Possible rain scald/allergy - pics added

[harveydales]

Poor Harvey came in yesterday with one side of his belly covered in tiny bumps and long, thin strips of raised areas. He wasn't bothered at all by it but the bumpy side was hot to touch compared to the "normal" side. In himself he is fine, full of energy and raring to go but obviously I wasn't going to put a saddle on him.

Harvey is fully clipped and the last few days I've left his thin rug off because it has been so hot and sunny. But on Monday I was cuaght out and he was out in that awful rain and wind so my first thought is that he is suffering from a from of rain scald.

Another thought is that it is some allergic reaction to something he's laid on, especially as it is only the side of his belly that is affected. I even wondered whether he is allergic to a new sheepskin numnah I've got him, but then why only one side affected.

I rang the vet who told me to wash him with diluted himiscrub, dry him off properly and, as he lives out, put a non-filled rug on him with a clean sheet against his skin. I don't have a non filled rug so rushed out and bought one locally - more expensive than via the internet.

The main vet then rang in the evening to say they'd been discussing Harvey and to tell me they've been encountering a very unusual form of ringworm lately which is showing up with similar symptoms. I am pretty sure it is not ringworm and is rainscald dermatitis but the vet is coming out today to take a look.

Just when I've got so much riding fun planned for Harvey - Sue and Bea were coming over tomorrow for a picnic ride, on Sunday we have a 12 mile hunt ride, clinic at Tanya's the following weekend and another fun ride on the 17th!

[cadeby]

Sods Law strikes again Sorry you're going to miss the rides you had planned.

Hope the vet makes a quick diagnosis and Harvey gets better soon

[zeldalithgow]

I would be leaning towards an allergic reation to something, I would have thought that rainscald would be more likely to have started along his back where it's flatter and the rain can lie, but then I suppose the bacteria is in the soil so if Harvey has been lying down and got a small craze or cut that would leave him open to the bacteria getting a hold anyway I'll stop waffling now and hope that Harvey gets better asap

[valerie n scout]

oh poor Harvey what a shame, pity about your rides, sending vibes, hoping he's on the mend soon XXX

[harveydales]

Well the vet has just gone. The pimples are more visible today but all the hives have gone down. The vet thought the symptoms very unusual. She has never seen hives in long strips, just the usual round splodges, so she will have to discuss it with the chief vet. She doesn't think it is ringworm and doesn't look like rainscald either. It is more likely some sort of allergic reaction.

The vet took a skin scrape and some hair samples and left me with a special shampoo just in case it is rain scald. She also took some samples from Dolly who had always had an odd rough patch on her thigh. Probably nothing but thought it best to test just in case......

Sadly harvey can't be ridden for a few days as a saddle might make things worse. He won't be pleased! Ali has kindly said I can ride Dolly tomorrow with Sue but Sunday's hunt ride will be off.

[SuzieP]

What a pity about the hunt ride, Pam - we'll just have to have double the fun tomorrow to make up for it (if that's possible).

It'll be interesting to find out what has caused this, if you can.

Gill (at the stables) was telling me that one of the new liveries has had something similar and the vet is equally as foxed. The horse is fine now, and none of the others have shown signs of lumps or bumps.

[harveydales]

That's very interesting, Sue. I hope the skin scrapes show what the problem is.

Ali came up with another thought tonight. We had our hay field fertilised Monday week ago. The hay field is higher up than the horse paddocks and water would run off down the horse paddocks if the rain was very heavy. We did have a small amount of rain after the field was fertilised but then it was dry, until this Monday when we had a torrential downpour. A possibility I suppose.

[NFK Dumpling]

If it was fertilizer pellets they wouldn't necessarily have dissolved in a light rain or shower. That would also make sense of it being strips.

The bitey it-its are out here already but they'd usually appear as round bumps too.

I hope you're able to identify it so Harvey knows what to avoid.

[Debbie]

Oohh, I'd not heard of the ringworm appearing any differently than just rings. That's worrying

When Galahad had his rainscald, it started at the horsefly bite site and spread. It did do long thin streaks along his side. I think my vet mistook it because they weren't on the back like you'd normally see with rainscald.

Unfortunately since we didn't know what we were dealing with and it was going into winter, the melaluca oil made the fungus spread, and there was no way to get it all healed before winter. I had to wait until Spring so I could slather the BagBalm over it all and smother it. I also threw away Galahad's blanket so as not to reinfect him.

I hope the samples give you a firm diagnosis so you can get him sorted soon

[harveydales]

Debbie, that's interesting about the long streaks Galahad had. Sounds just like Harvey. The vet left me a special anti-bacterial and anti-fungal shampoo which I'm to use twice a week. He had his first bath this morning, before Sue came, and the shampoo already seems to have improved his skin.

Good thought about throwing out old rugs. I will make sure all Harvey's rugs are thoroughly washed before next winter. i can't wait for the skin scrape results to come so i know exactly what it is I'm dealing with.

[cutemangurdi1]

Pam,
This is exactly what we have been battling with on Sigurd for the last 3 weeks. The vet has been out several times because in Sigs case a week after everything appeared, his breathing became badly affected.

We've had him scoped and the results show a definite allergy. More bloods have now gone off for special allergy testing. We have also vaccinated against ringworm just in case. For the first 10 days we had an antibiotic cream to dress the sores with as once the bumps errupted, some looked rather sore. His skin looks awful now poor lad.

Our vet is perplexed as in addition Sigs is showing significant raised liver values.

He did say that 18mths ago many horse sin the area had liver issues and some allergy issues and they linked it to a profusion of yellow flowers (not ragwort) but that last year the problem seemed to settle. I'm at my wits end with it as I have no idea if the skin issue is linked to the allregy/breating issue and the liver issue, or if there are multiple issues going on.

Like you, I've rugged- but I've put a bug buster on. None of the other horses in the field have shown the raised lumps and skin erruptions, although one had a couple of patches on the face- he was also vaccinated against ringworm.

I hope you get to the bottom of it soon and Harvey is feeling better. X

[harveydales]

That's very interesting, Jacqui. I remember you telling me about Sig and I was going to give you a ring to compare notes. Talking to various people, it seems there are are quite a few horses showing these symptoms and the vets haven't been able to get to the bottom of it.

Today the patch on his side which was the worst is looking much better, just lots of bald patches where the scabs were. But he now has a patch on his rump which is very rough and also hot to touch. He isn't bothered in himself at all. It can't itch or hurt him and he seems his usual self. I suppose bloods will be the next stage if things don't clear up.

[leannwithconnie]

Only just caught up with this Pam...Do hope Harvey keeps improving.... sounds very odd doesn't it!?

[Debbie]

When Galahad came down with his rainscald, I knew his immune system was as wiped out as it could get. His baseline health was extremely low which is why he got the rainscald as a secondary infection to the horsefly bite.

I worked with Robert MacDowell, an herbalist from Australia. www.herbal-treatments.net/ He's a lovely man, very caring for pony, owner and keen to work with you and your vet to get the best support for your pony.

He sent Galahad a blood cleanser which was the foulest smelling concoction I've come across. Galahad craved it, though and it did him a world of good. In fact, I'm convinced it was one of the crucial steps we did to set him back on the road to good health.

Galahad's treatment was very straightforwards. Once the weather was warm enough, I simply slathered the Bag Balm on and smothered the rainscald and that was that.

In the cases with Harvey and Sigs, however, I'm wondering if it might not be so straightforwards. There could be some form of environmental factor, something they're allergic to, be it in the soil, some crop or fertilizer, or possibly even something being blown in on the winds.

If you want, the Bag Balm won't harm anything. Just slather it on and seal the sites. It took about two weeks of slathering for Galahad's sores to go away, but his were extensive.

And if Sigs is already showing liver signs, you might want to try the blood cleanser as it does support the liver along with helping to detox the pony.

[harveydales]

Thanks Debbie, that's interesting. Harvey is an emotionally sensitive soul although he doesn't show it openly. I had wondered whether his immune system was low, making him more susceptible to this sort of thing. I have been doing a lot with him lately and although he appears "up for it" perhaps it was too much. Plus he has been under a lot of psycological pressure with the Frankie situation.

The skin scrape results are back and they show no signs of ringworm, bacterial or fungal infection. So in theory that should rule rain scald out and it is looking more like an allergic reaction but to what? The vet thinks the fertiliser run of is a possibility or something else in the soil.

I am loathe to put any thing on the blistered area for fear of making matters worse but I am going to put Harvey on an immune booster, feed herbs like cleavers and nettle and continue with the bathing.

The vet has offered a steroid injection to calm things down but I am loathe to do this due to lami risk.