Very itchy foal - Help!!

QueenBella

QueenBella

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 March 2020
Messages
124
Location
Ireland
Visit site
Hi all need advice please!

Foal was born on 24th of May - he was moved to a field close to a lake on the 16th of June and has been itching like mad since. He was stabled for 2 nights before being moved to this field and rubbed the majority of hair off his neck.

We went to the vets on the 16th to scan my mare and they looked at the foal and said to put sudocream on the hair loss which we did but didn't do much good.

As seen in photos he has done a considerable amount of rubbing since and I don't know if its the muggy weather, flies, a combination of both or something else. I sent photos to another vet this weekend and he said to try butox and see if its lice/mites related but I'm not sure how the foal would have got lice.

Mare is up to date with worming and I think the foal is too young to give a worm dose and I also think he's too young to be having his foal shed but maybe the hot weather is bringing it on.

Has anyone seen anything like this so shed some light on how to help? thank you!
 

Attachments

  • IMG_9328.jpg
    IMG_9328.jpg
    93.7 KB · Views: 52
  • IMG_9329.jpg
    IMG_9329.jpg
    88.2 KB · Views: 47
  • IMG_9327.jpg
    IMG_9327.jpg
    88 KB · Views: 49
  • IMG_9325.jpg
    IMG_9325.jpg
    156.9 KB · Views: 51
  • IMG_9324.jpg
    IMG_9324.jpg
    69 KB · Views: 55
dorsetladette said:
Can you bath him in a medicated shampoo to try and help calm the skin/itch?

Is mum getting fed anything that might be causing a reaction in him?
Click to expand...
Will definitely try but hes quite spirited but will try get help to hold him.

Not really she gets the odd scoop of stud cubes to put fly spray on them and she has been on that prior to foaling and since he was born.
 
Foal should be wormed at 1 month with Panacur and definitely not out of the realms of possibility that he has lice so I would treat for that. Otherwise, get him moved to somewhere less midgey and he may need a short course of steroids to get on top of it if he stays really itchy.
 
LadyGascoyne said:
Oooh poor baby. I'd move him to a high hill where it is likely to catch the wind, and well away from any stagnant water.

Symptoms starting (or worsening) when moved to near water is very typical of midge allergies.

Does his dam or sire have sweet itch? I believe it is often hereditary.
Click to expand...
I feel so sorry for him but he is in good spirits. The field is roughly 500m from the lake and on high ground but could definitely be fly/midge related.

No his dam doesn't have sweet itch and almost certain the sire doesn't either as he passed inspections. I have his full sister and no signs of it either.
 
QueenBella said:
Will definitely try but hes quite spirited but will try get help to hold him.

Not really she gets the odd scoop of stud cubes to put fly spray on them and she has been on that prior to foaling and since he was born.
Click to expand...

You can get a herbal no rinse shampoo - I put a cap full in half a bucket of water when i'm washing off after work. https://alvamlmltd.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=351

Are you putting fly spray on the foal? (I don't think there is a right or wrong answer here, just a process of elimination really)

It does sound like it's a midgy irritation, but the 2 days stabled throws a spanner in the theory a little. I wonder if he's picked up a few friends from the bedding in the stable? maybe a dusting of louse powder would be beneficial.
 
TheMule said:
Foal should be wormed at 1 month with Panacur and definitely not out of the realms of possibility that he has lice so I would treat for that. Otherwise, get him moved to somewhere less midgey and he may need a short course of steroids to get on top of it if he stays really itchy.
Click to expand...
Thank you, I'm assuming its the panacur liquid and not the paste? Yes I will treat for lice.

I will get him moved and hopefully that will help. Do you think a period of stabling would do any good? I just feel the flies are rampant here at the minute, I'm in the west of Ireland with lakes all around so I feel there's no escaping them.
 
QueenBella said:
I feel so sorry for him but he is in good spirits. The field is roughly 500m from the lake and on high ground but could definitely be fly/midge related.

No his dam doesn't have sweet itch and almost certain the sire doesn't either as he passed inspections. I have his full sister and no signs of it either.
Click to expand...

I managed a horse with sweet itch (if it is that) very successfully by keeping her on a hill, reducing sugar in her diet as much as possible because it affects inflammation, feeding garlic, nettle, and mint (would obviously need to work that in slowly when he's off mum) and using a combination of the Red Horse fly spray and weirdly, Avon Skin so Soft spray. For some reason, bugs hate it 🤣 definitely check with your vet though because foals could be affected differently. I got her to the point of being able to stay out 24/7 when it was dry, and only needing day time stabling and a fly rug over spring or when it rained.

I agree with the poster above (can't scroll up to see who it was because forum is playing up but it might be @TheMule ) and treat as if for mites first too.
 
I hope very much I am wrong, but a friends foal presented like this and unfortunately went on to suffer awful sweet itch all of its life, even stabling gave little respite if it was still in an unsuitable environment. A definite move to higher windier land away from any water sources ASAP and for the rest of it's life if it is sweet itch sadly. In the case of my friends filly it did transpire at a much later date that the sire had quite a few offspring with sweet itch but sadly that took a good few years to be recognised as an ongoing issue with many of his progeny.

I really hope it turns out to be something very treatable but it will be very sad if it is SI.
 
Sweet itch can be hereditary (in the way a propensity for any auto-immune condition is) but can also just develop at any time, so you can't rely on genetics to rule it out. It certainly seems like the simplest explanation given symptoms and the environment.

If he was an adult horse I would suggest deosect as it would deal with any potential lice or mites as well as giving him some midge protection but it's so strong I would be hesitant to use it on a foal, especially with already rubbed skin, and if his immune system is already elevated he might have a reaction to that as well. Butox seems similar, so I would be careful with it.

Biteback have a soothing cream with benzyl benzoate which is intended for broken or irritated skin which might help him in the short term. I think I agree that moving him is the best option.
 
Just noticed you are here in the west of Ireland QueenBella. If you would like to pm me the dam and sire's names I can check and see if it is from the same breeding lines as my friends was. Please don't post the information on here though I do not want to inadvertently point the finger at a dam or sire that have absolutely no background of SI in their breeding.
 
QueenBella said:
Thank you, I'm assuming its the panacur liquid and not the paste? Yes I will treat for lice.

I will get him moved and hopefully that will help. Do you think a period of stabling would do any good? I just feel the flies are rampant here at the minute, I'm in the west of Ireland with lakes all around so I feel there's no escaping them.
Click to expand...

The paste is fine. Then should be on 6 weekly worming schedule until a yearling
The problem with stabling is that may remove the original cause, but it facilitates the itching
 
Hopefully it’s lice. That would be logical and an easy fix. If it is lice, if you get the coat wet you can nit comb the hatched ones out to give some relief. I treat then comb out and the rest die off.
 
Itchy skin can indicate a liver issue, and the area of rubbing shown in the photos isn't typical for lice or sweet itch, though obviously there can be some variation. It could be worth considering a liver tonic - I've used Restore from Global Herbs for a young foal in the past with similar presentation with excellent results (treated for lice initially too) but I would be inclined to call their helpline to discuss the situation and reassurance that it was ok to use their product for the horse/foal concerned rather than taking an unknown person (me!) 's advice first.
 
is the foal just itching on the neck and head or all over ?

Ive seen my foals rub on neck and chest if they get too hot, any chance you can bring in during the worst of the heat ?
 
Hi all,

Sorry to just abandon the thread I wasn't receiving notifications and I was away for awhile but to update the itchy foal, it just..stopped? Must have been a foal shed coming on.
I have been using fly spray but didn't get around to dosing him yet as it wasn't in stock at my local vets so had to order online but it didn't come before the holidays. He seems fine and is having a normal foal shed I think by the looks of things.

Thank you everyone for your help, its great to have this forum to turn to!! :)
 

Attachments

  • IMG_9754.jpg
    IMG_9754.jpg
    80 KB · Views: 13
  • IMG_9751.jpg
    IMG_9751.jpg
    96.7 KB · Views: 13
Asha said:
is the foal just itching on the neck and head or all over ?

Ive seen my foals rub on neck and chest if they get too hot, any chance you can bring in during the worst of the heat ?
Click to expand...
Mine did this when we had that heatwave in spring - he hadn't shed his winter coat and rubbed his fluffy chest literally raw. Neighbour was convinced it would be lice but it wasn't, he was just too hot. I ended up clipping his chest and it started to heal straight away because he stopped scratching. It was quite nasty and he did it pretty much overnight.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top