what to do??? help needed :(

[only_me]

i have a dilema... remember i asked you lot what my horse had? the majority thought it was an allergic reaction to something, as did i. this is what it looked like last monday:

and now this is what it looks like, all scabby:

the underneath of the belly

the hindleg- it just on the point of the stifle

as you can see i have no idea what has happened - allergic reactions dont usually be all pus filled and then come out in scabs??

im am riding him at the moment as the scabs arnt sore at all, and am using a fluffy girth sleeve so that it dosent rub too much.
do you think i should take the scabs off by washing them in hibiscrub? or should i leave them to fall off themselves? the only problem with that is that they look very unsilghtly in public and people might start to think hes contagious?(even when hes not?)

ahh what do you think?

 

[dwi]

Ringworm?

 

[gloster_image]

I would hibiscrub them off but gently with very diluted hibiscrub. Could be bites but at this time of year i would question what is about to bite him like that? Has anything changed? Diet, field, rug, saddlecloth, anything really? Have u had the vet out? Tbh i would most definately have had the vet out by now xx

 

[only_me]

yeah had the vet out, but he did not know what it was either, assumed it was allergic reaction, so he got a weeks worth of neopen injections from me and is on restore at the moment. it isnt ringworm as i have been touching it all the time and i havent got it, nor have any others on the yard (including the horses

)

we think it could be a reaction to pollutants in the lake that we were in last sunday, maybe pig effulent?

 

[laura_1983]

you could be right with it being something to do with the lake, we have water up here that humans, horses, dogs etc arent allowed in because of something wrong in it!

id go with the diluted hibiscrub as mentioned above!

 

[debradley]

It's not something like we get - say (cant' spell it) but impatigo.? I know this can be caught very easily in dirty water. Don't even know if horses can get the same thing? Soz not much help but maybe worth having a look into? Would definately be washing with a weak hibiscrub or even salted water so as not to damage any good bacteria under there.

 

[samuelhorse]

middle piccie does look like ringworm,

Is he on straw, Ive read/seen a pony that came out in lumps like that where he had been clipped and where the straw touched him???
They could have got infected hence the pus???

Just a thought.

Hope he is better soon xxxxx

 

[only_me]

i am at a 2 phase by the sea tommorrow so am planning to go down after the xc and walk him in the water so that the sea water helps them a bit (might also work for the numerous cuts he has!!)

what is impatigo?

 

[the watcher]

Allergic reactions, in extreme cases, can go this way, the blotches are serum collecting under the skin and they can become very easily infected. This has the look of rain scald though - I suppose it is possible that the cause of the lumps and now lesions could be bacterial rather than chemical

 

[devonlass]

Ooh that looks nasty,poor pone

Don't have many suggestions but just wanted to elaborate on the allergy thing.

I suffer from many allergies and have had skin reactions go scabby before now.Not sure if the same applies to horses but perhaps if it does it still possible it is an allergic reaction??

Hope he feels better soon.

 

[only_me]

doubt its rainscald as its under the belly

thanks for the help, wasnt sure that allergic reactions could turn out like that!

had a look about impertigo and seems it only affects humans, so am going to stick to the lake theory, so now have to phone enviromental health deparment and ask them to test the water for pollutants! wonder how i can explain that i had my horse in there...

it just looks so horrible and there are some over his hernia so that it looks really bad

 

[debradley]

As far as I'm aware Impatigo (phinetically spelt) is a bacterial infection that can get into the blood stream - but wouldn't swear I'm right there. Just remember a friend of my daughters suffering from it after swimming in a lake in Italy and it looked very similar. It took quite a while to clear and was not localised to one spot would come up anywhere on her body. Maybe worth a goggle. Sorry if I'm leading you in the wrong direction.

 

[shadowboy]

It looks like ringworm in the 2nd two pics. Ringworm can take 7-14 days to show in other horses though. If not ringworm it looks like a type of horsey eczma (spg?) like a friends mare had about 3 years ago triggered by spring pollen from a specific tree. It went a bit like that but not as bad. Does the horse mind you touching it?

 

[the watcher]

'rainscald' or dermatophilosis, reflecting the name of the bacteria Dermatophilus congolensis which is responsible, would of course normally be present over the back and quarters. However in this case the horse has been exposed to either pollutants or bacteria under the belly - if it is bacteria, that might explain the similarity in the outcome. so if you are going to ask about testing the water I suppose it might be worth mentioning this bacteria (or not, it was just a suggestion)

i don't know if horses react to staphylococcal infections (impetigo is in this group), but see no reason why they would not, so this is another potential cause to investigate

 

[only_me]

mmm.. might be a good idea! impetigo looks very similar to what he has, but again not sure if horses can get it?

horse doesnt mind at all if i touch it!

 

[the watcher]

Having just googled it, they can most certainly get staphylococcal infections

 

[furby]

talking about allergic reactions... it looks like hes just been clipped, could they be heat sores (heat from clippers) or a reaction to the clipper oil??

 

[only_me]

nah, was clipped last december

hes 7/8 tb and has been very well rugged up so that we dont have to reclip him

plus he has a very fine coat anyways

thanks for suggestions!! will ask vet tommorrow as he is also competing