could electric fencing cause a burn?

[AprilBlossom]

Rode G last night and as grooming/tacking up noticed he had a load of waxyness on very tip of his ear. On further inspection it was all dried blood and pussy fluid, which I picked off and underneath was a patch about the size of a thumbnail where the hair was gone and the skin was red raw, as if burnt.

It's not a bitey injury from a field mate, nor is it something he could have got from an overhanging tree or hedge as it's more of a burn than a puncture or tear as if from a thorn or something...so....

He's either rubbed it a lot on somewhere, but as it's tip of his ear don't see how he'd manage to apply enough pressure to do it, or I'm wondering if he grazed too close to fence and zapped the top of his ear on it on the way back up?!

Thoughts anyone?

 

[lhotse]

I doubt very much that the fence has caused it, sounds more like a skin infection to me. The skin is raw because the hair has fallen out with the puss. More likely he has scratched it on something, and bacteria have got into the skin.

 

[joeanne]

Electric tape can cause really nasty injuries, but it tends to be torso or leg, and is more friction burn than electric burn.
I would say the same as lhotse....sounds like a skin infection.

 

[ISHmad]

I think it's a cut, scratch or bite which has got infected, don't think it would have been the electric fencing.

 

[fburton]

Agree with the other posters. Electric fences can't burn because the current is tiny.

 

[Dolcé]

I'm another that agrees with the other posters, sounds like a scratch or something that has got infected, I would have a really good look to ensure there isn't a small thorn hidden in it somewhere and they are easily picked up and any infection won't clear until it has been removed.

 

[OWLIE185]

Get the voltage and currrent output from your electric fence energizer checked and also ensure that the earth is working correctly.

 

[AprilBlossom]

Thanks, I did think it would be highly unlikely but the way the skin had reacted just looked so much like a reaction to a burn, weird! Cleaned up and its not bothering him looks to be healing ok now so as long as it doesn't come back I won't worry and treat it as one of those 'what the?' things horses do to us.