Scabby skin condition - Help Please!

[lizsamW]

Hi

I have a 16.2 TB 16yr old mare who gets "scabby skin" every winter. It starts in Sept/Oct when her winter coat starts coming through and goes in the spring when she sheds her coat. She lives out all year around and doesn't usually have her rug on til mid Nov (ish). She has had this skin problem for the last 3 - 4 years and it is starting to send me and her absolutely mad !!

We have had a number of different vets who don't seem to be able to agree on what it is. She has been tested for Ringworm and its not that, she has had anti biotics etc for bacterial infection and that hasn't helped! She has also been on anti histamines, steroids, anti biotics. I have treated the patches with Imaverol - given to me by the vet as thought some type of fungal - this helps a bit but doesn't stop them! She is not infectious as there are 6 others out with her and they never get it!!

It starts off as a small lump, then very quickly turns scabby - yellowy crystals that ooze and are sore. If you remove the scabs (v difficult) the skin is red and inflammed and sore!

Any help or suggestions would be MUCH appreciated!

Thanks Liz

 

[Natalie_H]

Hi Liz,
Sorry to hear you are having a rough time with this. It certainly sounds strange. I am also driven mad by the fact that my boy gets Urticaria every Autumn / Winter. The condition you describe sounds very like the lumps he gets. When he is having a bad reaction, the lumps come up, ooze a yellow sticky substance which then crystalizes. His reactions are related to the introduction of hay into the diet (he is cereal intolerant). I have managed to control it with high doses of Atarax anti-histamines but I know you say you have tried these. It is very difficult when you don't know what the cause is, and is sooooooooooooo frustrating year after year - you have my sympathy - good luck with this one!

Natalie x

 

[vicijp]

It sounds very much like my horse who has a sweat allergy. He gets big patches as you describe, worse if he is clipped and the hair isnt there to protect him (yey! NO CLIPPING!).
My horse is allergic to most things, I cant even put baby oil on him without taking all the hair off. Hes also allergic to pollen and dust. The vet says the sweat thing isnt a specific allergy, more something that the sweat irritates - it is very rare.
Penicillin, Trimediazine etc dont touch it, however I have found it may be linked to his on/off anaemia - may be worthwhile checking if your mare is in order elsewhere and treating any other ailments.
After 3yrs of trying every cream/potion known to man I have finally found a system that works. When its scabby use Protocon, but only for 2 hrs max as it starts to burn him. When the scabs are off rub in bog standard wound powder twice a day. He also has a full hose down, then a hibiscrub wash every day.
Last winter, at its worst, it spead over the withers, both sides of the neck, halfway across his back and both shoulders. It only started to alleviate when he grew back enough hair to be unrugged. It healed up completely out in the field for a few months. So far this winter it is looking good, had a small patch on one side of his neck/wither, but with above treatment has nearly complete hair regrowth at this moment in time.

 

[AmyMay]

We used an over the counter anti-histamine cream on a mare on my yard who would come up in these funny lumps. These lumps certainly don't sound as extreme as your horses - but the cream certainly worked.

 

[lizsamW]

Forgot to add, that sometimes she loses the hair where these scabby patches are and sometimes she doesn't! Also some of the patches are "rings" so everyone presumes ringworm! BUT the vet did test her for this last year and it came up negative. Also in the last 18months she has been moved into a field with 6 others and none of them have got it! So its not contageous. I used to think it was stress related as she was not happy living on her own. She is now extremely happy with her new life but still we have these patches!! I am trying to think if i started feeding her before these started or not??

ANyhow thanks for the replys
Liz

 

[Maesfen]

How is her internal system anyway? There is an old saying similar to "if a horse feels well on the inside, it will look well on the outside" Perhaps diet has a part to play in this. It might not stop it completely but it might help the skin to become supple and healthier which would help this situation.

Do you feed a feed balancer like Blue Chip or Top Spec to name but two, either of those in the correct dosage should help to improve the mare's system so thereby helping to have a healthier skin and coat.

 

[lizsamW]

Hi Pat

She is currently fed Simple Systems Lucie Bix with Lunar Eclipse supplement (Brewers Yeast, Magnesium and Linseed). In fairness she probably could do with a balancer as she doesn't get the recommended amount of Lucie Bix - she can't physically eat that much in two meals!!

Thanks for the advice, think i will pick something up, what do you think is the best balancer?

Thanks
Liz

 

[miamibear]

If i was you i would stop all feed altogether for a week or so and see what happens see if it improves, then start adding a balancer and see if you can see what the allergy (if its a feed allergy) is to.

My horse had nodular necreobiosis, which were lumps that had a scabby head, they sometimes oozed yellowy puss. When the scab was pulled off if the "spot" was squeezed a small hard lump of yellowy material popped out, these are collagen lumps. Does it sound anything like that?

I found oil made my boy worse, dont know why. I always had him on a no grain diet and that worked well.

 

[lizsamW]

Hi Mel

No it doesn't sound like what your horse has got. They start as a lump (like a fly bite) by the next day they are flat and scabby and the hair is stuck together with the yellowy crystals (yuk!). At the moment she has them on her face and belly with one on her foreleg, one on her hind leg and one to the side of her tail. They are sore to touch and sometimes itchy!

I am trying to put some weight on her for winter as the other horses she is out with are good dooers - so not much grass. Have moved her and my other horse into seperate field at the moment with more grass, but would still like to give her something, as she also needs the magnesium that i give her.

Thanks for the advice though
Liz x

 

[fairhill]

I can't help with the cause of scabs or balancers, but Feelgood 30 skin supplement might help with improve her general skin condition. My cob has scabby legs which sound quite similar to your horses sores, and hers also get worse when her coat is changing. I've been feeding this for the last year has really helped to reduce the severity of it.

Is there something in the field/stable that she might be allergic to if it only occurs over winter?

 

[lizsamW]

Hi fairhill

She lives out 24/7 but there maybe something in the field. She moved yards last summer and i thought that might help but it hasn't.

I was wondering though if it was a plant that grows this time of year? I think it must be an allergy coz none of the other have it! Will go for a wander around the field tonight and see if i can spot anything!

Thanks for your reply
Liz x

 

[vicm2509]

Maybe not much help but my dog has terrible skin, he would come out in massive flare ups of scabs and dry skin then lick himself raw because it was so itchy. I had him to the vet so many times for antibiotics, creams etc. The vet said it was a food alergy so we started the process of elimination which didnt work, so he went for alergy test, all negative.

I then did some research myself and found out all it was was dermatitis and there was not much i could do about it. But it seems cut grass also causes him to flare up.

I started to give him one cod liver oil tablet per day, after one week his skin was perfect and all his belly hair started to grow back. This was over a year ago and he hasnt had any problems since.

I took him to another vet a few months ago and mentioned his condition and what I did. He said that any animal (well dog, cat horse etc)with skin conditions he always advises cod liver oil first. So maybe worth a try?

 

[lizsamW]

OOh thanks for that!

Will try on her cod liver oil - it certainly won't do her any harm!

Liz

 

[miamibear]

It was worth a thought,

hope you get the poor girl sorted, cant be nice being sore all the time!

Good luck hun x

 

[lizsamW]

[ QUOTE ]
It was worth a thought,

hope you get the poor girl sorted, cant be nice being sore all the time!

Good luck hun x

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank you - need all the luck we can get - i have been pulling my hair out!!

Liz x

 

[lizsamW]

[ QUOTE ]
It sounds very much like my horse who has a sweat allergy. He gets big patches as you describe, worse if he is clipped and the hair isnt there to protect him (yey! NO CLIPPING!).


[/ QUOTE ]

i know this sounds a bit weird but don't suppose you have any photos of your horse when he has this skin problem?

Thanks
Liz

 

[vicijp]

I did - then my computer died!
This is the only one I have on Photobucket, it wasnt too bad here.

 

[vicijp]

That was a slight flare up of the massive one he had last winter. When it was at its worst I used to drape a whole roll of gamgee over his withers at night(under a sheet), would be sopping with pus in the morning.

 

[lizsamW]

I take it from the picture that you had removed the scabs? Haven't taken the scabs off of Dusty's skin - they are really sticky and gunky! Though i did try it on one patch but by the next morning that place was worse than ever! Hard to tell if its the same thing or not. Will see if i have a picture from last year.

Thanks Liz

 

[lizsamW]

Ok

Going to see if i can add a photo of her skin (last winter) http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k72/lizsam_photos/PA180032.jpg

 

[vicijp]

That was it when it was near enough healed.
If you dont take the scabs off the bacteria will keep breeding underneath them, his is a bacterial infection.
His is generally controlled with the daily hibiscrub washes and wound powder. When it gets really scabby he has the Protocon on to loosen them up, then remove them with hibiscrub in warm water. The wound powder is the only thing I have found that will 'dry' them up. The NAF purple spray is ok, he doesnt seem to be allergic to that, but the scabs come back quicker. Once I have taken them off and start with the wound powder, they generally clear up.

 

[vicijp]

Its hard to tell from that photo, Cheekster's coat never really gets like that even mid winter.
It looks quite similar to rainscald. Do the patches come back in similar places. Cheekster's are generally neck/withers area, belly or face.
I guess you have run a blood to check things out, whether it is bacterial or not?

 

[lizsamW]

Hi

The patches are usually in different places, at the moment mostly on her head and belly, But a few on her legs. Tonight when i checked her they are weeping quite badly. My friends horse has had rain scald and i don't think its that. The first vet that saw her said it was an allergy with a secondry infection. The second vet said it was fungal. She has these patches all over her at some point or another, back, sides, head, legs, belly etc.

One thing i have noticed is that her coat is really greasy - much more than my cobs is at the moment - maybe that is something to do with it?? All i do know is that it seems to be linked to her change of coat. Starts when winter coat comes through and goes when she sheds in the spring!

Thanks
Liz

 

[Natalie_H]

Hi Liz,

The rings you describe are exactly like the urticarial reaction my boy suffers with. Some people looked at it & said it's ringworm, but it isn't. They would come up in large hard lumps, then dip in the middle causing the ring round the outside. When very bad, the inside would go crusty & yellow & stick to his coat. Picking the crust off would be most uncomfortable for him - and very very difficult as it does not come off easily. Once cleaned, it would invariably be sticky & crusty the next day. He would also scratch them a lot which made it worse. The york test revealed him to be allergic to wheat, barley, rye, oats, linseed & peas. He is also allergic to storage mites & potentially anything he is exposed to that he is not used to - hyper hyper sensitive to any change in diet or environment. His always comes up when his winter coat comes through & goes when he loses his coat. However, this is nothing to do with his coat, but his hay intake. He is on hay with a low rye content, & as mentioned previously - atarax antihistamines when the rash comes up (20-30 per day!). Let me know if any of this helps, or if you need anymore info! I know how close to despair I have been with this!

 

[sqippa]

I know exactly what you mean!
My old boy started that last winter and hey presto October comes and he's got it again. Couldn't get to the bottom of it last year either. Given up now and just treat it as best I can. Poor lad gets very itchy though.

Sqip