Sore pink nose-what could have caused it?

[daughter's groom]

On our yard is a pony which has a very sensitive pink nose. This extends over all his mouth and under his chin. He has developed a very sore, blistery rash all over the pink parts and the edges of his nostrils have dried and split. He has been on grazing which contains some buttercup. Other horses grazing with him are unaffected. Could this be caused by the buttercups? What other plants may have caused this? Can anyone suggest a good site to research the possibilities? All ideas much appreciated, thanks.

 

[MillyMoomie]

Sounds like photo sensitivity which is generally linked to liver damage. Would be worth some tests.

 

[holeymoley]

Definitely buttercups . You can only change grazing to less buttercups , also plaster with Sudocrem or something like that .

 

[daughter's groom]

Thank yo both. Have done both your suggestions Holeymoley. Millymoomie, is photo sensitvity something you have first hand knowledge of? Would be interested to know more.

 

[MillyMoomie]

Hey, unfortunately yes I have a lot of experience with equines suffering from this... The reason I thought of it in this case is because you mentioned none of the others are affected.
I would say 9 times out of 10 the horses I see with it is caused by large ragwort ingestation which destroys the liver.
Of course I am jaded by my experiences so don't panic!! Maybe try to find out the history, get some simple tests done by your vet and try the other posters suggestions. Good luck.

 

[ester]

definitely get the vet to take some bloods for liver function, at the very least it is worth ruling out.

 

[daughter's groom]

Suspect buttercups at present as no other symptoms presenting but will have bloods as vet due this week

 

[ester]

good plan, do you still have buttercups? Ours have been gone since end of Julyish

 

[daughter's groom]

No flowers long gone but lots of plants in one of the fields

 

[Tinypony]

I have a chesnut gelding with pink nose who used to have this every year. I thought it was buttercups, had him liver tested but it was OK. Then I moved to somewhere with very few buttercups, and it continued. He is registered with a holistic vet, who looked at photos and sent some little white pills. Within a few days it started to heal and didn't come back. I do have to protect him from sunburn, but that's because he has a pink nose. If he does catch the sun a bit it doesn't look the same as this rash. The vet said it was an allergy, but he said it could be a number of things, might not be buttercups.
Last winter I changed his diet completely, he's now on micronised linseed, fast fibre, Pro Hoof, a bit of non-molassed chaff and some salt. This summer it hasn't happened at all. So I don't know if last year's little white pills did it, or the change of diet. So, it might be buttercups, but it might not.