Skin Problem on one of my boys

[Lil' Horse Lover]

My little guy Spirit has seemed to have developed a rash (or something else???) of some-sort. I'm not sure how long he's had it or anything because his hair was pretty long, I just noticed it today as I was clipping him again. Before I clipped him I never noticed him itching a lot or any marks or worn hair where he may have been itching or rubbing, there was no sign of it until after I clipped him.

Anyone seen this before on any of your horses, or something similar? What did you do?

I've never seen this on him before and he's 2 yrs. old and I've had him his whole life.

I shaved the spots that I could find so far down really close so I could see them better. On the shaved spots there's lots of dry /scabby skin.

I'll be talking to the vet but until I get ahold of her I thought I'd post on here for any advice that can be given.

 

[Katiean]

That looks like what my horse has/had. It is going away now. With my mare at firstI thought she was getting bitten by Red ants. But no one else had these bite/bumps. She had recently had a feed change (before the bumps). I have changed her back to what she had been eating and the bumps are all but gone. You might check your feed.

 

[LittleRibbie]

Poor little Spirit. Wish I could help....I'm one of these...call the vet types which you have already done. Hope you get answers and be sure to post the out come. The pictures were good examples for the future w/any of my own gang.

 

[Lil' Horse Lover]

I'm not sure if its the feed, he's been on the same hay for a while.

Well I just got off the phone with the vet, she said it sounds like allergies and to give him some benedril (sp?) and see if it helps and if not than she'll come out and give him some other stuff. She said to give him 1 capsule, give him a day and see if it helps. So we'll see.

If anybody else has had experience with this I'd still appreciate advice, thanks.

Edited to add: Oh and he seems to be feeling fine; eating, drinking, playing, being a lil' terd as usual, etc.

 

[rcfarm]

My gelding had the same thing , vet said allergies also. Got worse, had to put him on Dex for awhile. Hated to , but he was terrible and in misery. He is fine now all cleared up

 

[Laura Leopard]

That looks just like what one of mine has going on too. I just posted about bad skin recently. Didn't think about allergies other than fly allergies. Maybe I'll look into that.

 

[sfmini]

Looks like ringworm to me. No, it isn't worms, it is fungus.

 

[Lil' Horse Lover]

That looks just like what one of mine has going on too. I just posted about bad skin recently. Didn't think about allergies other than fly allergies. Maybe I'll look into that.

What have you done for yours? Is it getting better?

 

[Laura Leopard]

That looks just like what one of mine has going on too. I just posted about bad skin recently. Didn't think about allergies other than fly allergies. Maybe I'll look into that.

What have you done for yours? Is it getting better?

I've just been treating the spots with a product called Nu-Stock. It makes them go away. I really want to get at the underlying cause though.

 

[Lil' Horse Lover]

I had my mom look at him after she came home from work and she's thinking bug bites, so maybe he's having a reaction to them? That's what she's thinking, which I guess could very well be possible.

So could it just be the bugs gettin' to him?

 

[Lil' Horse Lover]

That looks just like what one of mine has going on too. I just posted about bad skin recently. Didn't think about allergies other than fly allergies. Maybe I'll look into that.

What have you done for yours? Is it getting better?

I've just been treating the spots with a product called Nu-Stock. It makes them go away. I really want to get at the underlying cause though.

Okay thank you, yes I know what you mean about getting at the underlying cause. Its driving me crazy.

 

[albahurst]

Hi Anna-

Sorry to hear about Spirit. You might try a couple of things, in addition to the Benedryl. I would probably give him a bath in Chlorahexadine (let it sit on him for about 10 minutes before rinsing). If it is a fungus, then I have used Miconazole shampoo (let it set about 10 min before rinsing). You might have the vet do a skin scrape- he/she might be able to tell better if they see it. It could very well be bug bites.

Once I had a horse that had bacteria and fungus going at the same time and so had to use oral antibiotics and oral fungal medication. Cleared it up! Let the sun and air get to it- good you clipped it.

Hope little Spirit feels better soon.

Peggy

 

[Lil' Horse Lover]

Hi Anna-Sorry to hear about Spirit. You might try a couple of things, in addition to the Benedryl. I would probably give him a bath in Chlorahexadine (let it sit on him for about 10 minutes before rinsing). If it is a fungus, then I have used Miconazole shampoo (let it set about 10 min before rinsing). You might have the vet do a skin scrape- he/she might be able to tell better if they see it. It could very well be bug bites.

Once I had a horse that had bacteria and fungus going at the same time and so had to use oral antibiotics and oral fungal medication. Cleared it up! Let the sun and air get to it- good you clipped it.

Hope little Spirit feels better soon.

Peggy

Hey Peggy,

I'll try and pick up some Chlorahexadine and Miconazole tomorrow when I got to town, do you know where/what type of store I can get those?

Would they be at a feed/supply store like Carter Country or Co-op? Or would they be available at Wal-mart?

I'll finish clipping him tomorrow morning, hopefully that helps too, he had a pretty long/thick coat already.

Thanks again for your reply and advice.

P.S. Ruckus is doing great!

 

[mizbeth]

Yes, it looks like ring worm to me too. Where do you live that this horse still has long hair? When they don't shed like they should that is good sign they are still wormy. Could be your dewormer is not good? Horses that are wormy - from what I hear, here are more prone to ring worm.

In any case it appears to be a fungus. Allergies I would think would have some swelling? Clipping and opening them up to air will sure help, but there are other things you can get to aid in this as well.

Someone here can tell you what to use, but just plain bleach/water mixed will help dry them up.

Good luck,

Betj

 

[albahurst]

Hi Anna-Sorry to hear about Spirit. You might try a couple of things, in addition to the Benedryl. I would probably give him a bath in Chlorahexadine (let it sit on him for about 10 minutes before rinsing). If it is a fungus, then I have used Miconazole shampoo (let it set about 10 min before rinsing). You might have the vet do a skin scrape- he/she might be able to tell better if they see it. It could very well be bug bites.

Once I had a horse that had bacteria and fungus going at the same time and so had to use oral antibiotics and oral fungal medication. Cleared it up! Let the sun and air get to it- good you clipped it.

Hope little Spirit feels better soon.

Peggy

Hey Peggy,

I'll try and pick up some Chlorahexadine and Miconazole tomorrow when I got to town, do you know where/what type of store I can get those?

Would they be at a feed/supply store like Carter Country or Co-op? Or would they be available at Wal-mart?

I'll finish clipping him tomorrow morning, hopefully that helps too, he had a pretty long/thick coat already.

Thanks again for your reply and advice.

P.S. Ruckus is doing great!

Anna- I had to get the shampoos and the medications through our vet. I don't know if you can get shampoos through a supply company or not.

I sent you a PM.

Ruckus looks great! Has he started visiting hospitals yet?

 

[Lil' Horse Lover]

Yes, it looks like ring worm to me too. Where do you live that this horse still has long hair? When they don't shed like they should that is good sign they are still wormy. Could be your dewormer is not good? Horses that are wormy - from what I hear, here are more prone to ring worm.

Well I live in Northern Idaho, he had a longer coat because I clipped him late spring/early summer and off and on there's been some chilly weather so he ended up growing a longer coat than just a summer coat, that's why I clipped him again. It's not like a really long wintery coat or anything, but longer than I'd like for the heat we are having now.

 

[mizbeth]

Oh I see now. When I first looked at the photo, in the half dark with not a full cup of coffee, I thought he had really long hair. But that's where you clipped him very short and when I looked again I see what you mean. Yes, a bit longer than normal, but not like I first though. Gee - Sorry.

I know he will heal up just fine, the air will help him more than anything since this is most likely a fungus, whether ring worm or rain rot, that air will help him heal.

Beth

 

[Kawgirl]

It would be a good idea to clean the clipper blades that you use on him before using them on other horses. If it's something contagious, you could spread it to other horses.

 

[Lil' Horse Lover]

It would be a good idea to clean the clipper blades that you use on him before using them on other horses. If it's something contagious, you could spread it to other horses.

Yep, I thought of that too, don't wanna give it to any other horses, thats for sure. Thanks for the reminder though.

 

[~Dan]

To me, the untrained eye, It looks like fly bites, with would make sense being scabby. looks like the work of horse flys (if you have any out there) they get pretty big here, about an inch to an inch an a half.

Dan