Opinions needed! Any ideas what this is?

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bex1984

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Sorry if this is in the wrong place, but thought it would get the most reponse here...

A friend is buying a new horse/pony. She saw one yesterday (a 14.2 black cob) that was pretty much perfect for her. She really liked him but his mane was very thin, and underneath it the hair had fallen out/been rubbed away. She said it wasn't red or sore, just looked like it may be sweet itch/mange?

Here are the pics:
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t318/bexboo1984/Image008.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t318/bexboo1984/Image007.jpg

Was hoping you guys might be able to shed some more light on a) what this is and b) if it's a reason not to buy an otherwise ideal pony.

She's just looking for a fun pony for hacking, a bit of schooling and jumping. She will have it (two stage) vetted if she decides to go for it, but recently had a pony fail a vetting twice, so doesn't want to waste more money on vettings if this is something it will fail on?

Any opinions will be gratefully received...
 
It looks to me like what you are thinking anyway, sweet itch as I have seen a pony on my yard with a similar looking mane.
Caxz
 
Hi Bex,
I am almost 100% that it is sweetitch.
My girl has it and when i first got her, her mane was the same as that. I had never come accross it before, but what i did was hog her and pull her tail, to make the treatment easier to apply as you can really get to the skin to ease it for them, and what with her being a cob it really suited her anyway. The vet should be able to advise you if it is or not, but as i said if it is then tell your friend not to worry at all. It doesn't affect Daisies performance at all. All I have to do is make sure in the spring and summer that the whole paddock is electrified so there's nothing for her to rub on, not a tree or anything, because believe me they will find anything they can to rub on. Oh and also I can not put her in the stable as she rubs so much she nearly has the wall down! This is only in spring, summer and a bit of Autumn.
Hope this helps
Kate x
 
i reckon sweet itch and no, not a reason not to buy a pleasure horse at all just needs careful management and some prevention, haggle with them for a sweet itch rug tho as they can be expensive or get one in the sale from premier equine, next day delivery. altho i was upset when i discovered my new boy developed sweet itch (see previous posts!) i was assured that it can come on anytime, your friend could have got him home tomorrow and it come on in 3 weeks....good luck!
 
looks nothing like lice to me, my rescue ponies had it when i got them, it would be more flakey and you see the eggs + plus he/she would be sratching on anything it could constantley! But then the pics are quite hard to see. Looks like mild sweet itch to me, perfect weather for it at the mo, my horse has it which i pretty much control with holistic tablets but he still rubs his mane a little and it looks very much like that. Did you ask the seller? It may also be an allergy of course. I assume you would be having a vetting if you were inerested, so it would abvioulsy be looked at then.
 
Hello Bex

If your friend likes the pony that much the only option is to get a vet to take some samples - anyway - has the owner not said what it is???? Maybe if they havent said anything about this it may have other problems?

If its sweet itch - and it looks like it there is probably other scuffy patches on the horse - is there? Is the tail rubbed too? Does the horse have scabby feathers?

Lice is dead easy to treat - dermoline lice shampoo is really good stuff.

But either way - get the vet to do a 2 star they only cost 100 quid and then get them to look at the mane - the vet wont charge extra!! (or shouldnt unless takes a skin scrape)

Good luck!!!
 
Current owner is a dealer I think, has bought the pony from a riding school closure in Ireland and had it in the country a few weeks, but hasn't had vet to look at the mane (I'm guessing they just don't want to spend the money?!).

Friend will defo have any pony she is hoping to buy two stage vetted, but doesn't want to take too much of a risk getting something vetted that is likely to fail, as she's just spent £200 on vettings for one that turned out to ahve the beginnings of arthritis.
 
I would say sweet itch and would advise your friend to have the pony vetted anyway and then discuss options with the vet. My mare has sweet itch and as a comp horse it is a pain as her mane is so hard to plait and well her tail - just forget it
 
Well If its been shipped from pillar to post it my just be a bit scurfy and run down - a bit of cod liver oil might sort it out!!

Vet will be able to take a look - if its only something minor at least your friend can go in with a cheeky offer!!

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[ QUOTE ]
So if it is sweet itch it's not really a reason not to buy is it?

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If it's sweet itch then unless it's rubbed itself raw ie all it's mane and tail are gone, I wouldn't say it was a reason to reconsider the purchase. Even if it is mange or lice or some other form of dermatitis, it would most likely be treatable. The only thing that would happen is the insurance company would mark it as an exclusion. Then, in the future if the vet can confirm it has cleared up, they will re-instate the cover for whatever the problem was.

I'd say get it vetted if everything else was good
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Hope she has better luck this time
 
Thanks, she said it wasn't raw or sore at all....sounds like a lovely pony too - a bit cheeky but very safe, a lot like another black hairy cobby thing I know....
 
Its certainly not a reason to not buy it, aslong as its treated correctly it doesnt pose a problem at all, unless its a severe case which that isnt.

Also has the pony been wearing neck covered rugs? Or been overrugged? My friend over rugged his mare last winter and her mane looked similar to that ponys. One side of her mane completely fell out..
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not sure that its sweet itch (own a severe itchy neddy) and he has never looked like that, just has NO MANE left! - looks more like mange/lice or some other irritant...whatever it is its treatable from the look of it, knock em down on price or get vet to do a sample scrape.
 
I can't tell from thos pics unfortunately, but either can be dealt with easily. Ask the dealer though as sweet-itch must be declared when selling horses.
 
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