The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Pets & Working Animals => Horses, ponies, donkeys & mules => Topic started by: FriesianLambs on April 11, 2015, 10:22:44 pm
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I have a shetland pony and I got her in 2011, in 2012 she developed scabs on her muzzle around the time she was turned to pasture.
(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u284/Kurosa/Lady%2041_zps1hdaydus.jpg)
(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u284/Kurosa/Lady%2039_zpsujujtvx0.jpg)
In 2013 she stood with another horse and it seemed as though that horse had played rough with her.
(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u284/Kurosa/Plek5_zpsce363219.jpg)
(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u284/Kurosa/Plek3_zps027eddeb.jpg)
Lump on her neck(we thought from biting)
(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u284/Kurosa/Plek1_zps35ab2c63.jpg)
Last year, it happened again, but no pictures.
And this year it gets worse and spreads to more of her body. She has scabs on her belly now as well and I don't remember them being there.
(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u284/Kurosa/IMG_6005_zpshxo2k3dk.jpg)
(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u284/Kurosa/IMG_6003_zpssybb3ggx.jpg)
(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u284/Kurosa/IMG_6004_zpsflim3dal.jpg)
I've had 3 different people tell me 3 different things. They all have some form of medical background with horses. First one told me sweet itch, possible from too much sugar in her food, second one said a fungus and the third said lice, mite or mange.
I thoroughly searched her, but I have seen no activity of lice and mites are too small. I washed her today with tea tree shampoo and put a cream based on dead seasalt, calendula extract, eucalyptus oil and rosemary oil on the itchy skin and left her inside for today. Tomorrow I'm repeating the gel, but I still don't know what I'm treating.
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My experience is limited to two donkeys, so I have no expert view, but from experience so far I have found pure neem oil to work really well for a variety of skin issues, e.g mud fever, small wounds, insect bites, fly strike and as a fly/midge repellent in general.
It is antibacterial & antifungal, repels insects and it is also quite soothing/healing on raw skin. Neem oil is a pressed oil like olive oil, not a distilled oil like tea tree, so it's not aggressive used neat.
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We have a pony with sweet itch, last year I mixed up some essential oils with neem oil and put that on (the essential oils were citronella, tea tree and lavender) it seemed to make a difference :thumbsup:
I was also told to keep them away from lots of trees (provide cover for midges which make it worse) and restrict grazing to night time (less sugar in the grass?)
My friend (an equi dentist) advises using spot on for cows to treat mites/lice on horses - you'll only need about 10ml to treat a Shetland, just pour it along their back where they can't reach with their mouth and there are fly rugs you can get to help too.
HTH
Karen
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Thank you both for your replies. I shall have a look into neem oil.
So my pony most likely has sweet itch?
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Not sweet itch. Your pony would be itchy and it nearly always shows at the top of the tail and along the crest but not around the mouth. My guess would be some other allergy. I have a donkey with the problem now and have treated with a pour on for forage mites. In the past once they have moulted mine have stayed clear until the following spring.
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She is itchy. Always scratching on stuff or herself.
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It looks more another sort of allergy to me, buttercups or gorse are the two things that spring to mind first, but if there isn't anything obvious like that to rule out, to begin with I would be getting a skin scrape done by the vet.
Do you change the pony's feeding at this time of year at all? Some feeds can cause allergic reactions in some ponies, I have one who can't tolerate alfalfa at all and comes out in blisters.
Spot on is very effective, but be sure to do a tiny spot test first, I have seem some horrendous allergic reactions to it, including one pony who died.
If it is sweet itch, the only way to really relieve your pony is to have them completely covered so they cannot be bitten by midges.
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Hi, I have a mini shetland, Ive had since a yearling(now 6), he has always been "itchy" and suffered from occasional sweet itch. I tried all the usual remedies and he always wore a sweet itch rug and mask in spring/summer. 2 years ago I put the ponies on a bit of turmeric in a small handful of chaff twice a day and we havent looked back,! He hasnt needed a rug since. I put a few grinds of black pepper,organic virgin olive oil or linseed/coconut oil and a couple spoonfuls of high curcumin turmeric( min 3%) mixed up in the chaff, it seems also to have helped with my other pony who came to me with bald patches here and there. It might be worth a try.
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If it began around the mouth I would look at what she ate first. Buttercup is a top contender but there may be other allergens in the field.
I would also get a bottle of Coopers spot-on and dose her along neck and spine by weight, probably 5 or 10ml max, and repeated after 10 days to cover mites or lice as a precaution. When moulting this time of year they are often itchy anyway but both these are reasonable precautions.
What does the top of her tail look like? Can you post a photo? Sweet itch usually causes the tail head to be rubbed badly, even raw. A full tail and mane suggest it isn't necessarily SI but some folk will assume any kind of rubbing is so rule out the obvious alternatives first.
I own a pony thought to have SI who spent several years in rugs, tried every treatment, even the first clinical trial vaccine to no avail. She lived on a hill surrounded with forestry and after she went to be ridden further north,in midge and cleg landscape, she stopped rubbing! We worked out it was likely forest blackfly she was allergic to and as far as I know she hasn't rubbed since. Environment and other changes may provide clues and I hope you can identify the cause soon.
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Her skin looked calmer today. She really enjoyed the gel being applied to all the itchy bits, her mouth just tightened, her lips wiggled and she tried to scratch me and my daughter back.
Top of her tail looks bristled, she scratches it a little bit this year. But it never got bald.
I take your advices to heart, just ruling out causes bit by bit.
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There's a very interesting theory about the connection between the neck thread worm and sweet itch. Now please don't think I'm suggesting your pony is wormy, I'm not. It's suggested that when the neck thread worm is irritated, micro filae break off and cause irritation, particularly on the belly and neck. Worth a look see.
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I've not seen a let up with the midges, they ve been about all winter, worrying...
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doesn't look like sweet itch to me. Im suspecting a parasite.
But if it is, or any other allergic reaction, I highly recommend Fight Back from Equifeast. Its a food supplement that boosts the immune system. It miraculously cured my horse's chronic skin condition in a month. Its not cheap but it really does work and you will save on vets bills.
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please remember to spot test anything new-I use neem myself but have know horses to have big reactions to it, same with some of the pour ons.
Get a vet out, you need to rule out mites (which can only be confirmed with a decent skin scrape), worms and pemphigus (an autoimmune disease that can be treated-but not with neem oil).
SI has often been 'diagnosed' by horse owners when actually its a plant allergy or a dietary issue. Clover, buttercup can cause photosensitivity even on dark skin. They don't have to eat it, just graze around it.
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That isn't sweet itch. I would recommend that you get your vet in and get it sorted out once and for all. The bill may be whatever it is, but start to add up all the money you will end up spending on this potion and that so called 'natural' remedy, and you will find that there isn't much difference in the cash and you will end up with a pony that isn't suffering from sore, itchy skin and getting more and more miserable as you struggle to find a remedy.
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Agree with Herdygirl. Get it professionally diagnosed.
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Just an update. The pony had lost some hair on her back where the spot began, but it's growing back. Taking my vets advice I'm going to wash her as soon as possible with a betadine shampoo. It's too cold and we don't have warm water to wash our horses.
Whatever her condition is, it's only affecting her. She grazes with two other shetlands and besides the annual shedding they didn't show any crusts nor excessive itching.
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What plants are in her digs? Anything that could cause irritation. Sorry I can't look at original post as on iPad and it crashes if I try and re read.
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The nose photosensitive ty could be caused by dewy mornings. I very much agree with several posts here, parasite based, immunity. Get an mot off vet, scrapings, fec, bloods. Something is bound to show up.
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2-3 tsp neem oil
2-3 tsp citronella
2tbsp vinegar
1/2 pint tea brewed with 8 strong tea bags
2 crushed garlic cloves
Make it up to two litres in an old plastic bottle and leave to stand.
Hope pony is better soon.
This midge and horsefly repellent recipe works for us