had the vet out AGAIN (and what is this??)

[only_me]

had to call him as he was no better this morning and was still very sore and tucked up.

vet came and agreed that he was no better after steroids so he checked temp and it was less than yesterday but still quite high. merlin wasnt as sore on his back though, but the vet took a blood sample for haematology and gave him some neopen (sp?) in his neck which i have to continue on with.
was speaking about allergies and remembered about hack from hell, and when he bolted out of the water he was chest deep, so his belly was in the water, which is now covered in small lumps which are very sore when touched. friend was at yard who is a vet and she sugested that we wash it in hibisrub in case any pollutants where in the waterthat is now on his skin.

this is a piccy -

what do you think this is?

 

[JessPickle]

Looks a bit like these little lumps that pickle got in the summer he had them all over his body! vet thought he had rolled in something in the field as he was fine in the morning then bought him in PM and he was covered. Another option is some kind of insect bite?????

 

[tms]

Hi

Not quite sure what it is but my horse had it on his chest and shoulders it stayed for about a week in all but soon improved when washed with hibiscrub every day. No idea what caused it presumed it was an allergic reaction to something. He is such a sensitive creature!!!

 

[Paigeous]

Yeh it looks like nasty insect bites to me..and the weather is getting warmer..

 

[archoak]

Don't think washing in hibiscrub will do any harm and it does look like an allergy. It would have taken an awful lot of insects to do that much damage and it's not somewhere that would get particularly sweaty - hopefully the bloods will show up something

 

[Donkeymad]

Urticaria - an allergy by the looks of it. Was it there before the vet came?

 

[the watcher]

It is a strong reaction, either to bites or something in the water. Hibiscrub might help, but keep it very dilute as the skin will be sensitive. The best way to help is to cold hose (gently) every day to take the heat and sting out of the lumps and use as few rugs as possible so the horse does not overheat.
You can help by offering a salt lick (or salt rock lump in with feed) to encourage fluid intake as well - your vet may well recommend antihistamines. TBH I am surprised the steroids have had no effect as they are usually a bit of a miracle cure for this sort of thing

 

[Fleur100]

The raised temperature would concern me more than the bites/allergic reaction. What did the vet say about that?

 

[Louby]

My old horse got this all over and it was an allergic reaction. I was also told to bathe with diluted hibiscrub. Firstly I was advised to strip her of rugs which I hated as she was fully clipped and it was winter but I think she was relieved as it was hot to touch and I must have made it worse by rugging well. (I did put a summer sheet on as I couldnt see her totally naked) It turned out to be the hay we was on which was the last thing I expected as when I put her on a different suppliers, they went, put her back on the other stuff and they came back.

 

[only_me]

the vet said that the raised temp may be because of the lumps, and didnt say much about that to be honest. was just up to see him and he is very uncomfortable and not his usual self

and his bed is all dug up which i thought could be because of the pain. might try him on bute tomorrow but not sure it will help really. what do you think?

i am going to continue to wash with hibiscrub, as it may take the sting out as you have all suggested. the vet was out yesterday to see him and gave him steriods, but that dosent seem to have helped them. should get the bloods back tomorrow (urgent!) and the back man is coming tomorrow morning to check his back for the soreness behind.

i cant take any rugs off, as he feels the cold easily and he always gets kidney infections in the winter, so he is always rugged up warm. the thing is, he must have got it in the lake as that is the only thing that i can think of that touched his belly mainly

so there must have been something in the water, or else another theory is that he was stung by a jellyfish??

feel really bad for him because it is my fault that i took him to the lake and just figured his terrifiedness was the swans when it was really something he was reacting to, a insect or pollutants

 

[the watcher]

Not sure that bute will help, anti inflammatory steroids are better, the vet might just have to fiddle with the dosage a bit - or piriton if the vet OKs it. I know you don't want him to get cold, but as long as he is rugged up warm he is unlikely to recover from these uncomfortable lumps and his core temps will continue to rise, so do think about whipping rugs off at least during the day - better now that he is a bit cold rather than too hot.

The problem with this kind of sensitivity is that it can set off a chain reaction of sensitivity to other products and feeds that would normally not trouble him at all, so all you can really do is keep his feed simple and keep him cool and calm, which means no work for a few days (not even lunging)

 

[FRESHMAN]

Ouch that looks sore. This once happened to one of our horses (a chesnut) & he also had steroids that did not touch it. We knew more or less what caused it as he was walking in hand & started to roll, unfortunately it was in a fresh growth of nettles (which we originally blamed for the response) then after we got a whiff of him we realised he had rolled in Fox Poo!!!!! This happened on one other occasion so we decided it was the Fox Poo rather than the nettles. It could have been a combination though. It took quite a while to go down. Good luck & let us know if you solve the mystery.

 

[PeterNatt]

I would not wash in Hibiscrub as it could make matters worse. I would be tempted to leave well alone and let them go down by themselves.

 

[wishfulthinking]

Unusual that it hasn't responded to Steroids. The only time one of mine had a severe case it had already started to go down the next day and she wasn't very distressed. I hope you get to the bottom of it soon. Any chance Calamine lotion may help to relieve some of the irritation?

 

[vicijp]

If steroids have had no effect, I would treat it as suspected ringworm.

 

[kbsaff]

My pony had exactly that at exactly this time last year. His came up under his belly, moving up towards his shoulders. his temperature was up and generally in himself he was icky. He was itchy and sore, bless him.
Like Donkeymad Said, it looks like Urticaria - Otherwise known as hives or Nettle rash. This is a general "Umbrella" name for some kind of allergic reaction.
We still don't know what caused it as there are so many possible factors. One thing that the vet did mention was the fact that i fed Microgenized Flaked Soya and Cod liver oil. He said it was possible that the Vegetable oil from the Soya and the Meat oil from the Cod liver, had reacted to cause the allergy.
The vet gave him an injection of steroids which did nothing, and 2 days later told me to give him Piriton. We were recommended to strip him down to keep him cool. It was horrible as he is also totally clipped out, but he was so much more comfortable without the rugs.
After about a week, the rash started to go down and after 2 weeks, it was gone. We occasionally have the odd mild flare up now, but piriton seems to calm it straight away.
I would check with your vet before you give it to him though.