skin biopsy to find cause of pastern dermatitis, anyone had one?

mightymammoth

mightymammoth

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I'm trying to find out what's causing my horses ongoing pastern dermatitis and am thinking of having a skin biopsy on the area. Has anyone had one for their horse? Was is very invasive? What was the recovery? ie how long box rest?

Was it expensive and did it help to diagnose the problem?

thanks
 
Yes in early 2010 my mare had skin biopsies for a skin issue that started off like mud fever that got worse and the skin just sloughed off her legs extending over her fetlocks and up her cannons. She was sedated and had 1 small suture in each place with nylon that i took out myself. I cant remember what the cost was but it didnt cover her insurance excess. The mare was on box rest anyway though they dont really need box rest for a punch biopsy. My mare had pseudomonas as well as other nasty things which were sensitive to baytil which she couldnt have due to being in foal. She had a prolonged course of antibiotics and we used flamazine and iodine to treat her legs topically. She did heal but she was left with an issue that meant she couldnt be turned out in wet mud else it all kicked off again.
 
Depends on type of skin biopsy and depth of biopsy I'd reckon. As an educated guess, it'd be a case of a few punch biopsies like flaxen's horse had. Not particularly pleasant but v quick and easy to preform. A suture or two in each and not a very big deal in the grand scheme of things. Couldn't tell you much about costs though.
 
I had skin scrapings done on a Clydesdale mare, didn't need stitches. It came back with no definitive results. Now I think she was probably allergic/sensitive to something we were feeding her. My current Draft mare has pastern dermatitis but it is vastly improved since I recently stopped feeding her anything with wheat as an ingredient (not even the tiniest bit).
 
I had a scraping done last summer on Sedge, my rescued ex chaser - nothing revealed other than usual environmental bacteria. It is back this year and I am struggling to keep the flies off as the scabs reveal healing skin underneath - anyone bandaged? I thought I might try an old sock, won't sit too close to the skin.
That's interesting about food, mine gets grass pellets, Equibeet and some pony nuts - must check the ingredients of them.
 
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