My horse has had skin problems for months now. It started out as rain rot last year. I treated it with diluted bleach water and it healed only to come back a few months later. I used bleach water again and it seemed to clear up again, but then another issue came up. I don’t know if it’s related to the rain rot, or another issue entirely. She has scabs all down her spine, her hindquarters, fetlocks, and dandruff all down her neck. I live in North Carolina where there is a lot of rain and humidity. We also have lots of flies, mosquitos, and ants because we live right by a stream in a heavily wooded area. A friend in the area recommended I bathe her with Dawn dishsoap, and use betadine and vetrolin. I noticed a bit of improvement with those, but the issue is not resolving itself. She seems more irritated when I’m riding because of the bumps. I have included pictures. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I really want to get this cleared up before it gets any more out of hand. I’m also worried about it being contagious because she has a pasture mate who I’ve noticed has a few similar scabs.
Yikes.
My old gelding went through something that started out rather like this last summer. In his case, it turned out to be an unusual symptom of Cushing’s Disease, but I don’t think that’s at all common.
My horse’s condition started around the elbows, mane and fetlocks, and eventually covered his entire belly and neck. He became so itchy and hypersensitive that he refused to be touched. He’d fling himself down to roll about a hundred times a day, and his is legs and sheath swelled up terribly. He finally foundered - apparently from the all-around stress to his system - but in the end, he did recover.
He’s 100% fine now, thanks to Prascend, but, sadly, the vet never did figure out exactly what was going on. At the time we thought it might be an allergic reaction, an insect infestation, something fungal, or rain rot. We tried antihistamines, steroids, antibiotics and every kind of topical imaginable, and nothing but pergolide made any difference . . . which, I guess, isn’t very helpful.
How old is your guy? Is he itchy? Is the hair actually falling out, or is it just clumping up?
What’s her diet?
I agree also with considering Cushing’s at the root of this, but let’s see what the diet is as well
What does your vet say?
A whole-body persistent issue like this warrants veterinary attention and while I see that you’ve gotten some advice from a trusted friend I didn’t see anything about a medical professional.
Could be Cushings, diet, allergies, all of the above, or none of the above.
And I would not ride her while her skin is in such condition. First of all you’ve noticed it’s irritating her, and second, if there’s a bacterial or fungal component, sweating won’t help.
She is six years old. The hair isn’t falling out, but it comes out with the scabs if I pull them out. The hair is clumping. She doesn’t seem itchy though she does lay down every once in a while. She doesn’t roll around a whole bunch though. I was a little worried it might be Cushing’s Disease.
She gets 4 flakes of Rye/Bermuda hay mix spread out over two meals, as well as grain in the evening. I give her two cups of soaked beet pulp, Nutrena Proforce Fiber, and I’ve started transitioning her to Rice Bran because I was told that helps with the skin.
I had my vet tell me that the skin issues are normal for North Carolina and that the would clear up with colder weather. They have not cleared up as the weather has gotten colder though. She didn’t take any blood samples or do any tests to see what it was.
I had my vet tell me that the skin issues are normal for North Carolina and that the would clear up with colder weather. They have not cleared up as the weather has gotten colder though. She didn’t take any blood samples or do any tests to see what it was.
I’m sorry if this sounds harsh, but if the photo in the lower left corner is her hip/croup area, she looks like she is starving. Her hair coat is very long, yet she looks like a 2 or 3 on body condition score. Perhaps her poor condition is causing her to skin and general immunity to fail?
She’s young for Cushing’s, obviously, but maybe some autoimmune disorder, like that mysterious, unpronounceable thing that seems related to allergies . . . ?
My horse presented a lot like this, and at the time I worried that it might be the culprit.
If my vet saw my horse in this condition, shrugged, and said “it happens”, I’d find a new vet. There are thousands of horses in your area who are not in this condition so clearly something is going on.
The photo of the hindend is concerning. She looks quite thin. If you look up the body condition score it provides objective guidance for assessing your horses current condition. If her weight looks good but her hindend looks like this I would be that much more concerned about cushings, EPM, or a really (really) high worm count.
She does look horribly thin. Don’t ride her until she’s put on significant weight. More hay and add oil.
Not at all. She is very skinny. I probably should have included that in my first post. I’ve had an issue with keeping weight on her since she was a foal but it seems to have gotten worse lately despite me upping her grain and hay. Could that be related to whatever is going on with her skin?
I’d recruit a new vet. Sometimes that is easier said than done but you need a new set of eyes. If she’s chronically thin and has all of this skin stuff then you may be dealing with something like really aggressive chronic ulcers and her immune system is just shot as a result.
Hopefully, you are looking at a single root cause but addressing the skin issues may be trying to put a bandaid on a bullet wound.
Are other horses on property struggling with their weight?
When you deworm is it rotating based on what people recommend or based on fecal results?
What does pasture quality look like?
Has there ever been a time her weight looked really good? If so, were there any environmental changes around the time she began to decline?
GraceLikeRain, I am definitely going to look for a new vet. I have one other horse who is quite plump and doesn’t have anything near what she does. I have noticed a few small scabs along his spine and hindquarters but it is very minimal. I deworm at least every six months, more if I notice anything in their poop. The pasture quality is mediocre. Hay is their main food source. She didn’t have any skin problems when before we moved here. We lived in Utah before and she seemed pretty healthy. It hasn’t been until we moved to North Carolina two years ago that she’s really started declining.
You definitely need a new vet. Promptly. Yes, there’s some degree of skin funk propensity that’s “normal” in a humid environment, particularly if you have a chestnut or a horse who is still adapting to the climate and the soil, but what you are seeing on this mare is not normal, is not okay, and needs to be dealt with quickly, particularly as she is also underweight and her body is not equipped to be fighting off any infection. And to reiterate, if she is underweight and encrusted with scabs from a skin problem, you should not be riding her.
I’m sure that folks on this forum could recommend someone in your area- I know others who are recent transplants to a new location have had success posting threads like “looking for a vet/farrier/bodyworker in [City], [State].” I don’t know anything about NC so I’m no help 
although I do know a fair amount about dealing with persistent skin funk in immunocompromised animals in humid climates!
Your mare’s body condition is telling you that this isn’t enough for her.
Around how much do those 4 flakes weigh? And how much of the Pro Force and the rice bran? She needs more calories, period. It’s possible the skin condition is secondary to the body condition. If she had enough weight on her to maintain healthy functioning, something like rain rot might not take hold like it has in this case. Once the feeding program is adequate, you may need something systemic to address the skin condition, whether it’s something like supplemental copper and zinc or a course of antibiotics.
Has this horse had a fecal? Dewormed based on the fecal?
I’m sure it could be. Most diseases are opportunistic to one degree or another, and will tend to be more debilitating in horses that are malnourished or old otherwise compromised. Or both conditions could be direct symptoms of the same disease - Cushing’s say. (My horse lost some muscle mass, especially in the forearms and gaskins, but not so much that a random person would notice.)
Looking back at the bony-looking photo, I agree with the others: it’s odd that your vet hasn’t spoken out on any part of your mare’s overall condition.
Could you post a whole body photo?
This is a good summary of my thoughts too.
I just wanted to add that in addition to the skin issues making her uncomfortable under saddle, she has no muscle tone over her back and this alone would make it very difficult to fit a saddle to her. Unless you have some sophisticated padding happening, the saddle would be putting pressure on her spine, and this can cause a lot of damage to the back.
I would definitely look for a new vet.
The 4 flakes of hay weigh about 20 LBS, she gets to cups of very pulp, 4 cups of Nutrena Proforce Fiber, and two cups of rice bran. She has access to a mineral block 24-7 and I are her licking it very often. She has not had a fecal.
Britney, I’m sorry but I only just noticed that you are very new here. I haven’t been around for long either, but I just wanted to say welcome.
