Mare is on the very bottom of the totem pole. Adjusting turn out is not an option at this barn, all ~20 horses are turned out in one group 24/7 and that’s that.
She is covered in superficial bite marks/ scrapes. Does anyone have recommendations on topical products I can use to help them heal well? None are infected but chunks of hair are missing.
They’ll heal on their own if it’s really that superficial. You can dab on some vitamin E to help keep the area softer, which may help at least not slow down the re-growth of hair, but it’s from the perspective of not slowing down, rather than speeding up
Like @JB said, they heal pretty well on their own.
I dab on Bag Balm when my horse reacts to bug bites. Mainly on his neck, but they itch & he rubs the hair off.
“DAB” is the operative term here, not slather, just a fingertip’s worth.
Same for a spot he dinged on the front of a hock joint. That one was bloody & crusty for weeks, now looking normal w/hair regrowing.
I’ve always just used Vaseline or NuStock.
I like the Zephyr’s Garden salve - https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/zephyrs-garden-skin-rescue-sensitive-skin-12082
You can really use anything that keeps the skin soft and pliable. The goal is to prevent skin cracking and a secondary opportunistic infection, however minor, or even just itchiness that has the horse rubbing at the spots.
So, I don’t tend to fall for wound products and their gimmicks. But Absorbine’s Silver Honey product does truly seem to speed up healing.
Preparation H seems to help hair grow back quicker.
Just keep the bite marks soft.
Anyway you could turn her out on a sheet with Raplast to deter all the bites and give her a break?
Gotta be tough to be the bottom one.
I see this is a chewing deterrent. This would help the biting issue? I feel terribly for her.
How long has she been in this group? Often bite marks will decrease in frequency as the horses work out their relationships. Does the herd change often? Also is she getting access to hay or being chased away? It’s not normal for a low level horse to be continually bitten up forever because they learn their place. Unless they really need to compete for food.
She’s been at this barn since the 2nd week of September. There are two major bullies in the group but everyone else is fine, she’s just at the very bottom. There’s plenty of hay and space (3-5 round bales, 7 acre paddock) and I have never seen her get chased away. She’s always munching along.
It would make biting her less pleasant and can’t hurt.
I wonder if it would be worth putting a Kensington Protective fly sheet on her to help with preventing new marks? I used one on my mare that really helped to save her and her blankets. I stood and watched one horse trying to bite her on the shoulder but couldn’t do any damage. The horse was trying so hard that he was bleeding a bit. No damage to the blanket layer below though.
That’s a great suggestion! I live in a climate where the winters are brutal and long. I don’t blanket her because she grows a super thick coat. Would getting her one of these sheets affect her ability to grow a coat? I’m talking -30 to -20 temps with -45 wind chill in the dead of winter.
It might be difficult for her coat to fluff up? I don’t find it heavy. I don’t think it would compromise her ability to grow a coat. I’m no expert though! For the winter my mare had to wear blankets because she was a hard keeper. The protective fly sheet did a fantastic job at keeping her blankets safe. I got that idea from someone on CoTH. Thank you CoTH!!
Edited to add: Are you talking Celsius?
Coats are almost done growing at this point in the year, they might put in a little more oomph for the next month, but once you get close to, then pass the Winter Solstice, Winters coats are done, and the process begins of slowly (very slowly at first) starting to grow the new Summer coat and then the Winter coat starts shedding in the later January timeframe
I would not put a sheet on a horse with those temperatures, the physical weight will lay down the hair at least a little, which reduces warming ability
When the bites are fresh, if they’re through the skin, I use SSD cream. After they scab or if it’s just hair, I put vitamin E oil in a little bottle with a roller on it - easy to apply just a little at a time.
I kind of think that’s a bit small for 20 horses if I read your first post correctly!
I have a large paddock with two horses that have been together for over four years, and my older horse STILL comes back with bite marks from the younger gelding. 
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