Skin Issues.

[sariditty]

I feel like I ought to double-post this on AA...I am just not handling Lincoln well this week (and it's only Monday...sigh), and I feel completely overwhelmed and pretty much like a failure to him right now.

I've noticed in the last couple of weeks that he's had some skin bumpies (not rain rot, but similar...) on his rear, right rib area. When I look closer, it seems to be really dry skin that when I flick it with my nail it comes up along with a tiny clump of hair. "Ok." So excessive dry skin from this winter? Since then I've been spraying him with a skin conditioner to see if it will help. Then yesterday I went out to work with him, and he has a silver dollar sized bare spot on the center of his face and a fingernail sized spot near his eye. There's no pus; it's not scabbed....just rubbed raw like he maybe was itching them on something and the hair was pulled completely out. (I looked all around his stall and wasn't able to find any hair caught on anything.) So I wipe down the areas and spray conditioner on them too.
Then today I went out there, and he has another spot on his face (they're both in the middle of the bridge of his nose, I'd say.) as well as a couple spots on both hind legs up near his hip area. The face spots aren't scabbed...just no hair, slightly reddish, and not an open wound. The leg areas are definitely scabbed up from rubbing (??). And that ribcage area is still slightly bumpy. I keep thinking it's really dry skin. But then tonight I had a horrible thought that he could have those onchocerca (sp?) worms. YIKES!! Don't they affect the skin and hair?? He was dewormed almost 2 months ago and is due again on his rotation at the end of this week. I gave him a nice, warm sponge bath today too - in case he just needed a deeper skin conditioning.

Does anyone have any thoughts as to what this all could be, or what I should do in addition or differently?? I hate to come on here and pour out my frustrations...I really just feel like I'm drowning with him the last few days.

[Lis]

It almost sounds like some kind of fungus. For that I normally scrub with betadine, rinse, and then put nolvasen/desitin/lotion stuff on it.

[Deb]

I agree with Lis. It definitely sounds like Fungus. Very much similar to Rain Rot/Scald. The clumps of hair coming off with reddish colored skin underneath is symptomatic of a fungal infection. Betadine/Iodine is the best way to go to treat it.

[TeachU2Ride]

First, take a deep breath and think happy thoughts. We all go through frustrating periods in life, and being responsible for a horse can certainly add to the stress. But don't worry! Soon the spring will be here, the sky will be blue, the grass will be getting green... and all these winter uglies will be forgotten with your first good ride in the sunshine!

The scabbing you're describing (with little patches of hair coming loose as you pick) is 100% consistent with rain rot. The organism lives in the ground all the time, but proliferates when conditions are wet for long periods. It loooooves a damp winter coat (even one that hasn't been rained on... under a blanket, where sweat and dirt mingle, is a favorite feeding ground).

If you can give a bath without chilling your horse, I'd suggest picking up some Malaseb shampoo from your vet. It's more expensive than Betadine, but is stronger and yet not as irritating to the skin. You'll lather it up, wait 5 minutes, then rinse thoroughly. The horse MUST be completely dry before being reblanketed. (And it would help tremendously if you could also wash the blanket.)

If you can't give a bath, you can use towels dunked in hot water then wrung completely out to scruff up the coat as best you can to loosen dirt. In this case, you would use the Malaseb only on the affected areas so you can be sure you get all of it toweled back off. It's a much more labor intensive bath, but effective.

Finally... the spots on the face/hips may be from encounter with the top of the stall door and door frame. Does he rush in or out? Tend to fly back into the stall if something startles him?

[Katelyn]

Another thought - the hair with the clump definitely sounds like rain rot.

BUT the round spots - if they aren't itch spots - may be ring worm.
Jay had it ALL OVER his body when I got him!! ITCHY!! Poor guy looked like a leopard!

The stuff that worked best for him (in the winter when I couldn't bathe him) was called Fungisan.
I got it at Agway in a big plastic bottle - kind of a yellowish solution. It rubbed into the coat with no washing needed.

I also dewormed with Ivermectin at the vet's recommendation.

Have heart, if it is ringworm, it did go away quickly with no problems and the hair grew back fine!

[NancyL]

I second the malaseb soap. Used to be OTC until a couple years ago. Not expensive and well worth the time. Very important to soak 5 min before you rinse off so a total bath has to wait till spring. Willy gets rain rot exactly as you have described every spring on his back. A couple treatments usually does it.

[jenarby]

If it is rainrot you can completely avoid at bath and just buy some Muck Itch spray. It is a life saver. Spray on and rub in, that's it. It smells wonderful because it has tea tree oil in it. Worth every penny. Three to five days of putting it on in a row and the ickies are gone. You can wipe the scabs right off.

It does sound like he is either itching his head or bumps it on something.
Or maybe he's got an allergy to your bedding or something else in his environment. One of my racehorses was like that. Had patches of hair that would do the same thing. It got worse and worse. Finally discovered he had allergies.

[tbrescue]

I recommend Micro Tek. It cleared up Romeo's rain rot in less than a week

www.eqyss.com/microtek_spray1.asp

[sariditty]

thanks, y'all! now i'm off to the barn to check on yet ANOTHER injury. just got a call that he's sliced the lower part of his nostril somehow while out in the arena. and he had only been in there about 15 minutes when they noticed it. they've scoured the arena to see if they found a spot where he did it, and so far nothing! i'm going insane!!!! hahaha (at least i'm not in a puddle of tears like i was yesterday!) i'm off to apply the saline, iodine, and SUGAR that the vet recommended!

[sariditty]

ooooooh, buddy!! Lincoln has gone and added to my worries! lol I did as the vet said and cleaned out the area with a squirt bottle of saline. Then I attempted to get some triple antibiotic ointment on it - that was a lost cause for the most part. You'll see why when you look at the pictures of the nose wound...it's so far up in there that a head-thrashing patient wouldn't let Dr. Sari put much of anything near it. Then the vet said to put sugar on the cut b/c it helps seal up the wound and clot quicker or something. Have you heard of that before?!? It was a new one for me!

As for the other skin issues we've been dealing with the last couple of days.... His face/head looks pretty much the same - just patches of bare area and missing hair.

His rear ribcage area is SO much better after that sponge bath yesterday and the skin conditioner. There are still small bumps that almost feel like teeny mounds to me that are under the skin. (But the patches of dry skin coming up with hair....rain rot?...are gone. PTL!) And the leg places are quite scabbed over today - and they really look more like his buddy picked at him initially, but we know that wasn't the case...anyhoo, they're scabbed up and healing at least.

I'm going to go check out those products y'all suggested for shampoo and sprays. I truly appreciate all your feedback and encouragement. Also talked to the trainer today (she was in one of her better moods thankfully.) about doing a program with Linc. She seemed open to starting up with him...mentioned doing 30 days with him, but I told her I would feel more comfortable in the long run doing the full 90 instead just to break through any barriers there may be. Then her lesson showed up, so more to come in the scheduling efforts there - hopefully tomorrow!

Now for pics from Sari's "hospital" today....


I won't post the bloody nostril pics on here in case anyone is squeamish. (Which I am with humans, but animals I'm more sympathetic to for some odd reason.)

Here's the cut - he's not flaring his nose here. i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/dittypu/IMG_0003.jpg
Here's the cut when he's breathing deeper and flaring a bit...so gross!! I had to tempt him with the carrot to get him to hold still! lol i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/dittypu/IMG_0002-1.jpg
And here's a head-on shot. The white, grainy stuff is the vet-recommended sugar. i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/dittypu/IMG_0005.jpg

[kdmedic261]

Has anyone here tried a product from Shapely's called MTG? It has a sulfer base and works great for most skin fungus or dermititis. My mare had a skin infection to her tail, and it cleared in about 3-5 days. The only thing, wear gloves when you use it.

[Deb]

I do know sugar is a great blood clotter and when mixed with iodine to the consistency of thick honey is a great poultice for hoof abcesses and thrush. When mixed with iodine it then called Sugardine.

[Crooked Horse]

MTG is really a love-hate product!!! LOVE how it works, HATE how it smells! LOL

[samantha]

oh yeah- definitely use gloves with the MTG! Otherwise you'll smell like it for days I had great success with it also, though- on getting hair to grow back.
Maybe they should market it to bald men

I'm so sorry he has such a nasty cut!!! Poor guy... and poor you for having a bad patient... Keep your head down, Lincoln!

[Enola]

Stella gets rain rot EVERY spring And of course I first notice it when it is WAY to cold to consider giving her a bath. So, I use Listerine, you know, the stuff some people use to gargle with.

I simply spray it on the affected spots until they are completely soaked, massage in REALLY well and let dry. The next day, I brush the spot real well. The hair will be a little stiff from allowing the Listerine to dry. You may have to do this every 3 or 4 days until you notice that the "bumps" are gone, but it really does work.

Once warm weather arrives, a good warm bath and then applying Listerine 2 times usually does the trick.