Medical Monday: Sweet Itch

Sweet Itch is an allergic reaction that may result in itchy skin lesions, typically on the tail.  Some horses are sensitive to bites from a specific type of midge – when bitten by Culicoides midges, these horses can experience inflamed and itchy skin: sweet itch.  Watch for this allergic reaction during the warmer months, generally between April and October.

Symptoms include skin lesions on affected areas – which may include the tail, mane, back, ears and/or head.  These lesions are generally very itchy and cause the horse to excessively scratch affected areas, which will usually result in broken hairs, progressing to bald patches and then irritated and/or bleeding skin.   In severe cases, the skin may become thickened, blackened and/or wrinkled with the hair becoming coarse and sparse.

Unfortunately there are few treatments available for this condition.  The best defense, in this case, is a good offense!  Prevention, prevention, prevention.  This can be accomplished a couple of ways including insect repellents and blankets to prevent bites from midges.  It has also been suggested that immunotherapy (“treatment designed to produce immunity to a disease or enhance the resistance of the immune system to an active disease process” – dictionary.com) may help.  Another option is to go directly to the source and work on your farms fly control.  Equisearch.com has an interesting article with some suggestions for prevention (apple cider vinegar in your horses feed, applying menthol products, rubbing dryer sheets on your horse, etc.)

If your horse is allergic to these midges, watch for signs of infection.  Their attempts to scratch the affected areas can introduce bacteria, potentially causing a whole other slew of problems.

Medical Monday: Rain Scald

Rain Rot (aka Rain Scald) seems to appear on some horses left exposed to wet, dirty conditions. Clues that your horse may have rain scald include

• In early stages you’ll feel small lumps on your horses skin
• Scurfy patches or crusty scabs on the shoulders, back and/or haunches
• Skin underneath scurf patches may be raw and oozing

If your horse does get rain scald, you can help get rid of it by clipping away long hairs and giving your horse a bath – some recommend using medicated shampoos, however, it seems to me that the goal is to get your horse clean (and then dry) to get rid of this condition so either should do the trick.  Now, some research says you should put an antiseptic ointment on the affected areas, and some says not to, stating it’s better to let the air get at them.  Of course, if the affected area(s) appear infected, you should consult your veterinarian. 

Prevention seems to be similar to that for mud fever – keep your horse clean and dry.  I’ve also seen it recommended to not share equipment (saddle pads and leg wraps, specifically).

If you’ve dealt with this ailment before and had success treating it, please reply to this post and let us know what worked for you!

HRN's First Contest

Horse Resource Network has partnered with Vancouver artist Meredith Madderom for our first contest!  Do you have a beloved horse you want to immortalize?  Enter HRN’s contest and you could win a custom portrait of your horse!

How:                                        Place an ad! Any ad!

Who:                                        Anyone and everyone!  You’ll automatically be entered to win when you place an ad on HRN.

When:                                      The contest closes the moment we hit 50 ads so get yours in quick!

What (aka The Prize):             The winner will receive a custom portrait of a horse of their choice. 

The winner of HRN's first contest will receive an 11" x 14" portrait by Meredith Madderom done in their choice of pencil crayon or pastel.

Once a winner has been selected, they will be asked to send in a photograph of  a horse of their choice.  After receiving the photograph, it will take Meredith approximately 2 weeks to produce the portrait. Upon completion HRN will mail the portrait and photograph back to the winner.

Samples of Meredith Madderom's work:

Pencil Crayon:

Oil Pastel:

Medical Monday: Thrush

Most horse owners, at one point or another, have had to deal with thrush.  In wet climates (*cough* Vancouver *cough*) it may have even been recommended that you treat your horses hooves with something like Coppertox to help keep the hoof dry and prevent thrush. 

Symptoms of thrush can include:

• Bad smelling hoof
• Black pus in the frog area
• Frog appears to be decaying
• Lameness and/or increased sensitivity of the frog.

There are many options for treatment out there – most of which can be purchased at your local tack store, or if the thrush is persistent, talk to your veterinarian for other options.  If you’re on a budget, you can try using sugardine which you can make in your own home.  Sugardine is simply a mixture of Betadine and white table sugar to form a paste.  Some people may suggest using bleach or hydrogen peroxide – DO NOT USE THESE! These are caustic chemicals and can burn healthy tissue and actually retard healing.   

In terms of prevention, if you’re in a wet climate there’s not much you can do.  The thrush bacteria is anaerobic so prevention is essentially keeping your horses hooves dry.  As mentioned above, Coppertox can help as it serves to dry out the hoof.  When applying Coppertox, be careful not to get it on yourself as it stains, and make sure you only put it on the bottom of the hoof as it can irritate the hair and skin and cause sensitivity. 

Here's a video I found on youtube from thehorse.com:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44r1MvdM3fk

Tips for Buying a New Horse - Part 1

So you've decided to embark on the epic journey into horse ownership.  Congratulations!  There are a lot of things to consider - too many to include right not but, fear not, there are more to come!

• Take the horses fitness level into account.  An unfit horse may be lazy and dull, but as their fitness level increases you may notice energy and behavioral changes.
• When arranging to try a horse, it's a good idea to see the horse being caught from the field (if they're in one), led in, groomed and tacked up in addition to being ridden.  Ground manners are very important and can make or break your partnership with a horse. 
• Before trying any horses develop a set of criteria that suit you and what you're planning to do with your new horse.  If you have a trainer/instructor that you work with ask them for their opinion.
• Finding a perfect match can take time and many trials! You may find it helpful to make some notes after viewing each horse so as not to forget any important details, or confuse one horse with another!

Mud Fever

If you’re one of the dubiously lucky ones to live in Vancouver, or a similarly rain afflicted city, you and your horse are probably not strangers to mud fever ;)

Mud fever (aka Scratches, Rain Rot, Mud Rash, etc.) is a type of skin infection most commonly affecting the hollows of horses’ pasterns and heel areas.

Without going into specific medical details, mud fever is generally found in horses exposed to a persistently wet or muddy environment.  It presents with crusty scabs which may make the underlying skin quite sensitive.

In most cases, owners can treat this condition themselves.  However, if the horses’ legs are swollen or the horse is lame, owner’s should certainly consider contacting their vet.   To treat mud fever, remove all scabs (to make this easier on the horse you can first try soaking the affected area in warm soapy water).  Once the affected area is cleared of scabs and dried, treat with an anti-bacterial lotion.

Prevention:

·         Clip any long hairs (feathers) as they will hold moisture close to the horses skin

·         Keep horses in as dry an area as possible.  Rotate winter pastures to minimize mud.

·         When dealing with muddy legs, it’s preferable to let them dry and then brush the mud away but if you must hose them off, be sure to dry them afterwards.

·         Spray potentially affected areas with a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and baby oil after cleaning.  The baby oil will moisturize the skin, preventing it from cracking.  The vinegar will change the pH value of the skin, making it less hospitable to bacteria.