poor allergic ponio

[Jesstickle]

I'm up against a bit of a mystery.

My horse has been living out quite happily since may but a couple of weeks ago she got a big weepy sore on her nose (about the size of a five pence and totally raw) that came up literally in a matter of hours. It healed up really quickly so I thought nothing of it. About a week after that she got another one but again that healed up too.

Then last Thursday I went to check on her in the evening and in the course of the day her face had literally exploded with the same type of sore. Plus she was very swollen over her nose. I expect she must have had between 15 and 20 of the things.The friendly vet in the stable next door confirmed that she wouldn't die so I cleaned them all up put her in a fly rug and a complete face mask and turned her back out. The assumption being that she had poked her nose into something which didn't agree with her and covering her up would stop her doing it.

She's been covered up like this all week but yesterday a couple more sores appeared under her face mask so I've brought her in and left her there. She looks much better today and will get the vet tomorrow to give her a steroid shot but just wondered if anyone can think of anything that might be causing this reaction.

She can't have been bitten on her face or rubbed up against anything as it is totally covered up. She does have similar sores round her fetlocks and on her pasterns. Just a couple. I am wondering if she is reacting to something elsewhere on her face but really I am utterly baffled. I can't see anything obviously poisonous in her field but I'm no expert.


Any thoughts?

Phew, that got long. my apologies

 

[welshied]

Could it be fro her coming into contact with butter cups

 

[Digger123]

Yes I was thinking buttercups to

 

[Jesstickle]

are butter cups bad? god i didn't know that. I'll look to see if there are any.

 

[welshied]

Mine has had the same on his lip they are slightly poisonous if eaten in large quantities but they don't usually eat them i just leave mine with them but they don make the skin blister and break

 

[WelshRuby]

I ve known of 3 horses recently that have the same thing, just appearing overnight. Vets have prescribed an ointment but I dont know what it is. There were no buttercups in the fields. A mystery!

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Giant hogweed!
Grows near(ish) to water, has big palmate hairy leaves, with a square section hollow stem and cream flowers similar to cow parsley, causes extreme photosensitivity, especially on pink skin.
Our pink skinned Appaloosa was very sensitive to it but the piebald with pink nose and white feet never had a problem. The only real way to avoid it is to remove the plant from the grazing or the horse to a different field.