Skin problem on inner hind thighs/gaskins, possible rainscald???Treatment??

A

aradiagreen

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 February 2012
Messages
136
Location
Lincoln
Visit site
Hi everyone,

I own Ozzy, a 13.2hh welsh cob type gelding who's 3.5yrs old and I've owned for about 10months. He lives out 24/7 on our large local common-land with about 30 other horses. He has worn a no-fill turnout rug over winter as he grows an incredibly thick winter coat - when I bought him last Spring he had been a little neglected and his fur had grown so long it had 'dreadlocked' between his legs and under his belly and I had to cut the matts out one a day (as he didn't like me doing it). I wanted to avoid that happening again which is why I've rugged him even though I know he could manage without a rug. There are a few trees and windbreaks on the common but no stable or shelter. The ground is very wet and muddy in places and his lower legs (with thick feathers) are always wet and muddy though the higher affected parts are almost always dry and clean, just very hairy! He has huge scabs on all of his heels (from before I bought him) which I assume is from mud fever in the past(?) I've trimmed his feathers and so far so good...

We are coming to the end (I hope!) of winter now and he's managed to avoid mudfever on his lower legs. However, the bulbs of his feet are soft and broken away - I've been told that's normal and will be fine once the ground dries. Is this advice correct?

About 3weeks ago I noticed a skin condition starting on the insides of his hind thighs/gaskins. At first the fur felt like it had bumps under it. You can pull tufts of hair out with thick grey/white stuff round the roots. Now he has a bald patch on each inner hind leg where the bald skin is dry and grey with a few scabs. The skin feels hot in places and the 'bumpy fur' spreads up higher around the bald patches. He doesn't seem to mind me touching any of it.
He doesn't seem itchy or bothered by any of it. I've looked at pics on the Net of skin conditions and rainscald sounds most likely - is this the same as mud fever? I thought they were different things! I've been applying a skin calming spray containing tea tree oil and is an anti-bacterial and anti-fungal spray. It has not improved yet.

Is it contagious? Some internet-sites say you can leave it?? Others say penecillin is needed? We don't have any facilities, not even a tap so bathing is difficult - I'm ordering a hand-pump pressure washer this week that I can fill with warm water and use to wash his legs and I've bought an insecticidal shampoo. Or would Hibiscrub be better??

I will try to add a photo I took with my phone though its not very good.

Also he has extremely long hair and what looks like dandruff in his mane and over his rump though I didn't think that was related and should be fine once I can bathe him once the weather warms up. Am I right?

So....
Do you think it sounds like rain scald on his inner hind gaskins?
How should I treat it?
Are soft, broken bulbs of heels normal when they're wet all the time?
Is the 'dandruff' on his mane and coat normal?
If it is rain scald do I need to warn the other owners?
And will he be ok left turned out (while being treated)?

Any advice would be much appreciated! Sorry I've written so much but its my first ever post and I wanted to make sure I got all the details in!

Hannah and Ozzy.

PS: I can't work out how to add a photo!:o
 
Could be feather mites. My cob has a problem with these and come the winter she has dandruff on her inner thighs and around her stifle area. Where there's dandruff there's usually mites.
 
Rainscald and mites are most likely causes.

Once you explore those routes, have a look for my pemphigus thread - lots of pics and very rare but the bumps before the hair
Comes off are very familiar
 
POPULARFURBALL: Thanks, I took a look at your thread and now I'm panicking! I'll get the vet out to be safe - its just we don't have a local horse vet here and the costs just to call them out are massive. But the peace of mind will be worth it.

The photo you uploaded that is a close up with the fur pulled back with the grey skin underneath and the scabs does look similar. :(

He's a good doer and lives out 24/7 with just grass and odd carrots. Do you think a feed balancer would help? Or a supplement of some kind? In the summer he really puts on weight so I don't really want to be feeding him concentrates then.

The way the fur comes out reminds me of mudfever but I find it odd that he doesn't have it in his very wet and muddy feathers but does have it high up on the insides of his thigh where its pretty dry and mud-free, just very hairy!

He does have dandruff through his coat on his back and particularly his mane but I'd put this down to maybe using mane conditioner a lot in summer, him never having a bath and being rugged up for the past few months. So is it NOT normal to have dandruff - should I be counting it as a symptom?? He doesn't have dandruff on his legs or near the affected area btw.

Oh dear.

Thanks for all your help! I have asked other owners and a vet who happened to be with a friend one day but they all just ummed and erred and couldn't give me a straight answer. I guess a skin scraping under the microscope by a competent vet is needed. I'd feel terrible if it spread over his whole body.

Oh and Popularfurball: It's great to see your pony's progress, its clear you're a devoted owner and congratulations on the Le Trec, that must have been a real mile-stone!

Hannah
 
Rainscald develops where it is warm and damp - inner thighs is a fabulous warm and sweaty place :)

Don't panic with the pemphigus - it's very rare and horrendously under researched, and badly publicised. Very common in dogs (who incidentally don't die from it) and humans have it - again not fatal - so the press about 90% survival rate is tosh. Problems are caused by steroid use, not by the disease. She has had another flare up this winter but much less severe - I suspect it is related o vaccinations so will not be having them this year. Please don't panic, it's really uncommon but I had a hellish two years fighting for diagnosis when it was "obvious" she had bad sweet itch, or rain scald - and that I didn't care for her properly to mange the problems. I had no idea about pemphigus really and it would have Been useful if I did!!

I would have scrapings initially to see if it is fungal and then if nothing shows some biopsies.
 
Wow, I feel so relieved! I think I know what's wrong with Ozzy!

Just to catch up:

He originally started showing bare patched on the insides of his thighs. I treated it with plain old sudocreme and it improved and the hair grew back.

Couple of weeks later it started again but this time on the outsides of his thighs - now it has spread to his face on either side of his nose. Its very unsightly but doesn't seem to bother him. Its not itchy, crusty, oozing or scabby. Just bald! He's a dark brown in winter and the bare skin is a very dark colour.

After much research I think its SEASONAL ALOPECIA! :D The hair just comes out when you pull it or brush. he has a very thick winter coat that's starting to shed and he has been rugged up because he grows a really thick coat and I hoped a rug would mean it wouldn't grow as thich this winter. When I got him last spring he was so matted and uncomfortable and I wanted to avoid this this year.

From what I've read it seems to come from them being too warm and often shows up in spring or autumn time as the coat changes. The weather has been unseasonably warm recently and warm one week and cold the next! The vet is seeing him Saturday but I'm pretty confident that this is it! I feel so relieved to know he's ok!

Thanks to everyone who gave advice, thanks for taking the trouble - I was tearing my hair out(!!!) :rolleyes:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top