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  Discussion on Hives, bumps, rain rot, fungus??
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New Member:
pinehurs

Posted on Thursday, Jan 10, 2008 - 10:39 am:

* 9 year old bay KWPN gelding, Have owned for 2 years
* Just over 2 months consistentlybegan showing small hives all over his sides; small bumps in large clusters spread over his sides.
* Thoroughly checked stall, paddock, etc and no changes to anything in his routine (shavings, hay, flyspray, etc).
* These bumps seem to change positions every few days, show up in different places within these sites, but most consistently on sides, back and rump, stifle
* We have tried several things: anti-fungal/bacterial shampoos and treatments, oral steroids, dex, bute, and some super expensive Chinese Herbs the vet recommended. None have had an effect on the bumps.
* Hives have gotten larger when they appear now, and sometimes appear in a line on his side. Some small crusty bumps (vet thought was dermatophilus) also appeared at the top of his buttocks.
* I shaved his entire body close this past week to eliminate hair being a part of the factor. There were some tiny round spots without hair on the top of the rump (presumably the dermatophilus)
* The large hives/small bumps continue to appear in various places around his sides and now down onto his legs. On some of the hives there seems to be slight skin thickening & He has some scaly patches of dry skin beside.
* The large hives are very hot to the touch, and feel almost a little moist, but do not seem to bother him. The small bumps are not warm, and also do not seem to bother him (other than when trying to clip over them!)
* He is not itching/biting at them, but for a while (the first couple weeks) did seem generally listless/uneasy. He has since gotten back to his old personality, but the bumps persist.
* He has never once had ANY fungus issues, skin conditions, dry skin, illness, ANYTHING etc in the 2 years we have had him...though muddy weather, DrOught, etc. he has always had perfect skin and coat. Always been easy to care for, not sensitive to changes in weather, environment, etc.
* He is of excellent health, and has a shiny glossy coat otherwise. Even clipped right down, there is a good gloss to his coat.
* During the day he shares a one acre grass paddock with another horse, who does not exhibit any of these symptoms. We have tried changing the paddocks, etc but still no change nor changes in any of the other horses in the barn...lives in a 12x12 stall with shavings overnight
* He gets a 10% pellet, joint supplement, showing chaff, beet pulp and occasionally flax seed (nothing new). On a 3-way rotational worming schedule.
* He is curried and groomed daily
* He in in a regular work program 5-6 days/week

I took some pictures of some of the larger hives the other day, but do not have them on this computer...I can try to upload later if that may help?

Any ideas on the obvious that we may be missing, or alternatives to try?? We are already down nearly $600 playing guesswork on how to fix it.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Jan 11, 2008 - 6:36 am:

Hello Pinehurst,
If the majority of hives don't result in scabbing and hair loss you do have two different things going on: a identified infection and an unidentified allergy. The treatment for the dermatophilus is given in the article in this topic and you should continue to treat it aggressively as long as you have scabbing bumps consistent with the description in the article forming.

The treatment for the hives is given at Diseases of Horses » Skin Diseases, Wounds, and Swellings » Bumps / Nodules / Warts / Tumors » Hives, Wheals, and Urticaria in Horses. You should note that "no change in the routine" is not an assurance that something in the routine is not causing the problem. Allergies often develop to those things we are chronically exposed to.
DrO
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