To Clip Or Not To Clip What Would You Do

[Indy's mom]

Hi Everyone!

My 5 1/2 month old colt is still scratching!!!! He has rubbed one of his shoulders bald and is rubbing his butt and neck on the fence!

I suspect lice although I haven't actually seen any. His shed does have a few bird nests in it!! Ugh! Maybe ringworm? But don't know where the heck he would have got that, he hasn't been anywhere!

So far I have dusted his topline and have done 2 out of the 3 doses of Ivermectin and so far no relief!!!!!!!

My question is this....should I body clip him to get a better handle on what is going on under there? He does have a very thick winter coat already!!

I am in Massachusetts and the days right now are typically in the 50's and night's in the 40's but we have had it go as low as 32 degree's a few nights. Supposed to warm up next week in the high 60's!!! BUT it easily can snow at any time now too!

I have 2-3 blankets that will fit him and I wouldn't clip out his legs.

Should I or shouldn't I?????

Thanks

Tammy

 

[bevann]

IMO I would not clip.Then you might have another problem like bad cold or something else in addition to itching.I havea gelding that just has an itchy nature.every winter when he gets his woolies he rubs bald spots on his shoulders and elsewhere.He just loves to rub-it's his favorite pastime.

 

[minih]

Does it look like it could be fungal? If so, you can get some Lyme dip from your vet and it does wonders.

 

[krissy3]

If its lice you will be able to see them if you part the hair under his forelock or on his tail, no matter what color the horse is. I have a gelding that gets lice every January. I have a solution from the vet that is mixed with water and sprayed on the horse . the lice dies immediatly, and I repeat the process 3 weeks later. If it is cold (swiss alps ) I do this in the day, and leave him in the warm stall until he dries, I dont clip because one day the weather is nice , and a week later we could have snow, it would take at least a month for the hair to grow back enough to keep him warm. I mix the solution with warm water, part the hair and apply to the skin and first 1/2 inch of hair where they live. Forelock, mane, back shoulder quarters, and tail area, legs and belly are usually not a problem for us. good luck. there are 2 kinds of louce, one that chews on dead skin , and one that sucks blood. google the lice and have a look at what the difference is ... then tell the vet which one you have . mine are always the dead skin chewing kind, the bodys are shaped differently. If you have the blood sucking kind, you may think about adding "Red cell" if he is looking lathargic.good luck,I would give you the name of the product, be we live in another country so your vet would give you something different .

Krissy

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

I wouldn't clip. But on one of your nicer days, give him a bath with doggie flea shampoo. If it IS lice, they will die immediately.

Lucy

 

[ChrystalPaths]

Lice powder in a sock then pat all over heavy then brush into the coat

 

[Mona]

I would personally not clip him so late in the year, especially in your area with those temps. I would certainly go ahead and try bathing or spraying(saturating) him with a pyrethins based shampoo or spray, or, if you can wait it out, buy some of that Permectrin CDS I mentioned in my earlier post on another thread. It really works wonders, and others in the past that have had tough lice problems have written to say how it worked so well when they couldn' get a handle on it with other products. Good Luck with your boy. Also, it is best to treat your entire herd at the same time when using that (or any) lice product, otherwise they can get it back again from someone or wsomewhere else.

 

[minih]

I suspect lice although I haven't actually seen any.

If you are not sure you need to find out, because if it is fungal like I mentioned above the sooner you get to it the better off you are at getting rid of it

 

[Indy's mom]

Thanks for all the great advice! It's supposed to warm up into the high 60's in a few days so I will absolutely bathe him (and the other 3 just incase) I will get that shampoo tomorrow!

How do I know if it's fungal and not lice? It doesn't look gross or scabby or anything like that, just some bare spots and he's scratching alot!

I have not seen any lice but when my gelding had them years ago and I found ONE in his mane the vet told me he was surprised that I was able to see any! So, I'm not convinced that it's not lice.

When I bathe him maybe I should first soap him up with the Permectrin, rinse, and then soap him up with an antifungal shampoo (?)

I did take a pic the other day, let me go see if I can post it. I'll be back!

Tammy

 

[Indy's mom]

PIC PIC PIC

OK so not the greatest but I took this of his neck/shoulder a few days ago.

Does it look like lice or ringworm? I'll get some better pics tomorrow!

Thanks for all your help!!

Tammy

 

[Mona]

IMO, it does not look typical of ringworm.

 

[minih]

For it to be fungal it does not have to be ringworm. We have had this stuff that causes the hair to come out, causes raw itchy spots and it looks a lot like your picture does. Kind of splotchy and on the chest, under the mane and sometimes around the rump, have seen it on the face also but this was a bad case of it. I am not saying it is this because I can not look to see if it is lice or not, the only time I have ever seen lice, I could spot them. They were not invisible. If you can not get Lyme Dip you can also use the antifungal cream at Wally World it just takes longer to clear it up. Bad thing about a fungus if you get it on anything, brush, blanket, any where they rub they can pass it on to another horse. Same thing with lice. Either way you really need to find out which it is if the little guy is getting raw spots.

 

[Marty]

If this is hard and raised, I think its ringworm. Could also be rainrot. Be sure you keep your horse out of wet and damp conditions.

Jeffers equine has a nice product that works is a spray that might work quickly:

http://www.jeffersequine.com/ssc/product.a...WWXS2FBQJK59JM6

 

[Deb E]

If it is lice, you should be able to run a very fine toothed comb through the hair and see them. You can use a magnifying glass if needed.