Mange mites

Junebug

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Hello,

Wonder if anyone has any advice or experiences...

I have a heavily feathered cob (feathers now clipped) that had been going out with a new elderly friend about six weeks ago. He is on full livery and I had been away for a week. When I came down to visit him he had been brought in and was covered in mud. When I brought him out of his stable I noticed he had lots of fur missing up the front of his rear cannon bones, stretching up to his groin and just below his buttock. The skin was quite pink looking but not weaping. Fur near by could be pulled out quite easily but at that stage noone had seen him itching. There was no hair loss anywhere else on his body. I called the vet.

The first vet made a tentative diagnosis of leg mites, but suggested a possible allergy because the hairloss stretched so far up his hind legs. I asked for a skin scrap. She would not do them and instead gave a dectomax injection and left antibiotic cream.

He was kept in and then began really itching, making himself bleed on areas around his hocks and on his flanks.

I called the vet out again. A different vet did a skin scrape, left a steroid, fungal cream, a wash. Steriod injection did not stop the scratching.

Called the vet two days later, still itching , now on his stomach area and still scratching his legs. They left me frontline spray and said a bad mite infestation had been seen on hair samples.

The vet returned to give second dectomax injection. Horse still itching, especially stomach and stamping legs.

Called the vet to ask for more frontline, as it had to be done again 10 days later. The vet said he would drop some off. Got to the yard to discover a different vet had come and done another skin scrape and left be an antifungal wash. But the results from the first skin scrape is not back and they have so far only found mites, so not sure why Im now being given fungal wash.

Today he is still itchy but not as bad as two weeks ago, the pink areas are looking better, but I have noticed some flaking and hair loss on his chest where the inside of the front legs meet his body.

The vets seem at a loss as to what kind of mites they are or why they haven't gone by now. I'm getting increasingly worried and feel he'd be better being washed in something as they are obviously not just affecting his legs but the vets are not coming up with any better suggestions and the bill is now £500!!! It has now been four weeks.

I had previously pigoiled his feathers.

Thank you
 
perhaps get a second oppinion or asked to be reffered. Trouble is you're not going to be able to treat it if you're not sure what it is.
 
Sounds exactly like what our boys gets. Hair falling out, right up to his tummy. Scabs, etc. He is on his third injection and still the mites are there. In the 6 years he has had the mites. I have never seen them this bad
 
ask your vet about ivomec, its a sheep wormer i think but ive heard its effective for mites in dogs (not officially of course!) dont know if its horse friendly or not......

That's what this horse has had already.
Deosect will do the same as the dectomax (ivermerctin) and I don't think permethrin is legally available anymore.

These cases are a problem and despite there being a correct diagnosis skin disease this severe often take 6-8 weeks or more to settle down. I would advise you to ring your vets and discuss the case in detail with ONE of them and stck with ONE vet if possible for continuitie sake - believe it or not, we prefer that too.

You can discuss referral if necessary but I would encourage you to get one treatment going and stick with it for quite sometime provided things aren't deteriorating.

Steroids may be useful but if the ectoparasite/infections are not under control then things can get worse....due to suppressing the immune response that is fighting off the problem. I do use them but you must get everything else under control too.

Topical treatments are generally best for skin disease, but may require systemic antibiotics if secondary infection is found - for at least 6 weeks to be effective.

Sadly, be aware IME aggressive skin disease is not only frustrating but very expensive to treat completely and often owners and vets give up too soon, hence the problem never fully resolving.
Please try not to keep switching treatments all the time though - this does not actually help if you have a confirmed diagnosis!

Best of luck
Imogen
 
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