Really at my wits end :(

[Equine_Dream]

Hi not sure if people remember or seen my post the other day but my poor mare has a terrible skin condition.
It started about a week ago when small hive like bumps appeared on her neck. I assumed it was a fly bite so on went the fly rug and spray.
Then about 3 days ago I noticed them spreading. She didn't seem bothered however so I didn't think it urgent to get vet.
Then yesterday morning I went to put her out and poor thing could barely walk and she was literally covered in these lumps, even around her teats and the inside of her legs and appeared very painful. Called vets straight away.
Vet came out and said it looked as if it had started as an allergy but had now turned into a skin infection. Gave me some buteo sachets and sachets of antibiotics for her. She also gave me malaseb shampoo to wash her in.
I tried bathing her in the medicated shampoo yesterday evening but she was going nuts. She's an angel to bath normally but she was spinning and rearing to try and get away from me so I had to leave her.
I left her out in the outdoor menage last night to let the air get to her skin. She was very uncomfortable and twitchy yesterday evening. This morning the lumps appear a little better where I managed to get the shampoo but she still seems so uncomfortable.
I don't know whether it's too soon to call the vet back or whether there's anything else they could give her to make her feel better. It's horrible seeing my poor girl like this and feel so useless

 

[EllenJay]

Carry on with the shampoo, if you have already seen a slight improvement then it will get better.

You will need to find out what she is allergic to, my guess is the fly spray, so you can avoid in the future.

Be patient - don't worry. I do, however, expect her coat to look bad for the next month or so, until it grows back.

 

[Equine_Dream]

Carry on with the shampoo, if you have already seen a slight improvement then it will get better.

You will need to find out what she is allergic to, my guess is the fly spray, so you can avoid in the future.

Be patient - don't worry. I do, however, expect her coat to look bad for the next month or so, until it grows back.

She had the bumps before I started with the spray. I also used it on her previously all last summer with no problems.
The problem is she won't let me near her to bath her. It's causing her a lot of distress and I'm worried she'll hurt herself or me if I try again.
Thank you Ellen it's just so horrible seeing her so uncomfortable. She keeps trying to go down for a good roll but it's hurting every time she tries :'(

 

[fatponee]

Give Heather at Amberley Aromatics a call. She is very helpful and her products are great. http://www.equinearomatics.co.uk/

 

[bollybop]

Would something like iodine spray work do you think?

 

[MrsMurs]

If vet has suggested an allergy, I would be asking myself what's changed or new in her routine to have triggered this. New feed regime? Supplements? Have she changed paddocks recently? Has she been stabled elsewhere for a time?
.

 

[be positive]

As she is getting so distressed by bathing try breaking it down into stages which she may accept, most will allow their necks to be washed down with plain water, see if you can just do that, any washing will help at this stage, leave the shampoo until the weekend when you can do small areas and have a break in between and may have more time/ help, the antibiotics and pain relief will start to have more effect and she should be easier and more comfortable by Sat/ Sun.

I would not use iodine or anything like it without the vets advice.

 

[Pedantic]

Could you maybe mix the shampoo in a spray bottle to apply, then rinse off with the hose pipe with a garden spray attachment on a fine mist setting, this may be less upsetting for her.

I fit a garden hose attachment on our yard hose for cooling or bathing rather than slugging cold water straight onto my Po, cause less upset and stress.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

What about a sedative?
I would phone the vet tbh.

 

[Equine_Dream]

If vet has suggested an allergy, I would be asking myself what's changed or new in her routine to have triggered this. New feed regime? Supplements? Have she changed paddocks recently? Has she been stabled elsewhere for a time?
.

Well the vet said it's started as an allergy but it's the infection that's causing her so much grief. Also that's the thing her routine hasn't changed so that only leaves a seasonal reason e.g. fly bite/or a certain plant. The thing is however I had her all last summer without any problems :/

 

[Evie91]

My mare twice had an allergic reaction (never found out what caused it) once bought in from the field covered in lumps and swollen all over. Next time I was riding her and started with a few bumps on her neck, (got off straight away and called vet, started to walk from jump paddock to yard and the lumps were popping up before my eyes!)which then started spreading all over. Her eyes and mouth swelled up too- awful to see.
Both times vet came, injected pain killers and anti inflammatory. Cool baths really helped. As others said try with buckets if she's objecting to the hose, start with sponging neck or shoulder and gradually move to the rest of her body.
After the second time vet left me with anti inflammatory to inject if it was to happen again - it never did.
Both incidents occurred one summer when she was at the yard she lived on for years. Must have been a bite or sting.
People say horses are like their owners and vice versa. Few years later I had an anaphylactic reaction to a wasp sting, hives, itching and swelled all over - so may be it was that!

 

[Evie91]

Friends horse has similar skin infection after an allergy. The lumps began weeping and patches of her coat came out. Antibiotics and baths helped.
You really need to persevere with the baths

 

[CrazyMare]

Get the vet back. Mine had a big reaction and we treated it far more aggressively with injected anti inflammatories and steroids.

 

[anguscat]

Hi. Poor you and your mare. We have a mare who gets this. She gets very miserable with it.
Our mare comes out in zillions of little lumps about the size of a pip all over her body and as the days go by they get bigger,mother flatten and become plaque-like and join up with one another. The first year she got an attack she only had a few dozen spots, but subsequent years the attacks became increasingly dramatic. One year her her head started swelling before our eyes -lips, eyelids involved and serum started oozing from her skin-I just put her in the lorry and took her into hospital. It took them several days to stabilise her with steroids.
Steroids work at least initially eg initially tablets worked for us, then they seemed to be decreasingly effective and had to use injectable. So to keep steroids in your arsenal for a really bad attack you need to try to work out the triggers and a management programme so that you can get through a not-too-bad attack without them.
Initially we tried hard to work out the triggers for our mare ie excluding feeds, changing hay/haylage/paddocks. Nothing was very conclusive. The only clue was that her attacks came in late summer [so if what you are seeing is indeed an allergy problem, it looks like your triggers are different to my mares].
So I got her patch tested. They basically inject tiny different amounts of lots of known allergens into the skin and monitor the reaction. My mare had a strong reaction to dust mites and less strong reactions to molasses and alfalfa (irritatingly feed manufacturers seem to love using alfalfa these days!). I think the dust mites thing was to do with more of the critters being around late summer around harvest time.
Anyway what helped management wise. Firstly turning out as much as possible. Shavings/hemp-like beddings no good. There was a dramatic improvement when we switched onto cardboard bedding. Identifying feeds free of alfalfa/molasses (we find she can have them outside of her trigger season). Bathing with a coal-tar shampoo really helped (was called PolyTar I think but aaaarrrrhhh - now seem to be banned! Poor old psoriasis sufferers have been affected by this; I eventually found a weaker version called Tar-I-Fic or something similar; it's quite good). You feel cruel as our mare feels rubbish in an attack but exercising really helps followed by hosing off (I'm guessing the exercise helps open up the small blood vessels and gets the blood flushing through).
Anyway .....that's our experiences for what it's worth!
Anyway what helped. First of all minim

 

[Equine_Dream]

Get the vet back. Mine had a big reaction and we treated it far more aggressively with injected anti inflammatories and steroids.

See now this is what I was expecting vet to prescribe but only oral antibiotics were prescribed. Vet didn't even inject them. I was expecting steroid/anti-inflammatory injections as well as pain relief and antibiotics.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply. I'm going to see if she'll tolerate me rubbing her down with a cool wet sponge as the sight of a bucket or hosepipe is sending her insane at the moment.

 

[honetpot]

I do not understand the bathing, if you have irritated skin the last thing you do is dry it out by wetting, if you have to bath look at some of the skin shampoo they have for dogs with bad skin as they have emollients that sooth the skin.
I would look at giving her priton, anti-histamine and some topical steroids.
Do a list of literally everything she has had, but as you say if it stated with a fly bite or puncture wound its quite common for the body to get generally sensitised.
My mare got bitten one spring which gave her a huge lump on her neck and neck swelling. Treated with topical steroids successfully but afterwards it made her hyper sensitive to other things so I had to be very careful on what she ate, and what I used on her skin as she would rub her self raw to bleeding.

 

[Merrymoles]

I do not understand the bathing, if you have irritated skin the last thing you do is dry it out by wetting, if you have to bath look at some of the skin shampoo they have for dogs with bad skin as they have emollients that sooth the skin.
.

The only time I have used Malaseb shampoo was on a dog with a skin condition as recommended by the vet so it sounds as though the OP is already trying to do this.

 

[Equine_Dream]

The only time I have used Malaseb shampoo was on a dog with a skin condition as recommended by the vet so it sounds as though the OP is already trying to do this.

Yes it is a medicated shampoo for cats and dogs but vet said it would be fine to use on horses.

 

[First Flame]

My mare quite often suffers from nasty skin reactions, a few more ideas for you that work to keep my mare comfortable during a reaction. Cold hosing/bathing helps reduce the heat and itching, I've used maloseb when given by the vet, using a shampoo with selenium in was recommended by vet (think I found one for dogs) and general maintenance I use head and shoulders instant relief (teatree & peppermint). If the bumps become sore and weepy, a layer of talcum powder can help (recommended by vet). Cotton sheet always next to skin if you need to rug, much more breathable. I have also successfully used NAF DTox supplement to help get rid on a reaction, I just feed the loading dose of the small pot till it is finished and normally reaction is cleared. She had a particularly nasty one a few months ago and I also used the Hypocare spray and I do think it helped! Hope your mare feels better soon :-(

 

[Equine_Dream]

Thank you all. I'm going to go to robinsons and see what they have. They have a thing called wonder gel which sounds good. It contains tea tree and aloe vera and is non irritating. Plus as it's a gel it should help to cool her skin. First flame I've heard of NAF detox being good also. Thank you.

 

[Dave's Mam]

I use Epi Soothe on Milly when she's itchy. It's an oatmeal based shampoo for cats & dogs, but works on the bobbos too. Very cooling & eases the skin.

 

[Annagain]

Poor thing. I can't understand why the vet hasn't prescribed some sort of anti-histamine, even if it is a skin infection it could help to soothe it. I'd also ask about getting a sedative so you can at least get her bathed, especially if the bits you have bathed are improving. Malaseb is pretty good stuff, my old dog had a terrible skin problem and had to be bathed every week in it which kept it under control.

Hope it sorts itself out soon.

 

[Wagtail]

I would be feeding her 10 cetirizine in her feed. Just put them in whole and most horses eat them fine. They are cheap and harmless for horses.

 

[Equine_Dream]

Checked on her about and hour ago. The bits we managed to bath have improved dramatically. Lumps have shrunk and the scabs are dropping off. I've got some aloe vera oil to add to her feed plus some wonder gel. Hopefully she'll let me put some on her legs and under her belly as they are the main places that still seem to be stinging and irritating her. I'm going to leave her as far as bathing goes for today but hopefully the gel will help and she'll at least let me rub her down with some cool water tomorrow.

 

[Equine_Dream]

I would be feeding her 10 cetirizine in her feed. Just put them in whole and most horses eat them fine. They are cheap and harmless for horses.

Any make in particular? I have some asda hayfever and allergy relief tablets in the house. Main ingredient is cetirizine hydrochloride

 

[Fiona]

Our mare has this as a recurring condition.... She used to be given steroids by the vet.


Now as he sees it as a more chronic condition, we give her 20 piriton tablets in her feed for a few days as soon as we see a patch of lumpy bits and they normally disappear within 24 hours.

Washing her with a spray bottle and hosing off sounds v sensible, with sedalin beforehand if required as you have seen such a good reaction to the previously washed bits..

Fiona

 

[Notimetoride]

She's really uncomfortable bless her and you need the vet again asap. Please don't let this go on over the weekend and please don't try to muddle on with over the counter products. You need to listen to what your horse is telling you.

 

[Notimetoride]

Sorry - I missed your post about the improvement. That's good to hear. I hope shes feeling a little more comfortable now

 

[Wagtail]

Any make in particular? I have some asda hayfever and allergy relief tablets in the house. Main ingredient is cetirizine hydrochloride

That's the one. Brand isn't important. It works really well for horses.

 

[Equine_Dream]

Update - gave her 10 antihistamines in her feed last night as well as aloe vera juice and her medication. Managed to put some of the gel on her stomach also. This morning she seems far better. No where near as uncomfortable and the lumps have shrunk dramatically and are scabbing up and falling off.