My little cob has a sore back - any ideas?

B

brandon's mum

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Brandon isn't much over a year old. When I first got him he was terrified and carried marks from the halter that had grown into his nose. As well as worms and a mites, he also had a 50p sized chunk of white scab on his mane. Eventually I pulled that piece of mane out and treated the bare area with oils and lotion. His mane grew back beautifully, but as I also used a multi-wormer at the same time, I was never quite sure whether it was the lotion or the wormer that worked. Now he has similar white scabs on his back (where the saddle would go if he were big enough). I found them when I was giving him a bit of a massage the other day. There are no scabs anywhere else. Until I found these, I was delighted with his progress.

My friend has seen the other horses nipping him from time to time, as he is the smallest, and thinks it is that - but I'm worried its ringworm. I don't want to treat him for something he doesn't necessarily have, but as he's outside and wet, I can't rug him to see if the scabs heal when he's protected from nips. Is it vet time do you think?
 
Ringworm is a possibility as is Rainscald. Get a Vet to look at him so they can identify the problem and give you a treatment plan.

ETA - if it is nips from the other horses, you should be able to work out from the marks where the lower teeth and upper teeth nipped him.
 
Unfortunately, the little man isn't too keen on letting me have a close inspection of the marks, but as the hair is coming out in little clumps, they're either healed bites, or they're not bite marks at all. My vet will need to come out to him I think. Thanks for the backup - I never thought of rainscald.
 
I agree it sounds v much like rain scald which is a bacteria which thrives in warm moist conditions. The mild wet winter has provided the ideal conditions. It can also be caused by horse getting too warm under rugs ( even though not visibly sweating) and once a horse has suffered with it he is likely to get it again so you will need to be careful with your little cob and probably consider clipping , although I realise you won't be able to do this at present. He should be kept as dry as possible.
Be careful with anything oily as this will again provide an ideal breeding ground. The scabs need to be bathed with dilute hibiscrub ( or I have used the NAFF skin product for smaller scabs) and dried carefully before applying a cream like flamazine available from vet. It is a difficult problem to deal with but correct treatment should stop it getting worse. Good luck with it.
Also brushes and equipment can spread infection so keep clean and disinfected.
 
Thanks to all for your comments. I have asked the vet to have a look next week and hopefully I can get everything resolved. I would hate to think he was hurting because of something I'd done wrong. None of the other horses he's sharing with show any signs of discomfort, so I've got my fingers crossed that he doesn't have anything infectious. All I want is to give him the same pleasure he's giving me.
I'll let everybody know what the vet said after next Tuesday.
 
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