Huge bald patch w/ red bumps suddenly appeared on chest!

Peace

Peace

pAin't Nobody's Bidness
Nov 12, 1999
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South Carolina, US
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I have no idea what this is! A bald patch about the width of my palm has suddenly appeared on Quanah's chest, and is creeping up his throat. There are some red bumps, and the skin feels rough and scaly. And I think a patch may be starting on the side of his muzzle.

If he were a dog, I'd think sarcoptic mange, except I've never seen sarcops get so bad so quickly. Do horses get mange?

It has been really wet (like a swamp) at the barn lately - could this be some kind of fungus?

Right now I'm treating it with a topical fungicide cream - Lotrimin Plus - and my barn owner will take him to the vet for me on Monday. (Naturally, nothing like this ever happens during normal vet hours.:rolleyes: )

The rain rot I noticed last week cleared up very quickly, btw - unless this is the next stage? But it's only on his chest, throat, and face - the rain rot was on the side of his neck, and looked nothing like this.

Has anyone ever seen anything like this before?
 
More advanced rain rot will make hair fall out, but it usually shows up as bumps under the hair long before it gets scabby, and it gets scabby long before it makes hair fall out. I wonder if being really wet could accelerate it? If it was there last week but not noticeable, it's maybe possible it could have been developing all week.

I think I mentioned last time that Duchess occasionally gets rain rot that doesn't show up as bumps until it gets scabby... I don't know :( Poor Quanah!
 
Went out to smear Lotrimin on him this morning - it looks somewhat better and hasn't spread any farther, so that's good.

My barn owner, who's had horses for 45 years, said she'd never seen anything like it!

Sue - I'm thinking it could be ringworm as well. The Jack Russell had it recently - don't think Quanah caught it from him as he's not fond of the hyper little beast:) , but they may have gotten it from the same source.

Thanks for the replies, Sue and galadriel!:)
 
If the Jack Russel had it then it's 99.9% certain it is ringworm, Peace. Ringworm is highly contagious, it would only take a person touching the JR then the horse for the infection to spread. If the JR has rubbed on fences etc., it will have put the ringworm into the wood. It's a real hard thing to get rid of. Fortunately, ringworm is more inconvenient than dangerous. Everything will need disinfecting and pressure hosing, brushes, fences, stable doors, rugs, saddle cloths, saddles, bridles etc., etc. anything that could have come into contact with it. Fortunately, again, once an animal has suffered ringworm, they usually build an immunity to it, which is why it's more common in young horses. Unfortunately, humans can get ringworm too. A good disinfectant and change and wash your clothes after a visit to the barn would be a good precaution, so that you don't spread it. It's common for a horse who hasn't had it to pick up ringworm when they're moved to a barn that had, or has cattle, as it seems more common in cattle. At least in the UK and in my experience.

It's one of those things that has a silly stigma to it, so it's often spread by the fact that folk deny it, or try to ignore it. Ridiculous in my view. If you know it's there, you can do something about it!

Sue
sue@eclipse.co.uk
 
Yuck! Poor little guy, raint rot AND ringworm? What a pain. At least the rain rot is going away and the new fungus isn't spreading, so hopefully this'll go away too. I'm sure with his usual great care this'll go away soon too :) (and don't you catch it, either...I'm sure you're not planning to :) )

You're getting a heavy, but thankfully non-severe, dose of the new-horse blues, I think. But somehow I doubt the honeymoon is over yet ;)
 
Thanks Sue - I didn't realize once an animal had had it, it would be more resistant to it in the future! Good to know, and also explains why my horse seems to be the only one of 25 affected.:rolleyes: There's only one horse younger than he is on the place, and one about his age. The others are all older. I hope it is ringworm, really, and not something more serious. I'm a little worried because tonight I found what might be a few new patches (tiny ones), so it may be spreading despite the fungicide. I'll let everyone know what the vet says it is!

galadriel - thanks for the kind words about "usual great care." I do feel like such an awful mother!:(

Although, speaking of honeymoons, this experience has had a silver lining. I was away from the barn for almost the whole month of January, because of a bad case of bronchitis. I left a little chubby fellow who, if he were a human kid, would've been in a Cub Scout uniform - and returned to find a gangly teen with a pack of Camels rolled up in his t-shirt sleeve!:eek: They do grow up so fast. . ..

Last week we had several battles of wills, which I won, actually, but my confidence was a tad shaken in the process. Funny, though, when you have to nurse a critter along, that "mother instinct" just kind of takes over, and it doesn't matter how big they are: they're your "baby," aren't they?

I actually managed to make him stop raiding another horse's feed trough and lead him into his stall tonight with nothing but my hand under his chin. Huge change from last week, when I needed a lead rope, halter, and an Act of Congress to persuade him to go anywhere! :)
 
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hello!

I remeber reading some time ago about a time of worm (an actual worm, not ringworm) that gives rise to a skin irration like you've described. I can't for the life of me remember what it was called, but I know a dose of Eqvalan was the remedy.

Is your horse's worming up to date?

Good luck with the disinfecting if it is ringworm!

bye!
 
You probably mean onchocerca, Sarah. It could be that, though the symptoms are a little different and it is rare (but may not be outside of the uk), but if the JR had ringworm, I think ringworm is more likely and better to treat as though it is ringworm, until the diagnosis is certain, to try to stop any chance of it spreading.

I was once on a yard where a type of ringworm spread like wildfire, after the yard vet told the yard owner that the horses were suffering a reaction to Eqvalan, due to heavy infestations of onchocerca. She was advised not to use eqvalan again, instead of given treatment for the ringworm. My horse and my friend's were the only ones who were treated for ringworm after I called my own vet. Of course the other horses recovered naturally, but it took longer and the ringworm will still be in the fencing etc., as it was never addressed.

Sue
sue@eclipse.co.uk
 
Update - vet puzzled also!

My barn owner took Quanah to the vet this morning, and he's not seen anything quite like it either! The vet took skin and hair samples and sent them off for testing, which will be complete in about 10 days.

In the meantime, he advised iodine baths for the affected areas once daily, followed by a topical solution that is left on, plus oral antibiotics and prednisone. I guess we're hitting all the bases until we know what it is!

From the questions the vet asked my barn owner, he seemed to think it looked like some sort of contact dermatitis. I suppose this may be because the rash is confined to his cheek and chest, as though he were rubbing against something to cause it. Unless there's something out in the pasture we haven't discovered, though, there's nothing new in his environment. (Well, I bought him a new plastic bucket from the feed store, but that's the only new thing).

So I'll let you know how it goes.

I have a few new questions, if y'all aren't totally out of patience yet.

About the anti-biotics - we recently had a horse at the yard colic and develop gastric ulcers after a course of anti-biotics. Was he a rare case, or is this a side effect of anti-biotics I should be wary of with Quanah?

And the prednisone - I know steroids can have all sorts of side effects in humans and dogs. What should I watch out for in horses?

Thanks again for all the information - y'all are a huge source of comfort to a new horse owner!
 
Hmm...I haven't heard of ulcers after antibiotics, but that could just be a limited exposure. I certainly use antibiotics a fair amount :( and haven't had any problems as a result.

I know there is a product called "probiotic" which is supposed to help balance out the gut after a course of antibiotics.

Prednisone is fairly commonly used in people actually; hmmm, here:
http://www.skinsite.com/info_prednisone_cortisone_internal.htm

It's not an anabolic steriod (abused for muscle building), you know, it's a corticosteroid. (You probably know this, of course :) )
 
Keep an eye on his front legs Peace. My horse's infection was confined to his face and neck, but then went to his front legs when he rubbed his face on them. Some horses are very sensitive to iodine too, so if he seems to get worse, or sore where you're washing him, ask for something else. My horse reacted to iodine and his skin shed like a snake's! Apparently many vets don't use iodine these days, because it is strong and horses can react to it.

Sue
sue@eclipse.co.uk
 
Our weanling colt got a terrible case of diarrhea after a course of antibiotics. I gave him the probiotics for three days and then kept on with yogurt three times a day. He loved the yogurt (the fruity kind) I started giving it with a syringer but after a while I just spooned it into his face. (About a half a little container per dose.)

My former horse had sweet itch quite badly, allergic to the mites, and my vet had him on cortizone powder in the feed, vet didn't give more than a week's worth to avoid any side-effects.
 
galadriel: thanks for the link! Actually I was most worried about prednisone psychosis, which the article mentions as a rare side effect of the medication. Oddly enough, I've known two people who had this reaction. They were pretty wigged out (as in institutionalized briefly) - not something I'd want to see again! OK, I realize I am degenerating into complete nervous-new-mother territory here. :)

Sue - thanks for the warning. I will keep an eye on how he reacts to the iodine! The vet checked him over carefully Tuesday, and said there'd been no spreading to the front legs, but I'll watch out for it. The fact it hasn't spread may be why he's not so sure it's ringworm (although I won't be a bit surprised if it does turn out to be).

lisae - also thanks for the warning about diarrhea. I bet Quanah would love yogurt with fruit as well - good suggestion!
 
Saw Quanah this morning for the first time since Sunday (just got back in town from school), and his chest is looking better already! He seems to be tolerating the medications well - no diarrhea, and his skin looks less irritated than it did on Sunday.

Luckily, he seems to enjoy having his chest bathed. In fact, he rests his nose on either my face or my shoulder while I do it, and breathes into my ear.:) Not bad for a little guy who used to regard me as his favorite chew toy!
 
Update

Vet got the results back today, and it is indeed ringworm. He says to continue the iodine baths daily for another week, and use the topical stuff (trade name is Captan) until it's gone.

Just thought I'd let y'all know. Thanks for all the advice!
 
Thanks for the good wishes, Jen. I bet south Fla, being so warm and humid, is a good place for ringworm. I don't know how I managed not to catch it as a kid - South Carolina is pretty warm and damp, too! Does it itch alot?
 
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