Picture: My mare's under tail, opinions.

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jaffa2311

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I've copied two different links of the same picture. Hopefully one works.

So, this is my mare's tail. As you can see, scabs have appeared on the underside and within the hairs on the side.

The large scab underneath has now fallen off, however the scabs either side (within the hair) are still there.

I have deliberately left well alone. I have not applied any lotions or potions, in order to allow the drying out and healing process to do its thing. She is displaying signs of awareness/discomfort should I attempt to touch the area, although will tolerate it.

What do you think of this?

I'm worried this could be pinworm related although have no experience of this, hence asking for your knowledge.
 
To me it looks more like chapped skin. I'd say its very much like rainscald, just where the skin is moist and warm under her tail. My mare gets something like this in the winter, the skin there is very thin and sometimes a bit greasy. Iodine would dry it out, but it looks very sore. On her tail like that it would be easy to dress, keeping it dry and preventing it from chafing against her quarters.

On the other hand, it may be a flat sarcoid, do you know how long she has had it? It would take time for it to become ulcerated like that if it was a sarcoid.
 
It looks like a sarcoid to me, but if it has now dropped off it could just be that she has been rubbing the underside of her tail on something. My mare does this over the door of her stable.
 
Ok. Hadn't thought of that.

She has had sarcoids from her chest removed as a 2 year old (11 years ago), with a tiny one that has grown on her chest. So do have some experience of them and this wasn't what I thought it was.

I will take an updated picture tonight, but yes the big scab has come off, and there is new 'normal looking' skin under it. The scabs on the side are still there, but are all caught in the hair, which may be why they've not fallen off.

I do not want to go yanking them off when they are not ready to come off, so have just been trying to let mother nature sort it out.

She has had it from about the beginning of September-ish.

I raked her tail around the end of August and took a lot off , and wondered whether it was irritation from that, however would not explain the large scab on the middle of dock as that has no relationship to the hair at all.
 
I would try botanica cleansing wash. My gelding gets a bit of dry skin and i put it on and it clears right up.
 
I can't see the pics but where you said raked her tail and took some off - are you using fly spray? Some contain benzyl benzoate and some horses are allergic causing their skin to flake off. If you are using that product, with less hair could more of it be getting directly onto her skin? With sarcoids, there are different types so don't rule it out just because it doesn't look like the ones on her chest.
 
I don't use fly spray at all, but do use show prep products when showing.

I will have a look and image it this afternoon. I certainly won't rule out sarcoids and need to be aware that it could be, but it doesn't seem like it. It came on very suddenly also.

She has predominantly been out 24/7 all summer, with barbed wire and electric fencing that she completely respects, I'm unsure of where she would tail rub. She does do it in the stable occasionally but hasn't been in much since this occurred.

She's actually been 'off' in ridden work recently with odd, intermittent symptoms of acting like she needs to poo, and consequently not wanting to go forward as much. I supplemented her with ad lib hay, physillium and fennel to try and get things moving, but it didn't work. She is sound.

I'm not convinced the two are related, but can't rule it out. She's having down time in the field for a few weeks to see if there's a difference.

She's due vaccs in November so can relay these odd symptoms to my lovely vet then, if they're not resolved. Typically of my mare, she will feeling and acting absolutely golden when the vet comes!
 
I have a mare that has this after she has had a tail bandage on in warmer weather.... Even a 20 minute journey can result in raw tail and raw either side of her tail on her hind quarters.

Could that be it? It takes 10 days or so to heal on mine, with a gentle lavender wash and then sudocremex
 
Frank's can do this sometimes, also each side of the top of his tail in the creases- often when he has been too hot I think. ditto sudocreme!
 
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