My gelding had horrible summer sores while he lived in Arizona before I bought him. He was on steroids and couldn’t be ridden because it was in the corner of his mouth. Once he came to my barn in NY it completely went away and I have had no issues since. I am assuming this is because of the huge climate difference from AZ to NY. I will be relocating to Wellington, FL in a few months and I’m nervous he will develop these sores again. Do you think he will get them in FL? Will he be more susceptible because he’s had them before? How can I prevent them? Is it a bad idea to relocate him to Florida because of this issue? Please help. Summer sores are extremely rare in NY so the vets have no advice and most have never even seen a case of summer sores before.
Summer sores can be a problem down here; I’ve not had the issue so no advice except: Talk to the vet asap about his history and get recommendations. The good news is there are a bunch of knowledgeable vets in the area. Our local vet has a concoction she puts together to treat those that occur.
We had a horse come to our barn w/ an ugly mess just past the corner of his mouth and another on his fetlock. He had apparently been at a place that was not well tended and thus had lots of flies, among other issues. Improvement was rapid once he was moved - fans in stalls, manure picked 3x day, fly repellent system, morning turnout.
Good luck. By the way, you might want to call a vet in Wellington in advance and see what they have to say.
Keep a keen eye out for ANY small sores. and get/keep them covered in goop or something, to keep flies off.
I actually just had a convo with my vet about this last week. She said she’s seen an increase in this up here (NC). She has regular contact with a parasitologist, whose name I promptly forgot, with whom she discussed this. It seem that a 4x dose of ivermectin does a phenominal job killing habronema, as that is what finally worked on a farm she was dealing with.
Fly control,fly control, fly control! Summer sores are awful in Wellington. Fly predators, fly spray system, fly masks with noses. Being vigilant for small sores and covering them immediately. Manure removal is also a big part of it.
Not just flies - it’s those tiny tiny midges that spread summer sores. Equimax double dose, repeat 2 weeks. Use Ivermectrin on the sores. I mix ivermectrin with a triple antibiotic. My vet makes a liquid prep for really bad cases - liquid ivermectrin, antibiotic, and some dex… in a dabber bottle. Last year was really bad here in Ocala - everyone I know had problems - my guy had a sore on his sheath that took forever to resolve. For sores on the pastern we started treating and wrapping - a PIA but seemed to help the healing process. And yes, be vigilant - the smallest thing can turn into a big sore almost overnight.
A friend in South Fla developed a salve called “Denise’s All Heal Salve” that works wonders on summer sores, pythosis, thrush, etc pretty much any kind of skin condition. I keep a jar at home, in the trailer and the barn. You can google it and see photos of before and after shots. She will also provide instructions, etc Salt water is also the best thing to use for cleaning wounds - do not use hydrogen peroxide
