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  Discussion on Intense pruritus with self mutalation
Author Message
New Member:
appelbee

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 4, 2012 - 11:02 pm:

Hi and help please. I have a 2yr old QH (Billy) that is has always been VERY itchy all over, thought it was cute how much he loved his scratches. However, recently the itching has become dangerously intense and involves biting his belly/flank (breaking the skin), spinning and violently kicking out, in both directions and sometimes both legs at once. he rubs on things but has not rubbed any bare patches, nor has he bald spots or lesions. BTW he is in beautiful conditions and his coat is perfect. This increased level started 1 month ago, 3 days after worming (regularly wormed). I called the vet thinking he had developed a colic (the way he was biting at his flank and kicking out). The Vets diagnosis was Right Dorsal Colitis ????? but after googling the subject i don't think this is correct and assumed the vet mean't ulcers. That is what he treated him for as he prescribed omoguard for 28 days (very expensive). Whilst on the omoguard he continued to itch, even pulled down a fence with his kicking out (day 5). We finished the omoguard 2 days ago. I also had his blood work done and his lymphocyte count was slightly raised, neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio was reversed but there was no temperature indicating chronic fungal/bacterial/viral infection (is this right?) I really do not think it's ulcers (QH, not in work, no stress, no grain) unless the worming paste caused it, i don't think worm death overload but please let me know if symptoms are consistant). One thing i've done since finishing the omoguard is started him on brewers yeast, could this be a problem? (someone said good for ulcers). Oh, i also read a thread about an itchy sheath, i noticed my boys is a little puffy but i have never really touched his sheath. Could this be thrush? I also gave him a shampoo (antifungal/antibacterial) 5 days ago and keep him in a flysheet, this did seem to relieve til yesterday (i didn't wash his sheath though). I think the flysheet/rug acts as a physical barrier rather than anything else, just makes it harder for him. Yeah, you can stop him doing it too, it's like he does it when he thinks about it. Finally, he is worse at dusk and dawn, he is stabled at night and paddocked during the day and does it in both places. All this also seems to have coincided with the advent of spring to summer with all the grasses browning off. Sorry for the essay but this is driving me and my poor baby crazy.
Member:
cmatexas

Posted on Thursday, Jan 5, 2012 - 11:29 am:

This sounds exactly like what we have dealt with. You can search back through my posts several years and find a long discussion and final diagnosis, but I can give you the long and the short of it:

Our halter gelding has 2 very severe allergies: all biting flies and timothy hay. Both are severe enough that he mutilated himself while scratching so that he had to be retired from the ring.

Treatment is with hyDrOxyzine, up to 11 in his feed a day. I think, but will have to check, they are 50 mg capsules. I buy them buy the bottle from the local pharmacist; the vet calls in the prescription once a year. Once it warms up, he lives in sheets from nose to toes. I check all feed and supplements for timothy.

Your horse may not have the same exact allergies, but sounds like it's the same reaction none the less. Unfortunately, we have found by experience that once the reaction starts it is hard to stop, but if we start him on the medication and "preload" before the allergies start we can prevent almost all reactions at the get-go.

We spend TONS of money with local vets before hauling to A & M and the dermatologist found our problem. I hope you can find a diagnosis more easily!
Member:
babychop

Posted on Friday, Jan 6, 2012 - 1:52 pm:

This may or may not be what he has but it's worth looking into. My young stallion has the same symptom and a gal at Mary's Tack turned me onto this. Check out TikiGator Farm in Ocala. It could be the Midge Fly if you have them in your area. It's something in their saliva that makes the horse go crazy with itching. My boy would rub his tail into non existence and rub his whole body anywhere he could.

If you read the box of Equimax wormer there's the solution (IF this is what your issue is). Double dose him with it two weeks apart and then as needed. It's such a simple thing (and I never read the darned tiny print but there it was)... It's worth trying if you have those tiny little flies!

The gal at Mary's had a pony they were at their wits end with, they were at the point they were considering putting him down and surfed across TikiGator Farm and their issue with this confounding itchiness with no obvious cause. They tried it and it worked for their pony. No more itch. It's worth a try.

The midge fly is seasonal, warmer months, spring/summer. Hope this helps!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Jan 7, 2012 - 9:58 am:

Welcome Marie,
Your horses condition is not yet ready for a diagnosis, after all there is serious disagreement over the meaning of the symptoms. You first must determine what is the cause of your horse's symptoms and only then can a diagnosis be approached. Your veterinarian says that it is colic possibly from colitis/ulcers. You believe the horse is pruritic(itchy). From a clinical picture it does seem to be a bit of a mixed bag between abdominal pain and pruritis.

I think of the keys here is whether the horse's appetite is normal during these bouts. If he is eating while displaying this signs I think it strongly suggests this is not colic. But I have to say the degree of pruritis that might cause a horse to behave this way should be resulting in self mutilation from rubbing.

You could also try some diagnostic therapy like flunixin for the colic or steroids for the itching. Your veterinarian may not like this as both might worsen ulcers / some types of colitis but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Lastly, if you continue to disagree with your veterinarian consider a referral for a second opinion.
DrO
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