Skin condition - and ideas? >long<

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Gypley

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So before I get started, I'd like to let you all know ill be ringing the vet first thing, but wondered in the meantime if anyone could hazard a guess as to what this could be.

A bit of background - 2 1/2 y/o, bought in feb out the field from a girl who chucked him in a field and waved at him on her way to work. upon viewing noticed he was very scurfy and for want of a better word, completely minging. Was also quite underweight.

Got him home and wormed him, when I went up first thing he had scratched so hard on the fence posts he wiggled them out the ground. Put this down to being so scurfy and so was grooming him thoroughly every day, but no change.
On closer investigation of his skin it appeared he had lice (I'd never had a horse with lice, or knew of anyone who had and felt awful I'd not treated it sooner!im a terrible mum I know!) so treated with louse powder (load of rubbish). 2nd attempt was a call to the vets for advice, vet advised Coopers applied once, then again two weeks later.

Followed instructions and this made a huge difference. Most of the scurf had gone, couldn't see anymore lice and was pretty happy it was sorted. I also carried on treating with louse powder for about 2 weeks after to repel any new lice! Weight by this point had picked up very slightly.

At this point horses started to loose their winter coats and we were in the process of moving yards. He was still biting himself occasionally, but I put this down to his coat irritating him.

Moved yards (now coming in at night) and started giving him a scoop of alpha oil, 2/3 scoop of sugar beet and 1/2 scoop of conditioning cubes(twice a day) with a huge haynet at night and hay in the field in the day.
Scratching was still not getting any better, he would do anything to get you to scratch him all over, and was biting himself to the point where he was going bald in places. I also by this point noticed he has next to no summer coat! Underneath the 'baby fluff' there really isn't anything there at all.

So I decided i really needed to blast these lice once and for all, so on Tuesday he was wormed with eqvalan (had read it was good for killing skin parasites from the inside). Wednesday I bathed him with a bottle and a half of insecticidal shampoo, and when he dried smothered him in coopers. Swapped all his rugs for new and changed his bedding.

Also since upping his feed about 3 weeks ago, he's still not really gained :/

Came up tonight and caught him scratching on a low tree branch. He had rubbed all the hair away and drew blood!!! I'm loosing the will to live with this now and feel so sorry for him. I hibi scrubbed it tonight and put some sudo crem on.
Ill try and post a pic below but I'm not very good.
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Faracat said:
Is it possible that he had lice, but also has sweet itch? I would talk to the Vet again.
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Not sure if you can see the pic, but it did cross my mind. No sign of him rubbing his tail though and he's been like this since winter. (Although this is the worst he has done to himself)
 
No, I can't see the pic, so it was just an idea based on your description of him rubbing until he bled. Poor boy, hopefully you'll get to the bottom of the problem soon. :)
 
Try removing alfalfa/mollases/soya from his diet (all 3 make my mare itchy)
And I'd get some bloods done to check liver etc
 
Scurfy dry itchy skin can be signs of essential fatty acid deficiency omega 3 and 6 are essential fatty acids needed to form normal skin cells and their membranes that maintain cell hydration,maintaining hydration of skin cells keeps skin soft and supple and helps to reduce dry skin issues.

LINSEED is an excellent source of these essential fatty acids ,and horses really enjoy it .
I would not use hibi scrub on sore skin it can be quite harsh and leave the skin very dry .
I hope this helps .
 
shergar said:
LINSEED is an excellent source of these essential fatty acids ,and horses really enjoy it .
I would not use hibi scrub on sore skin it can be quite harsh and leave the skin very dry .
I hope this helps .
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Thanks, did try him on linseed but did not notice enough of a difference to warrant buying another tub. Perhaps I should have perserverd
 
Gypley said:
Thanks, did try him on linseed but did not notice enough of a difference to warrant buying another tub. Perhaps I should have perserverd
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Don't get it in a tub, buy it in 20kg sacks from Charnwood milling or somewhere similar.
 
As you've seriously attacked the lice the next step would be to wash in a shampoo that will deal with scurfy skin - scurf can also be a sign of fungal infection and that is itchy and will bleed if itched hard.

Best shampoo I've used for nearly a decade is Nizoral - you can buy it from the chemist and it's for dandruff. Also great for mudfever et al!

Dilute in hand hot water for best results work well into the hair to skin level. Leave for 20 mins and then rinse off.

For treating dry scurfy skin from within feed one cup Linseed daily - freshly ground is best as it also helps joints too.

Also agree with others that cutting out all Soy & Lucerne products is a good idea. Lucerne does make some horses photosensitive.
 
My gelding is a bit like this, but I've had him nearly three years and I know this is how he sheds. He also has dermoline baths, when I got him he was crawling with lice, and this sadly comes every winter, but you don't know about it till early spring...trouble is, lice can live on more or less anything they've scratched themselves on, trees, walls, you must dettol and hot water everything, headcollars, lead ropes, numnahs, stable, rugs...i can't tell you how amazing dermoline is, and its great value. Calm it on the powder though as it will sting after all your attempts and the lice bites, I promise you'll only need to shampoo him once then again in a fortnight, it's that good. Get some Johnson's baby lotion wipes (the pink ones) and give him a wipe on his dry and scaly skin, it will soothe him too...hope all goes well, if it all works out, just keep your eye on him next spring. Hope I've helped!x
 
Oh I use sunflower oil and Dodson and Horrell pasture mix with some mollichaff, that flattens them up In no time, the oil will also be good for his coat.x
 
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