doing exactly the same thing. She was diagnosed with lice (I could see them once the vet pointed them out) which the vet thinks she caught because she's got the early stages of cushings which means that her immune system is low. Two doses of Deosect seem to have resolved the problem thankfully.
Good luck finding the cause, I know how painful it is to watch them being so uncomfortable.
Sue
 
SheadonSaffron said:
My mare has just been doing exactly the same thing. She was diagnosed with lice (I could see them once the vet pointed them out) which the vet thinks she caught because she's got the early stages of cushings which means that her immune system is low. Two doses of Deosect seem to have resolved the problem thankfully.
Good luck finding the cause, I know how painful it is to watch them being so uncomfortable.
Sue
Click to expand...

My vet didnt seem to be able to find any :/ but my boys story seems to fit in with yours, as hes in the early stages of cushings too.

Where did you get your deosect from as i can only find huge tubs of it online that cost a fortune?
 
My horse went bald on her hind legs, belly and elbows it was like a mud fever when i rode that was where the muck was sticking too!
 
My horse went itchy last year and my vet took a skin scraping to find a rare bacterial skin infection. Anyways the best thing to clear it up was malaseb shampoo. I also kept washing all his stuff with non-bio washing powder.
I would also be tempted to use baby oil or something on the really dry areas to soothe and moisturise.
 
Get your vet to TEST the skin that's plainly sloughing off - that will prove what it is and thus provide an answer but to me it's Dermatophilis (sp) e.i. the skin's reaction to being attacked or irritated by a fungus, bugs or bacteria - may be all three together!

Sometimes vet's don't want to do proper tests for fear of running up your bill - or they can't be bothered but remember, while they are supposedly the experts - it's you who are the customer and you know what Mr Selfridge said about them eh? "They're always right!"
 
I would worm him with ivermectin this will rule out the mites and the round worms which enter through the skin and kill the hair follicles as they move to the intestine, i would wash him with nizarol shampoo, i would feed linseed for dry skin, i would change a ything at thos stage and wait for 4 weeks to see if there is a change, if no improvement then could look at bedding and feed, and he shouldnit be overrugged anyway esp if he is not cliiped.

If you are one of these owners who doesnt worm because they poo pick and worm count well thats good, but what is forgotten is tapeworms still need to be wormed and whilst worming for them you will also zap the other ******s twice a ear, but in winter the eggs are dormant in the cold and as soon as spring comes they hatch with the heat and start their journey up the blade of grass, into the horses mouth etc and no amount of poo picking is going to stop this happening, so horses still at some stage need to be wormed.
 
I think he's prob too hot! my mare is the same when she is too hot, she will park up next to me and force me to scratch her! so Ill let her be naked for a bit and put a lighter rug on her!
 
Hmmmm sound like it could be an autoimmune weakness in your horses system. Friend sent her up to Liverpool for tests. She retired him in the end. Go back to basics with feed and working. Get a vet that specializes in this area. Have bloods taken n tested. Hope it's something and nothing good luck!
 
i would give him a thorough shampoo in something like seleen/selsun blue/malaseb with warm water, and rinse, then rinse again with dilute vinegar to take trhe ph of the skin back to where it should be. if worried about him getting cold pop on the lunge for 15 mins with a thermatex on when finished. i would also add some oil into his diet. and get his rug down to a mw as now the snow has gone its really quite warm (8deg here today) good luck but looks lousy to me. hope for a speedy recovery.
 
My old mare went lke this for her last two winters, nothing I did stopped it, the only thing I could do to help was clip her right out so I could bath her regulary with maleseb. I am sure it was her immune system beginning to pack in, she was pretty old.
 
My old pony had cushings and would regularly get itchy, dry patches in the winter, when her coat was extra thick. I remember the vet said it was to do with increased cortisol production, that could lead to skin problems (I think this is right - we are going back about 7 years!) I used to clip the affected areas and wash them with hibiscrub, then put on aqueous cream to moisturise I think.
 
Wash him with Nizoral shampoo - you can buy it from the chemist.

For all over in cold weather I mix it with hand hot water in a weedspray bottle, pump up and spray on, working it in well with a plastic curry comb.

If you don't wet him too much you can just leave it in to dry.
 
putasocinit said:
I would worm him with ivermectin this will rule out the mites and the round worms which enter through the skin and kill the hair follicles as they move to the intestine
Click to expand...

One of mine had mites last year. I used de-lousing powder but apparently there are differnt kinds of mites - the ones that crawl around in the skin and the ones that burrow underneath it/feed on the blood. You can't kill the second variety with powder, you have to use Ivermectin to kill them from the inside.
 
I will try ivermectin aswell, he has been wormed last week with equimax I think it's called.
I bathed him with microbial shampoo a week or so ago, I'm hoping I'm wrong and that the cushings medication will help but I just feel nothing is working.
Ill get the vet out again on Monday to do a scraping, although she seemed reluctant the last time I spoke to her.
Think I'm going to clip him too as if he does have any mites the lovely long warm fur is going to be lovely for them!
 
My tb had this problem and actually rubbed herself raw!! Had the vet out 3 times and he gave her steroids to calm the itching after the 3 visit I was leaning against her with my hand whilst talking and when I moved my hand there were lice that had come to the surface!!! Treated her with deosect and she had the cattle jab, (2 jabs 2 weeks apart) and clipped her full and bathed her once a week in Malaseb shampoo, have also noticed she gets itchy if she has to much molasses/sugar so is now on a molasses free diet and hay x
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top