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horse with unexplained itching?
My horse has a severe itch all over her back and ribs. I read on the internet of other similar cases and no explanation ever seems to be forthcoming.
The itch comes and goes - she hasn't had it for months and then this week she has rubbed her back and sides raw. Sometimes she itches only for a few days and sometimes for a few weeks - that's a bad time for us as she gets secondary infections if I'm not careful. My vet keeps saying it's an allergy but it can't be because it's not seasonal and he even prescribed her steroids for it and they only worked for 6 weeks then overnight the effect of them disappeared and she was scratching again. She's had skin scrapes and blood tests, I know it isn't sweet itch because she HAS sweet itch, wears a proper rug for it, and so doesn't scratch her mane and tail. Rug on or rug off makes no difference to the body itch.
There are NO symptoms except itching. Her skin looks fine, her coat is shiny, there is no swelling or weeping or anything to see before she rubs it raw. She's not overweight and she is on a low-sugar diet. She was in regular work until she rubbed her back raw this week.
I'm not looking for treatment suggestions, thanks, I really, really would like to hear from anyone who might know what causes it. Could it be neurological and if so what could I do to prove?
5 Answers
- 7 years ago
I don't know what it could be other than the things you have explained and what other people have offered. My horse gets a bad itch/sores on his dock and underneath his tail. I used a witch hazel/Listerine mix to disinfect it. Doesn't burn the horse at all because the witch hazel is natural. I then used A & D ointment and the sores and itching went away. It may be of some help to your baby
- FinleyLv 77 years ago
parasites.
get a vet to take a look and give you some kind of meds for whatever it is.
just taking advice here may or may not help or make it worse if you don't know what it is.
the internet isn't good for this kind of diagnosis that a vet should be giving you after personally looking at it.
all horses are different.
- sazzyLv 77 years ago
Look into the bedding and other things, I've known a couple of horses now who had developed allergies to store mites that live in bedding etc. and develop these exact behaviours.
If it was me, if you can I would turn out completely for a few days and see if that relieves the issue - if it does then it's something inside the barn.
- 7 years ago
The bugs are getting bad right now. Some horses are very sensitive to bugs and get itchier than others. If you say she has sweat itch, it could be related to that.
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- 7 years ago
It may be a bug. Maybe even an internal bug. We have used a Dusting powder to kill the lice or little bugs that used to be in one of our thoroughbreds coats. Try applying this: http://www.domvet.com/dusting.html (copy the link and paste into search) It works really well and may be just what she needs. Read the precautions before applying as it is not good for a human to inhale or make contact on skin.
