Incessant Skin Issues

[JB]

@Britneystinnett

I had my vet tell me that the skin issues are normal for North Carolina

Do they exist? Sure. But no, not normal. I’m not on the coast, which does have more heat and humidity for longer, but I’ve been in the north central area for decades, with many friends on the coast, and skin issues are simply not normal.

Rice bran is high in Omega 6 fatty acid, which does not at all help skin issues. So, I would discontinue that. She does need flax and additional Vitamin E on a hay-only diet. 1000IU is a good start since there’s some in the ProForce.

However, 4c of the ProForce is not NEARLY enough. She needs in the range of 6-8lb, and that’s just to see how her weight progresses. Start transitioning her to that amount.

You definitely need a new vet, not only for telling you this is normal, but for ignoring her overall body condition

Is this the only vet you’ve had? Weight issues since a foal is very concerning

If we know roughly where you are, someone might be able to recommend a vet. If nothing else, maybe you can get a consult with NCSU.

[Britneystinnett]

It’s not the best angle but this is the most recent full body picture I have of her. As you can see, my gelding is very well rounded in comparison to her.

Also, for everyone going crazy about me riding her, no I am not riding her with her condition as it is.

[JB]

Yep, she needs a vet who will take this seriously and start with blood work and skin scrapings and find out what’s going on. The fact that she’s 6 and has had weight issues since she was a foal is concerning.

At the very least, get her food increased. 4c is not enough for many reasons.

[lorilu]

I am glad you are looking for a new vet. I would add a grain product with a high fat content and more calories. Perhaps even add Carmelina oil for a month or two. Its expensive but might be worth it (much better than other oils). Here in Florida we also have humidity etc, and I find Muck Itch product works pretty well, and washing with an aloe-iodine shampoo such as Aloedine. Be sure to let it sit on her for a few minutes.https://www.sstack.com/muck-itch/p/07231/, https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=d19a1627-7559-4756-afed-2aa95e231413&itemguid=158062cb-285a-4f98-a4e5-2105dc9dfc34&sfb=1&grp=E000&grpc=E800&grpsc=E830&sp=m&utm_content=11565&ccd=IFM003&gclid=CjwKCAiA-_L9BRBQEiwA-bm5fp09tGctuRQulGiPsl32yVE90c74_tlCHprfY2ZsDc_rub41dEDw0hoC_7wQAvD_BwE and

[Red_Barn]

@Britneystinnett

It’s not the best angle but this is the most recent full body picture I have of her. As you can see, my gelding is very well rounded in comparison to her.

Thank you! That was fast.

It’s a less-than-ideal photo, but the thing that strikes me immediately is that she has NO muscle mass. None.

And she’s six years old and in regular work? That’s not right at all. This looks like more than just a slight shortage in the calorie department to me; it looks like long term muscle wasting, possibly indicating chronic disease or systemic infection of some kind.

I’d ABSOLUTELY call another vet. Yesterday, in fact.

[JB]

@lorilu

I would add a grain product with a high fat content and more calories.

She’s feeding Nutrena ProForce Fiber which is a decent enough feed, but only 4c which I suspect is barely 1lb. That needs to be 6-8lb.

[leesa1]

Are your horses fed together or are they separated into different yards/stables to eat? Are you watching her eat every mouthful every day or is the other horse getting some of her feed?

She’s in a state bad enough that animal control would be interested so please take her condition seriously.

Her worming program sounds inadequate and looking for things in her manure isn’t going to do much as you can’t see eggs. She is probably full of parasites. When was the last time you wormed her and what was the name of the wormer you used?

If it were me, I’d start her on a panacur powerpac, wash her in an anti-fungal shampoo (a horse specific one), get another vet to come look at her in person asap and take bloods. If you get a vet out it can at least be shown that you’ve made an attempt to improve her health and she probably won’t then be a prosecutable neglect case.

[PeteyPie]

@Britneystinnett

…Also, for everyone going crazy about me riding her, no I am not riding her with her condition as it is.

The reason I assumed you were riding her is that you said you were riding her in your first post. I’m glad you clarified that and that you are not putting any weight on that spine!

@Britneystinnett

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.

As for the feeding, do both horses have hay available all the time?

How long have you had the gelding? Has his weight been consistently good?

I wish you the best with figuring out the two problems you are dealing with and getting your mare back to health.

[soloudinhere]

Enough has been said about the condition of the horse overall, so I’m only commenting on the fragile skin issue - I have a horse who has extremely fragile skin. If there is a fungus, he will get it. He’s horrendously allergic to bug bites. Any tickborne illness, he will get.

I do constant battle to keep his skin healthy. He gets omega horseshine plus platinum skin and allergy. As much omega-3 and 6 as I can get in there. Poor skin condition can easily be caused by malnutrition from worm load, so get that resolved posthaste. Your horse may need an immune boosting compound like quercetin, but no point in feeding that if she can’t even absorb it. She may overall just have fragile skin or low immunity (as is the case with my guy, after many thousands of $$ in workups) in which case you will have to manage carefully.

[Equkelly]

I’d start with making sure this horse has more access to hay. A horse that is that underweight should be allowed to eat as much hay as they want. There shouldn’t be “meals”. Just give the horse enough hay and is whenever he runs out, give more. They shouldn’t ever not have hay. Also FWIW, “flakes” is a horrible measurement. A flake of hay could weigh 3 lbs or 15 lbs.

As far as the skin, I think that’s likely a symptom of just overall poor health making his immune system not fight off infections. My guess is that it looks fungal. I would try to keep this horse dry and maybe bathe the horse with an antifungal shampoo. I use nizoral, its a dandruff shampoo you can get at the drug store.

[Scribbler]

The black horse also has no topline, and his body score is about a 4/10 Henneke score (ok but can’t afford to lose more).

The chestnut horse is a 2/10 and needs a really solid refeeding program and a complete vet check ASAP. Yes, she should be on free choice hay, for starters.

If you are curious about body scores look up the Henneke body score charts. I agree that chestnut mare is in SPCA seizure territory, that’s a starvation level weight.

What kind of hay are you feeding?

[JB]

I don’t know if I’d say 4/10 for the black, given that his whole body is bent away. But light 5 at best.

he is definitely not “round”, even if he’s round compared to her.

More food for everyone.

[Red_Barn]

At this point it looks the OP has left the building - unfortunate, for sure, since this seems to be one of those instances where concern is 100% warranted.

I wish you the best of luck, OP. Good on you for seeking advice, and I hope it all works out for you and your mare.

[LilDunFilly]

I would rate the black as a 4 at best, given that you can see the outline of his ribs through what appears to be the beginnings of a winter coat. Echoing the others that both horses need more food!

[Equkelly]

I’ll say it again… this is why I hate hate HATE people measuring out of their horses food by “flakes”. I know a lot of novice horse owners who way underfeed forage because they don’t get that “2 flakes” per feeding doesn’t mean jack. It could be enough, or it could only be a quarter of what you need.

It drives me crazy. When I’m going over feeding with other people at the barn I go by weight and everyone always goes “but how many flakes?!?” I don’t know and I don’t care about the number of freaking flakes. It could be 2 or it could be 8. It depends, that’s why I don’t use it as a unit of measurement.

[Britneystinnett]

I stopped responding because I got tired of reading everyone’s judgemental comments. I actually really appreciated your input. I took her to a new vet today and got a fecal and blood test. Just waiting for the results.

[Peggy]

@Britneystinnett Hopefully some good data from the vet visit today will help you to help her. Good for you for finding a new vet and coming back to report.

[Postandrails]

I hope your new Vet can sort it out for you. Good luck!

[Red_Barn]

@Britneystinnett

I stopped responding because I got tired of reading everyone’s judgemental comments. I actually really appreciated your input. I took her to a new vet today and got a fecal and blood test. Just waiting for the results.

Well, that’s good news.

Did the new vet say anything interesting on a general visual inspection of the mare? Any ideas on the skin condition?

And I don’t think people mean to be “judgmental.” You ask a question and they answer - generally to the best of their ability. And that’s good. It’s easy to lose track of a horse getting too fat/too thin/too whatever, especially if we don’t run into other horse people for long periods of time. Hearing slightly shocking opinions, in a case like that, is the best thing that can happen. No judgement involved.

I hope you’ll keep us posted! I’m actually quite curious about the skin thing now.

[splitrockfarmnc]

Do let us know what the new vet says. If you are willing to share more about where in NC you are, some of us “locals” might be able to recommended additional veterinary resources or a nutritionist (not all vets are up to date on what might be considered best practices for feeding) to help you get this mare back on track.

FWIW, I got a TB mare at 4 years old who looked similar to your girl. Covered head to toe in a variety of bumps, scabs, and crud. She was thin too. It took a solid year of doing everything to get her “right” again. By everything I mean:
~ Complete diet overhaul - V/M supplement, soaked alfalfa and beet pulp (pounds of it), flax, TriAmino, etc.
~ Serious deworming - make sure you use the right products at the right time of year, and also that you use ENOUGH. Underdosing is terribly common but builds resistance to dewormers in the parasitic populations.
~ Consistent skin care - I did use just about every lotion and potion I could get my hands on, but the real winner here was time. I just slowly and consistently washed, dried, and groomed as much as possible until the crud cleared enough to clip. I then clipped every inch of her and continued to treat the skin while maintaining the balanced diet. Eventually all the crud went away.

Good luck OP. Your mare is young and should bounce back quickly with improved care, barring any major health problems.