Help. What to do -long. Sorry

kerrieberry2

kerrieberry2

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What would you do!?!?!?

28yr old mare (still fit and healthy) The vet was out 2 weeks ago as she had hives on her back end & neck, the ones on her bum where itchy! to the point she stalked me and kept back up so I would itch them. she also has a few crusty bits on her whirls and on the inside of her back legs. (she has a bath last weekend, so I wouldnt not expect anything crusty bits, anywhere)

She has a steroid injection, 3 days later, no improvement, so vet gave another steroid injection + bloods taken + 1000 steroids tablets to give, 100 a day. suspected to be an allergic reaction

After 2 days the vet called back, bloods all clear, glucose levels slightly low, but nothing to worry about, liver enzyme levels slightly raised, so sent for more tests!! vet wasn't worried about any of these results! the cushings test came back and her levels were at 332 rather than an expected level of 47?? so she's started treatment 5 days ago.

Told to stop the steroids as they weren't making any difference. Vet suggested it could be folliculitis or ringworm but told me to have a think about doing a skin biopsy.

Tried her on a supplement for itchy horses, but it was disgusting, smelt like the bottom of a bonfire, she refused to eat it, so I have ordered another supplement, that has far less Ash in it!

but have spoken to the vet about treating for folliculitis but she has advised me that its a long process, normally a 6 week course of antibiotics at £40 for 5 days and if that doesn't work i will still need to do the skin biopsy at a cost of £240, on top of the £406 that my bill has already come to! I questioned the skin biopsy and she said there is a chance that it could come back inconclusive too!

so at almost £700, I could still be none the wiser!! and i could spend another £336 if i treat for folliculitis and it doesn't turn out to be that!! so basically i'm facing £1000 vet bill and still she might not be fixed!! not to mention the test she will need in 6 weeks to make sure the cushings treatment is the right level!!!

She is insured but because of her age she is only insured for injuries (external) so despite paying for insurance for the 13 yrs that I've had her, never making a claim, the one time I really need it, they won't cover us!! :(

I just want my baby to be fixed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I would be more patient, the prascend will take a while to work and her skin may settle in a few weeks without further intervention, I have used a detox successfully on unknown skin conditions, NAF do one and it would be worth trying, it does not sound like ringworm but more as if her immune system is struggling and once she is stabilised it may resolve quickly.
 
be positive said:
I would be more patient, the prascend will take a while to work and her skin may settle in a few weeks without further intervention, I have used a detox successfully on unknown skin conditions, NAF do one and it would be worth trying, it does not sound like ringworm but more as if her immune system is struggling and once she is stabilised it may resolve quickly.
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Used the NAF detox a few years back for a very strange skin condition that no one could identify. It worked a treat and there has never been a recurrence.

Must ask, is she fed alfalfa in any form? Some horses, particularly older ones. can suddenly develop a reaction to it, just as you describe, like hives. One of mine reacted although he had eaten it happily for years and a friend in Scotland had two reactors, one so bad she got all her skin infected by the frantic rubbing. It's certainly not a rare thing but so many feeds contain alfalfa it can be hard to realise what it is.
 
What's changed in your management? Have you changed feed lately or substituted another brand of the same type of thing? Most skin conditions, except those by contact of course, all start from within so the healthier a horse is on the inside, the healthier it'll be on the outside.

Personally, I'd whack her with some natural yoghurt from the supermarket to give her gut some good bacteria; you can either syringe it in or add to a handful of feed then start her on a basic feed of a plain chaff (Graze ON for preference, it is just plain grass, nothing added at all http://www.northerncropdriers.co.uk/product/graze-on) with brewers yeast (the backbone of Pink Powder) and micronised linseed to see if a plain diet with added 'good' ingredients for digestion will help. Both the BY and the linseed should help with her skin problem and you should begin to notice a difference in her skin and coat within a few weeks. Damn sight cheaper than the treatment and natural too.

Of course, there could be something internal going on, invisible to the eye and at that age, quite possible too which without invasive technique might not be found or you could try a thermal image to see if that picks anything up. At that age you do have to wonder at the fairness of putting her through anything invasive let alone hammering your finances (I'm a total realist I'm afraid and won't throw good money after bad) let alone the quality of life side of it which should be the most important criteria of course.

It's fine me saying it now of course but after a horse reaching the end of her insurance when you can't claim, it would make more sense to save the veterinary premium and set aside something each month to cover things like this I think.

Good luck, will be interested in other replies and how she goes on.
 
My pony suffers from sweet itch (I know its not the same but...)

The cheapest supplement that is still effective (and is less pungent than most) I have found is Fly Free

Brewers yeast also works quite well, my 11hh pony gets 50-60g a day

My vet made up a cream of Betnovate and Baytril in an aqueous cream base that was cheap and which we slather on the inside of his thighs and on his dock when he gets itchy

Grass pellets make him itchy strangely

It can take up to 6 weeks for the itching to go even after sucessful treatment so it could be that things will ease even with no further treatment

Personally I would make the diet as simple as possible, try to alleviate the itching and wait out some weeks if you can
 
WelshD said:
Grass pellets make him itchy strangely

Personally I would make the diet as simple as possible, try to alleviate the itching and wait out some weeks if you can
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Are they grass pellets or alfa pellets though? I know I asked for grass pellets once and got given the Dengie Alfa ones as the only grass pellets they stocked and everything started itching! The only plain grass pellets I've found are the Graze On ones and they're brilliant but I believe Emerald Feeds are now doing a plain one too.

Couldn't agree more with your last sentence.
 
Hi guys thanks for all of this info. I'll do a bit of research when I get home tonight. I have ordered naf detox so hopefully it will be here tomorrow. Hopefully that will help her

Feed is simple. All 3 horses are on the same. Just different quantities. Fast fibre and molasses free hi fi. She has 25ml of naf easy breathing. They have plenty of grass and a round bale of hay in their shelter. Hay is from the same field the last bale came from and have been feeding it since sept. So nothing new. I did notice the bag of hi if smelt a bit minty this time. Didn't notice thst with the previous bag? Could it be the fresh grass? They been in the same field since April.
 
Is she rugged? could it be the detergent used for cleaning your rugs? My boy suffered a bout of hives after he came home from being away for 6 weeks... seemed he'd developed a sensitivity to my numnah detergent in that time... was a pain in the botom to get rid of but bute and piriton for several weeks helped.
 
Maesfen said:
Are they grass pellets or alfa pellets though? I know I asked for grass pellets once and got given the Dengie Alfa ones as the only grass pellets they stocked and everything started itching! The only plain grass pellets I've found are the Graze On ones and they're brilliant but I believe Emerald Feeds are now doing a plain one too.
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They were the Emerald Feeds plain grass pellets, no alfalfa. strangely he is absolutely fine with alfalfa feeds!
 
Hi I hope your horses skin condition settles down. Horses with Cushings are more prone to skin problems . Hopefully once the medication you are using for the Cushings kicks in you will start to notice an improvement. My old Connemarra had Cushings and I have worked with several horses who have suffered from it.Only one had skin problems rather like sweet itch but that was years ago.
 
She was rugged but its brand new but I've left it off her since the hives! she is a very warm horse so I didn't want her to over heat as it might make it worse! the bumps are actually on her neck, above where her rug sits, and on her back end where the leg straps would go! She had the crusty bits, which is why I bath her, just used a citronella and eucalyptus shampoo and I had that in the summer!!

One a positive note I've got home and the dtox has arrived :) I am hoping that once the cushings treatment kicks in it will make it all better! she isn't what i'd class as a standard cushings horse she's never had lami (touch wood) she has a thick coat but moults like theres no tomorrow!! all the other symptoms Ive read about don't fit her! so it was a horrible shock when they told me she has it!!
 
Woohoo she ate the detox this morning. Better result than I got with global herbs skratch. Also I'm sure the bumps seem a bit better. So hopefully the cushings treatment is starting to kick in. It's been a week today :)
 
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