Need help/advice with a very serious skin condition*pics*

Tiarella

Tiarella

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I school a ladys horse two or three times a week and he is kept on the yard where I keep my horse too so see him everyday. He has a very bad skin condition unfortunately which results in itching itching, biting, scratching, hair falling out etc. The first few years we thought it was your typical sweetitch so lived life in boett rug and used sweetitch ointments etc. After speaking to her the other day we are now looking into allergies etc. She is not keen on vet treatment i.e. steriods but has had other things from them before. This is not my horse so its obviously not up to me on the treatment but we keep him fully clipped all year, clean rugs etc, fed hifi lite, local balancer and oil. He is such a sweetie and so so genuine but he just cant keep going on like this. I will post pics just to see if anyone recognises these symptoms etc. The hair is literally rubbed out in 10 minutes, goes raw, bleeds etc. All the other hair patches is where its gone bald and grown back etc.

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I know what i'd be doing if I owned him, contacting all dermatologists(sp?), vets, getting skin scrapes etc.

thanks :)
 
Someone I know had a horse like this. It had to be kept in an electrified paddock as if it had access to a stable or fence it would rub itself raw. it couldn't even be groomed - she spent £2k in vet bills trying to get a diagnosis/cure.
I suggested that she feed him 2 tablespoons of salt in his feed daily and you know with 2 weeks he stopped scratching. He had been like this for nearly 2 years.

The salt thing is to correct a potassium imbalance if the horse has one. It's worth a try - but offering a salt lick is not enough I must stress - you need to add 2 tblspns to the feed. Take a look at this website:

http://www.calmhealthyhorses.com/solut/salt.html
 
Cavalesse is great for skin conditions - maybe speak to your vet about it (or google). My boy has allergies which luckily doesnt affect his skin but when we were doing some treatment for him he had a reaction to some medication which made him really itchy and sore - vet put him on course of cavalesse (in feed) and worked a treat. Practically instant and lasting results.
Good luck :-)
 
He is a very hot horse throughout winter he is normally in boett rug and medium weight type rugs.

As far as I'm aware he doesn't have any alfalfa and have throughly checked for lice
 
hi is there anything going on around his coronary bands? scabs etc? also you could try brewers yeast thats ment to be very good for itchy ponys :)
 
Yes, Dengie website says :
Hi-Fi LITE is made from alfalfa which is high temperature dried - locking in the natural goodness - and then blended with quality straw to provide an high fibre ration. Alfalfa is an excellent natural source of vitamins and minerals.
 
Ap - I haven't checked but will look this evening or tomorrow - what would this show? Will have a look at brewers yeast, thanks :)

Thanks ashtay - I do lack knowledge in feeding!
 
theres quiet a few conditions that cause itchy skin -lets hope its a deficiency rather than anything more serious. sometimes the immune system turns on its self and can cause itchy scabby skin . try the brewers yeast on a high dose for a couple of weeks . also you could try benzyl benzoate from the chemist thats excellent for stopping the itch. :)
 
My cob mare has much exactly the same rub marks etc that this horse has!
Has the owner tried anything as of yet to treat the skin condition?
Its nice to know that Im not alone, all of the symptoms that you have said are exactly the same as my horse am getting to my wits end with it now!
She is also clipped and I dont over rug her, just keep her warm (as she is bald!) she trashes my rugs through itching and is constantly trying to itch most of the time.
I can sympathise with the owner that it is annoying!
I have been recommended to try sulphur tablets because her blood may be too hot and the sulphur will help bringing the blood back to a normal temperature?

Be nice to know if you find a supplement etc that helps this skin complaint
 
One of my mares is allergic to garlic and comes up with very similar symptoms.

Need to double check all her feeds and supplements to make sure no garlic (fell foul of a breathing supplement once!). Initially I was actually giving her garlic to help her skin condition as though it was reaction to flies, argh, no!
 
I will have to dig out some photos from the mid 80's.
We had a poppet of a 1st pony in, who had almost the same skin condition.
We had to clip him right out to try to alleviate the itching, he turned from a poppet into a scared little dangerous soul all winter & then around May & when the summer coat had grown through, was fine all summer till the autumn cold or wet weather arrived again.
He was manic in his scratching, dangerous for anyone to handle except competant adult, needed sedating to take bloods (was fine for bloods in summer) and however he was restrained still would be a handful to even headcollar or do any more.
There were also matching raised swellings (same on each side of his body) in random places, on his belly, flanks, part of his neck. These changed almost on a fortnightly basis, some small & some long 'rope' type ones.
We ended up keeping him under heat lamps in his final winter at a yard I was managing just up the lane from us.
Had offers from Liverpool & another vet college who wanted the pony as an interesting case, however it was not felt in his interests to be shipped off.
The condition got worse over 3 progressive winters & at the start of the 4th winter he was quietly pts.

Sorry am not of more help, will have a chat with my vet as I know he did extensive research for me at the time & he may have more info as he is still practicing, tho due for retirement this summer.

I hope you manage to get to the bottom of it.

edited to add, I do remember one of the bloods showed he was lacking in selenium, will rack my brains as to what else too. His skin was very like the patches you show, tho the main & tail were never affected, it was all over his body tho, more bare bits than hair, except from the knees down. His legs also used to swell if he was really bad at some points in the winter.
 
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I totally second both the salt and the brewers yeast suggestions as they are great for the digestion and everything stems from inside; if the insides are well the outside will look well. I'd also seriously look at the sulphur tablets/supplements (this is NAF's http://www.millbryhill.co.uk/equest...ility-786/natural-animal-supplements-2861.htm) as we had a Border Terrier who would rub himself raw with a straw allergy and the only thing that helped were sulphur tablets; with just one a day while he was bad seemed to stop the itching overnight for him. You can also get rock sulphur to put in a water bowl which might also help.
 
Amymay - owner had vets many times when horse was younger but didnt want to go through steroid routes etc. There is no reason the horse can't be ridden, it does not affect him, infact he seems to be at his happiest when out of his rugs and having fresh air on him. No rubs under saddle area.
 
rachaelstar said:
I school a ladys horse two or three times a week and he is kept on the yard where I keep my horse too so see him everyday. He has a very bad skin condition unfortunately which results in itching itching, biting, scratching, hair falling out etc. The first few years we thought it was your typical sweetitch so lived life in boett rug and used sweetitch ointments etc. After speaking to her the other day we are now looking into allergies etc. She is not keen on vet treatment i.e. steriods but has had other things from them before. This is not my horse so its obviously not up to me on the treatment but we keep him fully clipped all year, clean rugs etc, fed hifi lite, local balancer and oil. He is such a sweetie and so so genuine but he just cant keep going on like this. I will post pics just to see if anyone recognises these symptoms etc. The hair is literally rubbed out in 10 minutes, goes raw, bleeds etc. All the other hair patches is where its gone bald and grown back etc.

562729_10152639776705123_662622231_n_zps5aacbbce.jpg

544583_10152639774520123_1320098080_n_zpsbef0abca.jpg

527612_10152639775600123_1462178808_n_zps10d33b66.jpg

388491_10152639772335123_1370887610_n_zps6eb8ba00.jpg



I know what i'd be doing if I owned him, contacting all dermatologists(sp?), vets, getting skin scrapes etc.

thanks :)
Click to expand...

Looks very similar to my late mare. She had Staph Aureus.

or mange.


Best you get vet to do a skin scape to see what you are dealing with.
 
It's not mange. This is getting progressively worse since she owned him as a 4 year old, he is now 12, think he would of itched himself to death in the last 8 years!
 
we had yard owner who kept free range chickens and they had mites our horse got this horrible itching patch on one side I thought as the chickens had been all over the paddocks she had got the mites,I used Benzole benzoate on her twice and that solved the problem ,I have been told it is difficult to buy from the chemist but a friend has bought it on line from Hyperdrug .co .uk It maybe worth a try but dont think large areas can be done. at one time . It would also be worth feeding a balancer ,or good vitamin mineral supplement I do hope you can find some thing to help this horse and stop the itching it must be so horrible for him .
 
Word of advice re Cavalesse, it's basically just Brewers Yeast which you can buy for a few £s. Cavalesse (last time I wasted my money on it) was over £90 for 3 months supply and the ionstructions said you had to give it at a set time every day and start the treatment at least 3 weeks BEFORE the expected allergic reaction. Ask your vet about it for confirmation. Sorry Cavalesse!
 
My youngster has had similar balding of recent months although it hasn't got to the same extent as this horse yet.i had vet take skin sample and bloods which showed she had various allergies.

i did post in an existing thread on here (probably a few pages back) as she tested positive to all types of grass amongst other things.i would say it certainly looks and sounds much like my horses symptoms and I wouldn't have been happy leaving her for several years in such itchy conditions. Steroids are not the only option and certainly not something I would consider for horse either - plus vet has ruled this out.

I'm looking to go down the road of immunotherapy treatment but still looking at what alternative options (if any) i have.

I would strongly recommend getting a sample taken as steroids is not the only avenue the owner can take
 
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