what is this? horse being driven mad by it.

[only_me]

Merlin appears to have incredibly itchy feet at the moment, the whites only (he has 3 white feet)

He is being driven mad by it, it appears to be from a dressage arena which was cut by a lawnmower but we arnt sure. I washed them with hibiscrub to try and allieviate the itch, which seems to have helped.

What do you think? We have never seen it before

any ideas?

 

[Guinness]

Do you put sun cream on them when hes out? Could be fly bites, or an allergic reaction maybe. I would try putting something like aloe or witch hazel on to soothe and see if that helps

 

[CracklinRosie]

Sounds like it could be stable mites!

 

[lhotse]

Looks like harvest mites to me, plus a bit of sunburn as well. Putting suncream on it will probably make it worse. I turn my horse out in an overreach boot on her white foot, this stops any sunburn so might be worth doing with yours until the inflamation goes down. As for getting rid of the mites, that is more difficult, we need some rain!!! I would smother it in sudocrem and keep the sun off.

 

[only_me]

definately not sunburn, as its only below his fetlocks that he has white hair/pink skin

We have torrential rain at the moment, its on and off, on and off.

Not stable mites, as he only got itchy after being ridden in the field.

What are harvets mites?

 

[lhotse]

They can easily get sunburt on the backs of their pasterns, I've seen it many times, and mine would be if i didn't cover it up. Harvest mights live in the grass, they are a common occurance when the weather has been dry, like it has been. They are usually more of a problem in august, hence the name, but this summer has been so hot and dry that many things are early this year. Give your vet a call to get some stuff to treat it with, the stuff we used to use is banned now (allugan). I would doubt that it is because he was ridden in a cut field, it's probably just coinsidence.

 

[CracklinRosie]

The fact that he only got itchy after being ridden in the field could just be coincidence. It definitely sounds like mites, be they harvest or stable.

Mites
Several types of tiny mites cause skin conditions, collectively called mange, in horses. Generally the symptoms of mange include areas of cracked, dry skin and formation of scabs. Mite activity is extremely irritating and results in scratching, rubbing and lick-ing at infested areas. Secondary infections of the infested areas are possible. Sarcoptic, chorioptic and psoroptic manges of horses are caused by separate species of small mites which invade the skin of the horse. All of these mites are very difficult to see without magnification. A sarcoptic mange mite, Sarcoptes scabiei equi, is shown in Figure 14. Confirmation of a mite infestation is usually by examination of skin scrapings or excised mites under a microscope. Early detection is important in limiting the spread of the mites to other horses and is equally important to prevent severe mange on an animal. These mites spread from horse to horse by direct contact, or by the use of common grooming tools and tack. Frequent grooming is important for early detection; when symptoms appear, consult a veterinarian for confirmation and treatment.

Get your vet out to confirm. If so he might give your horse a shot of Dectomax. Should clear up quickly after that.

 

[Rouletterose]

It looks very similar to my horses problem last summer, my vet thought definately caused by bites that had become infected, it only cleared up with antibiotics, I had already used Hibiscrub, and then covered with dermagel, but it took the antibiotics to get rid of it.

 

[Boysy]

Looks like feather mites and no you don't need feathers to get them, Harvest mites are a strong possibilty as well.

You need a good antifungal shampoo like Dermoline Insecticidal or Gold Label Antifungal, wash and soak for 10 minutes before rinsing then apply a really good thick antibacterial cream or powder to stop re-infection and soothe the sore bits. Sudocrem is always a good bet or Aromaesse products work very well.

Deosect will keep them at bay for future reference but do not apply to sore or broken skin and water it down before using.

 

[Booboos]

Looks like harvest mites to me. Camrosa used to work really well on a horse I had who had sever problems with them all over his muzzle.