Lumpy itchy scabs?

[ShowJumperBeckii]

I was just posting in case anyone has had the same or similar problem..
Last winter my horse came up in little scabby lumps over her back which where very itchy and uncomfortable for her, had vet take a look and told us to clip her and she had a mite injection which did nothing.. She had some anti botics which seemed to reduce the amount and the itchyness. As the weather got warmer and we moved into spring the problem slowly went, now they have come back so she was clipped tonight and they are not only on her back but she seems to have them everywhere
She is fine in herself, happy and eating all the norms but her skin is so scabby and dull!. I haven't changed anything within her diet etc and she's bedded on straw as she has been for the past two years.. But she only seems to get it in the winter..
I plan to get the vet Monday but just wondered if anyone had seen this before?
Thanks

 

[Kezzabell2]

Do you have any pics?
only this time last year, my mare got hives all over her back end, she was soooo itchy that she would stalk me for scratches! She was given steroids injections and tablets but nothing helped! we tested her for cushings at the same time and she was confirmed to have it, not that this was the problem

but I was so worried about her, I decided to clip her out totally after a few weeks!, she has scabs everywhere and turns out that she actually had really bad ringworm! she had it everywhere, the vet had never seen it in the places she had it! I couldn't tell until I clipped her, as the cushings gave her a really long coat. I think she got the ringworm as her immune system was low from the cushings and it took blimmin ages to clear up!

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Could be harvest mites in the straw.

 

[ShowJumperBeckii]

Sorry no picture but I can get one, surely if it was ring worm it wouldn't come and at the colder part of the year only for it to clear up on its own as the weather changes? Excuse me if I'm totally wrong though!
Was thinking the straw but then would she not be itchy all year not just now? X

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Ringworm is a fungal infection it is caught, you treat it or it eventually clears itself, it can then be caught again from anything with the spores on. If treating for ringworm tack, brushed, rugs, stable should also be treated.

Harvest mites, the clue is in the name. Also does your straw come from the same source all year round? And do they make it themselves or buy it in from elsewhere?

It could be normal mites too, which I think are different from harvest mites but not totally sure. Could be your horse has them all the time. I think the lumps are a sign of a heavy infestation. Could be the winter coat encourages them because brushes cant get down to the skin, or perhaps do you groom or bath more in summer?

I would clip out, bath, ask vet for a different treatment since the last one didn't work (or perhaps it didn't work because horse was reinfected), clear and scrub stable, clean rugs and brushes etc. Don't let bedding build up in the stable and get old and fusty, do a full muck out daily, pulling one of the banks into the middle and putting clean stuff at the edge.

 

[Shay]

Is she a cob? Some cobs - mine included - can get lumps of sebaceous material on the skin - especially if warm under rugs or unclipped. They then irritate the skin setting up an itch / scratch / itch cycle. Clipping, some really good baths with a medicated shampoo and good deep grooming can sort the problem.

 

[xStephx]

Did you find out the problem with your horses skin? Just my old boy sounds like he has the same kind of thing going on. He's come up in itchy scabby lumps over the past couple of weeks. The lumps are spreading and if I take the scabs off (they come off really easy) the skin can be weepy underneath. It seems to only be one side of him really that's affected. His back mostly and flanks and now his hind quarters. He has problems with mud fever that can only be kept at bay with equi med boots, vet treatments don't work and lotions and potions make it worse. Will get the vet as needed for my other horse too but just wondering what it could be. My thoughts are fungal / bacterial.

 

[WelshD]

Are there lumps in the areas not covered by a rug? if not could it be possible that the horse is getting over-hot?

 

[cobgoblin]

Are you feeding any alfalfa? Two of mine became very scabby and itchy with a chaff that was mostly alfalfa chop.

 

[xStephx]

All areas are covered by rugs, I did wonder if he was over heating especially if he runs round when I take my other horse out the field during the day at weekends. So I haven't been rugging him as heavy as I usually would. He does feel the cold though is an absolute pansy!

No alfalfa in feed, just grass chop, linseed, brewers yeast, sugar beet and equerry cool mash. He has haylage at night because hay makes him cough.

 

[ester]

Ditto shay, Chestnut by any chance. If mine has any skin irritation such as heat bumps/flu bite etc he gets weepy scabby bits which when picked off leave red sore skin and often take hair with them. He essentially gets a low grade bacterial infection there and I jump on them when they start with sudocreme with added sulphur powder and am v careful with washing off after exercise etc. he is better clipped as more air to the skin