Excessively scurfy shire

[FFAQ]

Hello hive mind!
My shire mare has always been a bit 'dandruffy' but lately the scurfyiness (?) has got a lot worse, to the point where she has loads of little scabs coming off when I brush or scratch her. Almost like rain scald but she's not out in the field. Due to a tendency towards laminitis she is living on the yard and school with the stable doir open so she can come and go as she likes. The little scabs are on her back and belly, but there are no sores or bald patches.
I gave her a bath a couple of weekends ago when it was quite warm hoping that would help but it doesn't seem to have made any difference. It doesn't seem to bother her, and I can't see any lice. She's not particularly itchy.
She's being fed ad lib hay, speedibeet, copra, micronised linseed, forage plus winter balancer and unmolassed chaff. No biotin as that apparently can exacerbate CPL in heavies. I do graze her in hand for 15-20 minutes most days.

Any ideas?

 

[Tiddlypom]

Has she been tested for Cushing’s?

Both the tendency to laminitis and to skin irritations are symptoms.

 

[FFAQ]

Funny you should mention that! I asked the vet if we should test for Cushings when he took some xrays in September and he didn't think it necessary as she hasn't had active laminitis for several years. But she wasn't excessively surfy back then. Good call Tiddlypom. I have a different vet coming to re-xray in a couple of weeks, so I'll mention it to him. I think we might have missed the optimum window though, in which case they may want to test in the autumn...

 

[Tiddlypom]

It’s worth getting her tested, then .

Horses can be tested for PPID throughout the year, the ACTH levels do fluctuate seasonally, but the reference range is adjusted accordingly. If she is positive, PPID can often be well managed with an appropriate dose of prascend.

Good luck.

 

[Prancerpoos]

Does sound a bit like lice - have you had a really good look? I only saw them on mine when she got hot after being given a sedative and they all came out on her face. Eek!

 

[FFAQ]

It was my first thought. A few of us have had a look and not found anything, but she is black so they would be very hard to spot! Definitely not ruling it out

 

[LiquidMetal]

I’m in Canada so much drier, colder climate but my horse has always had kind of scurfy skin. Beautiful, soft, shiny coat but his skin was always flaky underneath. Never seemed particularly itchy. I know a lot of horses in this area who could be described as the same. I always assumed it was related to our dry air.

Someone suggested supplementing Vit E at 2-3x the suggested amount for a while and it cleared it up. I had been using Vit E last summer and skin was better but I just assumed it was due to warm weather. Didn’t put 2 and 2 together that skin got bad again after I ran out. He needs a bath to clean the last of dandruff off skin (can only do so much with curry on a hairy horse) but his skin isn’t making more dandruff if that makes sense. It’s an easy thing to try with other benefits also.

 

[FFAQ]

Liquid Metal thanks! That's interesting ??

 

[vanrim]

It can be a sign of gastric ulcers but you would get other ulcer symptoms too.

 

[FFAQ]

Vanrim, I hadn't realised that. I think that's probably a bit lower on my list as she's not showing any other symptoms, but thank you for the idea!

 

[fredflop]

Can you clip a bit of coat off so you can get a better look at the skin?

 

[FFAQ]

Freflop I have done that on her tummy and it looks like extreme dandruff

 

[AdorableAlice]

I have a Clyde x with awful skin if left to her own devices. I clip with A1’s all year round and at 2 week intervals autumn to march and then 4 weeks spring to autumn . Well, that’s the intention and theory. If I get behind she is soon rubbing and knocking fencing down.

She has mallendars and sallendars. Her chestnuts and ergots grow at a huge rate too. She has hyper keratosis. It is a very common ailment of heavily feathered horses. The excess skin and scurf is a haven for mites.

I also have a retired Cushing horse whose skin is similar, he is not a heavy horse and it is the disease causing his issue, which in turn, also means he can’t regulate his temperature very well. I clip him all year round and keep him comfortable with rug layering as appropriate, along with various patterns of areas clipped so he does look odd at times, but who cares as long as he is comfortable. At the moment he has a furry neck but his body is clipped. That way he doesn’t need a rug with a neck on. He is clipped in summer and had a fan in his stable.

For the OP’s horse my first thought would be get the clippers out and go from heels to ears, getting the lot off with fine blades, probably need two fresh sets to cut through the scurf/grease, use quality clippers as it will be hard work for them. Then a big bath and assess what you are dealing with. You may well have a cushinoid and hyperkertosis horse to help. A good equine vet will help you for both possibilities.

 

[FFAQ]

Adorable Alice, thank you! Yes, I would definitely say she has something along the lines of hyperkertosis from the looks of things. We're not at the M&S stage yet but I do take her feathers off. She has a weird ergot-like patch of skin just above the coronet on her right hind, and there's definitely some thickening of the skin around the hind pasterns. The vet didn't make much of the pasterns, but at that point we didn't have the scurfiness.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I have the vet coming anyway in a week, so I think I'll follow Alice's advice (funnily enough, my mare is called Alice), so it will be easier for the vet to asses her skin.