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Post by Ballyr95 on Aug 19, 2015 18:05:21 GMT
My pony took some sort of reaction at exactly this time last year where he came up in lots of small chicken pox like lumps all over his body, mainly around his back and rump with a few around the crest of his neck. He was driven wild with itch that no cream/bathing would help. Vet gave him a short acting cortisone injection which temporarily eased his itch and gradually it tailed off after that. I blamed all of this on the fact I had sent him to livery whilst on holiday and he had been turned out without a rug and as he always wears a rug I thought he had reacted to the midges. Therefore this year I made sure he stayed at home and was covered in his Snuggy Bug Rug etc continually. However this reaction has returned, exactly a year later. He is covered in lumps which scab and then weep like chicken pox. He is extremely unhappy and I can't bear to see him like this. Vet cannot tell me anything other than he thinks that it is an allergic reaction to SOMETHING possibly a biting insect. Both vets who have looked at him have suggested an allergy rather than sweet itch as he can get the odd little scab in the winter time but nothing serious. He was given the cortisone jab again but this time it doesn't seem to be taking effect, he is still keen to itch. It is not his mane and tail that are directly affected, rather his whole body, legs included. I am at a loss, has anyone else experienced this?
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Post by judyh on Aug 19, 2015 19:19:39 GMT
Have they been combining near? I had a mare who came up in lumps with that . Oil Seed Rape particularly dusty.
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Post by sjw87 on Aug 19, 2015 20:33:38 GMT
One of mine gets a very similar reaction if fed alfalfa. Has anything changed feed wise? Different batch of hay at this time of year? What do you feed him? Just wondering if any chaff could be a new cut at this time of year?
Ditto above that it's worth trying to find out what farmers have been doing locally
Sent from my GT-I9195 using proboards
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Post by Ballyr95 on Aug 19, 2015 21:41:58 GMT
No crops cut around here recently. He is fed alfalfa but has been fed the same all winter with no issues.. But as you say it could be a new cut at this time of year, I have just started a new bag before this all happened. May try taking that off him. Thanks
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Post by sjw87 on Aug 21, 2015 13:17:22 GMT
If you have the original bag of feed, take a note of the batch number and call the manufacturers. Every bag of feed must have traceability so they should be able to confirm if it's a new cut or even if there's a different oil/coating used. Some additives don't have to be specifically noted in the ingredients so if it just says 'oil', they can swap between oils (eg. from soya oil to rapeseed oil) based on what they can source at the lowet price.
It won't necessarily change anything right now but if you can determine a cause it could prevent issues in the future
Sent from my GT-I9195 using proboards
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Post by hannahj on Aug 21, 2015 20:52:47 GMT
Have you got any new hay? Or had a delivery of different hay? One of my horses is VERY allergic to ryegrass haylage.
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Post by Ballyr95 on Aug 21, 2015 22:38:56 GMT
No new hay, all our own from last year. He took the same reaction whilst on haylage on livery last year so don't feel it could be an allergy to forage
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Post by piper77 on Sept 13, 2015 11:56:10 GMT
Not an answer but my horse had exactly the same this year. What soothed it best was tea tree. I used about 70% tea tree with water and wiped him twice a day. Might help
Patch test with tea to ensure no reaction and adjust the strength once you know how he is with it. Stronger the better
Good luck
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Post by Ballyr95 on Sept 13, 2015 15:12:04 GMT
Thank you. I found the product Stinky Stuff via Facebook and I have to say it seemed to make a huge difference to him. Within a couple of days, lumps gradually seemed to get less itchy and eventually turned to scabs which flaked off. It broke his itching cycle and within just over a week he was back to normal!! Keeps the flies away really well too, will definitely make sure I have a supply of this should the same thing ever happen again.
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smalley
Full Member
Horses lend us the wings we lack
Posts: 419
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Post by smalley on Sept 13, 2015 15:44:42 GMT
We've just had exactly the same problem with my mare. She's come up in lumps which went down again a couple of times then the other day she came in with lots of little lumps - next morning they were huge, some oozing and weeping, her legs swelled up massively and she was so uncomfortable. Our vet said it was likely to be allergies to some kind of biting insect, someone else suggested ants? To treat it we kept her in, washed her with medicated shampoo and hosed her legs to make her more comfortable, they're going down but she's covered in scabs and bald bits now. We're going to try a sweet itch rug to try and prevent it happening again. This might be different though as it's mainly her body which is covered in lumps, and her mane and tail aren't affected.
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Post by Ballyr95 on Sept 13, 2015 15:53:28 GMT
We've just had exactly the same problem with my mare. She's come up in lumps which went down again a couple of times then the other day she came in with lots of little lumps - next morning they were huge, some oozing and weeping, her legs swelled up massively and she was so uncomfortable. Our vet said it was likely to be allergies to some kind of biting insect, someone else suggested ants? To treat it we kept her in, washed her with medicated shampoo and hosed her legs to make her more comfortable, they're going down but she's covered in scabs and bald bits now. We're going to try a sweet itch rug to try and prevent it happening again. This might be different though as it's mainly her body which is covered in lumps, and her mane and tail aren't affected. Yes our vet suggested the biting insects, one particular nasty specific to this exact time of year/area that he is allergic to. As for the sweet itch rug, mine was wearing his at he time when this happened so it didn't stop this happening to him unfortunately. I really recommend Stinky Stuff for the bald patches etc, makes the hair grow back so quickly and helps take the scabs away and soothes the skin. This sounds absolutely identical to what happened with my boy, I can completely understand how horrible it is. Thankfully mine is back to his old self again, I hope yours clears up very soon!
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Post by Karen, garrettponies on Sept 16, 2015 21:47:52 GMT
I've just spotted this thread. This may seem like an odd question but do you have any swallows nests/birds nests in your stables? I had a similar issue a couple of years ago. Pony suddenly came out in hives all over, no change in feed, diet, bed, nothing. The vet was flummoxed, thought it was an allergy but no idea what, suggested to keep her in but she got worse. Then i realised the nests in her stable were there. On investigation the nests that had been abandoned were full of bird mites looking for their meal- poor pony. Treated with dectomax and cleaned out stable. Problem went. It was strange as there were nests in the other stables but the other ponies weren't affected.
I now try and ensure they don't nest in her box. The vet said he'd come across similar where people stable near chicken sheds but never thought of other birds.
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Post by Ballyr95 on Sept 17, 2015 12:50:27 GMT
We do actually have swallows nests in the stables (despite best efforts to chase them off) and also chickens in the yard. I'm not sure if where he was on livery had any nests but will find out. Mites are not a nice thought, the nests won't be around for much longer!
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Post by Karen, garrettponies on Sept 17, 2015 17:00:53 GMT
It baffled me as I've had her for 7 years and never had an issue but knew it couldn't be anything she'd eaten, drunk, laid on as absolutely nothing had changed. It had to be environmental.
It makes me feel crawly thinking about them especially when I saw what was in the nests I removed!
I'd wash your rugs, I dipped mine in the leftover deosect!
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