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  Discussion on Skin disorder/beaten up/insect bites or what?
Author Message
Member:
Jchadola

Posted on Saturday, Jul 2, 2005 - 12:36 am:

Majestic, a PMU horse, has loss of hair but I can't tell if he has been bitten by insects, beaten up by other horses or has rubbed against something. I've included photos of him. He is about 2. Any thoughts?Majestic 2Majestic 1
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Jul 2, 2005 - 10:01 am:

Hmmm from the photos it is hard to say Janice. One of the important characteristics is how the hair was lost and what the margins are doing. Some of these distinguishing characteristics are explained in the article Equine Diseases » Skin Diseases » Hair and Coat Problems / Itching / Irritated Skin » Overview of Hair Loss & Irritated Skin.
DrO
Member:
Jchadola

Posted on Saturday, Jul 2, 2005 - 3:59 pm:

Thanks Dr. O. - I will go out to see him with that article and any other articles of yours that might be relevant and report back. He is like that all over his body. He was a PMU rescue horse who was then sold and has been bought back and now has these many missing areas of hair. I'll try to take some very close-up photos of him today.

I've attached a few more taken yesterday.Majestic 3

Majestic 4

Majestic 5
Member:
Jchadola

Posted on Sunday, Jul 3, 2005 - 12:42 am:

I have taken more photos of Majestic. Hopefully, they will be of assistance to determine what his problem is. He does not appear to have any patches of missing hair on his back. They appear to be sensitive to touch. He also has tons of dandruff coming out of his mane. Don't know if all this is related. Any ideas on what it is would be appreciated. He does not appear to be itchy but does not like the areas of missing hair touched. Here are the photos:




Majestic 6
Majestic 7
Majestic 8
Majestic 9
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Jul 3, 2005 - 9:24 am:

Except the flakiness in the third from the top image, these all look like rubs to me. The flakiness could be anything that causes skin irritation from mild superficial infection to anything you may be putting on the horse.
DrO
Member:
Jchadola

Posted on Sunday, Jul 3, 2005 - 9:42 am:

We don't know what happened when he was with the person he was owned by previously. We thought maybe he got caught in some barbed wire - especially because of the loss of hair on the inside of his hind leg. We are probably going to give him a bath with a soothing shampoo - which could help the flakiness (it just falls out of his mane) and irritation where the hair has come off and were also thinking of deworming him with ivermectin as I understand that can help with some skin problems caused by various organisms.
Member:
Suzeb

Posted on Sunday, Jul 3, 2005 - 3:26 pm:

Hello Janice,
I saw this on a horse who was in a paddock with shrubs. In trying to get at the grass that was growing in between the shrubs, he had marks that looked very similar to these on his face. I think it was from the scraping that the branches did to cause these lesions.
Is it possible this horse had some similar living conditions?

Susan B.
Member:
Shirl

Posted on Sunday, Jul 3, 2005 - 3:34 pm:

To help with the flaking in the mane, I've used Head and Shoulders Shampoo and that really worked for me when my horse had 'dandruff'. Give it a try. I agree with Dr. O, a lot of those places look like scraps from playing, fighting, etc. Shirl
Member:
Jchadola

Posted on Sunday, Jul 3, 2005 - 6:22 pm:

Unfortunately, we will never know exactly what his living conditions were like before. The one thing that makes me think he got caught in barbed wire, is the area on the inside of his left hind. He's getting a bath today. Hopefully that will make him feel a bit better.

Thanks everyone.
Member:
Kari

Posted on Sunday, Jul 3, 2005 - 7:11 pm:

Janice,

I have a three (3) year old gelding that carries the same type of battle marks all the time. He playfully fights with my donkey and sticks his head anywhere it doesn't belong. He's out 24/7 so he has plenty of opportunity to find someway to get marks on him. Thankfully he isn't ready for the show arena.
Member:
Angel77

Posted on Thursday, Jul 7, 2005 - 5:25 am:

Dear Janice,

Is it possible that a betadine bath(left on for 15 minutes then washed off) would help heal his scrapes faster?

I do know that Listerine when applied to a flakey, rubbed, or chewed mane has cured many of my horses mane problems. It kills the bacteria or fungus that can create a healthy mane and tail.

There also is Aloedine shampoo which can create the same results as the betadine.

The scrapes do look like they are from fighting. Especially if he is a rescue and was pastured with several other horses. He may have had to fight for food and water.

There are many products you can use for the scrapes as long as you are using something that does not produce proud flesh(although the scrapes don't look deep enough to do so)I am sure it will help him.

Good Luck!!

God Bless all the animals and the people who care for them

WTG
Member:
Jchadola

Posted on Thursday, Jul 7, 2005 - 6:29 am:

Thanks S.T. Bruce and WTG. He is just a little guy so he could very well have been beaten up by other horses or got battle marks from playing. He has had a bath and a product for horses called Eqyss Micro Tek has been sprayed on him (I used it for rainrot last year on a horse and it along with their shampoo seemed to work quickly and very well) and his hair is starting to grow back in.
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