hair loss and oozing pus area on front elbows - any ideas?

AFlapjack

AFlapjack

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My friend's pony has recently produced patches on her front elbows that are slightly oozing pus and she has lost hair in the area. It is sore to touch and from what I can see there is some blood around the area but only a little. It is really peculiar!

Any ideas as to what this could be? We are puzzled!! :confused:

If it doesn't clear up by Monday we are going to get the vet out.
 
Shes not crib biting off her front legs? The story rings a bell with me with an mare that used to do it years and years ago.

Obviously keep it cleaned and disinfected, dont use wound powder! :)
 
Is she lying down a lot more than usual with not enough bedding or outside on the harder ground, has she recently had shoes on for the first time they could be catching her elbows.
 
TigerTail said:
Shes not crib biting off her front legs? The story rings a bell with me with an mare that used to do it years and years ago.

Obviously keep it cleaned and disinfected, dont use wound powder! :)
Click to expand...

be positive said:
Is she lying down a lot more than usual with not enough bedding or outside on the harder ground, has she recently had shoes on for the first time they could be catching her elbows.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the replies.

I don't think she's crib biting, we've certainly never noticed it before and its only been in the last couple of days that it's appeared.

Again, she is out during the day and in a night on a nice big bed of woodchip - nothing has changed recently. She only has fronts on too.

It is really odd!

Thanks again.
 
Go through the bedding with your hands and look for any rough lumps of chipboard - does occasionally happen and is very abrasive.

Shes not kicking the stable door when a buddy has gone?
 
TigerTail said:
Go through the bedding with your hands and look for any rough lumps of chipboard - does occasionally happen and is very abrasive.

Shes not kicking the stable door when a buddy has gone?
Click to expand...

Ok I will go through it tomorrow as I look after her at the weekends.

Nope she is quiet in the stable, paws the ground very occasionally and makes grumpy faces at feed time but that's about it!
 
From your description, it sounds similar to something that one of mine suffers from . If you look at the patches , does the hair come away from the edges quite freely , and bring small scabs that look a bit pus-y underneath ? And has it spread anywhere else? If so, it may be what mine has , which is Atopic dermatitis . Mine has it as a recurring condition at the start of every winter, and I ended up having all manner of tests done to try and identify the trigger.

Turns out , he may actually be allergic to growing his winter coat . As soon as it starts , I find patches exactly as you describe . It comes down to managing it as best I can, but I found that I had to be incredibly careful not to touch the affected part , and then touch him elsewhere , as it would then spread. It seemed to be contagious, but only to him! I could do all the other horses , without any fear of it affecting them, but not him.

It is a pain, but manageable .
 
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