Rainscald/skin infections

[dotty1]

My mare has been itchy all over since beginning of Dec. Still trying to figure out why. She is rugged and lives out with a shelter. On her body she has had a few tufty lumps that have come out but this week one tufty lump has just got bigger and bigger in area. The hair is all stuck together at the roots with gunk and underneath the skin is pink and wet looking. She loves it if you pick it off!!. I have shampooed with maleseb and put flamzine cream on it.
Could this be a bacterial form of rainscald, even though she has never got wet??

 

[ticobay831]

Sounds like a fungal infection, you'l probably need to put her on antibiotics. Theres lots of this around at the moment allergys and all sorts of skin complaints
Try and wash the syrum off with hiubiscrub a couple of times a day or similar and dont over rug her.
Allot of its due to the damp weather conditions.
They dont have to get wet to get rainscald

Hope it clears up

Debs x

 

[GreedyGuts]

Sounds like rainscald caused by Dermatophilus congolensis, a bacteria that likes damp, poorly ventilated skin. Doesn't sound too severe, so antibiotics aren't necessary I wouldn't have thought. Sounds like you're doing a good job of treating it, although I would consider using something antibacterial like hibiscrub to wash the affected areas (malaseb is antifungal). Let this soak for a while so that the scabs soften and are easy to remove. Flamazine will help to get rid of the infection. I'd do this daily for a week or so, and then a couple of times a week until it's all healed, and make sure that her back is really dry and allowed to air.

The bacteria can be carried on tack and rugs, so give all of hers a good wash to prevent her/other horses getting reinfected. The scabs should also be disposed of carefully to minimise the risk of reinfection.

You could consider feeding a supplement containing essential fatty acids, as these improve coat quality, skin function and can help reduce irritatio/inflammation of the skin. Also if you haven't done it already I'd treat her for lice as this can make them prone to other skin conditions and would explain her itchiness.

Hope that's useful!