Severe Dermatitis?

[emilymorro]

My gelding has had some ongoing dermatitis that I cannot shake. I wouldn’t really consider it too severe because he is not really losing fur (he was at one point but not so much anymore). But I have been chasing this problem for almost eight months and have not completely abolished it.
When I was living in Rhode Island the vet said it was not rain rot but a pretty severe dermatitis from really dry skin. He said this because he was covered in scabs and dandruff, essentially, and the skin underneath everything flaking off was healthy. The blankets and the rain was what was bothering him, he said, and that once I could regularly bathe him and get rid of the scabs and winter coat the problem would go away. I moved down to South Carolina for the winter and I still cannot get rid of this. My poor boy is so itchy.
I have tried the full arsenal of equus products, bathing him once a week and applying the gel daily. I have tried mtg (especially for his mane that he rubbed out). Now, most recently, I am trying turmeric (paste of coconut oil, freshly ground black pepper, and turmeric) because it was recommended for allergen induced dermatitis. I thought that maybe he was allergic to alfalfa, so I dropped his timothy/alfalfa pellets from his diet. That seemed to make a difference but it might have been all in my head.
Right now he is on Empower Balance, a little bit of safechoice original, coolstance copra horse feed (purely coconut), dynamite free choice minerals, and his smartpak (smartdigest ultra, tri-amino, and smartcombo pellets). I am probably going to get an allergy test to see if there is something else causing this skin problem. Has anyone had this problem arise from an allergy?
I was also told that maybe he has an immune deficiency because his body should be able to fight off a skin problem like this. I was advised to give him vitamin c. He is only five years old so he shouldn’t have a weakened immune system from age.
I also planned to shave him when I got here, but he is young and getting him used to the clippers is an adventure.

Sorry for the long message…but what can I do?? I hate to see him so itchy! I feel bad even riding him because he is so sensitive.

[emilymorro]

I should add on…he broke out with some hives about a month ago that seemed to just go away. I think it may have been from eating the onion grass here that he is not used to. I wasn’t able to really investigate it because I was leaving for a clinic (not with him), but three days later when I got back home the hives were gone. He has been moved to a new pasture that does not seem to have as much onion grass, but it probably does have some. Has anyone had any problem with horses eating onion grass? Anyone have allergy problems with their horse in South Carolina (particularly Aiken)?

[Laurierace]

A skin scraping is where I would start.

[emilymorro]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;7517145]
A skin scraping is where I would start.[/QUOTE]

Well that seems so obvious and it has been almost nine months and it never crossed my mind. Wow… haha thank you.

In my defense I have had three separate vets out to look at him and no one suggested that, only the chiropractor was concerned.

[Ghazzu]

I might go further than a skin scraping and consider a biopsy. And send it to a dermatohistopathologist.

[alto]

While you’re waiting on a skin scraping (or not), start feeding flax, 1-2 lb/day (add gradually to diet, starting with 2-4T, depending on your horse’s gut sensitivity, & increase over a couple weeks, or longer).

Daily baths with no soap/detergents, just water to remove dust & sweat (thorough rinse after every ride).
For itch, try this product.

he was covered in scabs and dandruff, essentially,

This takes time for a complete recovery, and some horses just have very sensitive skin.

[yellowbritches]

Welcome to my world. I am three years into my second horse with skin issues. All told, I’ve been dealing with this type of issue for 7 years.

DO get some allergy testing done. My last horse had some definite food allergies that manifested as skin problems. Knowing what to avoid helped a lot.

Stop bathing him so much. If his issues are mostly just super dry and sensitive skin, bathing can just make your issues worse. Rinse him as needed (current dude is allergic to his sweat, so he gets rinsed any time he breaks a sweat), but avoid soaps.

Get some one extra fat into his diet. At the least, some flax. At the most, some form of oil.

Amazingly, a little baby oil cut with water or some Healthy Haircare (the pink stuff) sprayed on and rubbed in regularly can help a lot.

But definitely start by getting to the root of his issues. My guess is there are some allergies there and eliminating those triggers can help tremendously.

[emilymorro]

Hm, I’ll try to stop bathing him as much and just rinsing him more often. It seems as if it has gotten better, but it’s hard to tell. I’ve been so closely over analyzing it waiting for it to get better that I’m not even sure if it’s not all in my head. I have started him on horseshine (all my other horses are on horseshine but I was hesitant with him because he is also on tri-amino and smartcombo pellets) and I think I’m seeing a difference with the added flax. He is also getting a lot of coconut oil through the coolstance feed and also the turmeric mixture. I’m thinking now that I might put some of the coconut oil on his skin because I use the coconut oil as a moisturizer for myself and it works better than anything I have ever used.
I haven’t gotten the allergy test yet because it is $300. It takes a bit of saving on a working student’s salary to get to that amount. I am, however, having a very knowledgable vet (dr, ridgway, does acupuncture, chiropractic, saddle fit, chinese herbs, and trained as a conventional equine vet as well as holistic) come to look at him. I’m interested in what he might have to say.
It seems as though it is not bothering him as much and is not as itchy. I started riding him again. I’ll keep close attention to see if the sweat of the saddle pad irritate the little bumps. I cant rarely even feel them anymore, but you can see the spots that his hair sticks up all over his shoulder, back and rump.
Will keep everyone updated.

[rcloisonne]

You’re feeding so many different things it would be hard to know which, if any, of them may be causing the problem. Why not just go back to basics (hay and water) for a few weeks and see what you have then?

Agree with the recommendations to get this cultured or biopsied. It’s gone on long enough to warrent that.

[alto]

[QUOTE=emilymorro;7532515]
I am, however, having a very knowledgable vet (dr, ridgway, does acupuncture, chiropractic, saddle fit, chinese herbs, and trained as a conventional equine vet as well as holistic) come to look at him. [/QUOTE]

He sounds great - very interested in what he finds/recommends so please keep us updated :yes:

[Cherry]

Skin problems are sometimes associated with low copper levels–check your horse’s diet. May also benefit from MSM. Ask your vet…

Also–what Ghazzu said!

[yellowbritches]

Dr Ridgeway is cool. He always has interesting ideas. I’d be interested to know what he thinks/says.