Your horse’s skin is his largest organ. Offering physical protection and temperature control, as well as serving as your horse’s first line of immune defense, the skin plays an important role. But what happens when your horse’s skin gets sick? Here are some of the most commonly encountered equine skin conditions and what to do about them.
Also known as rain scald, rain rot is a common equine skin condition medically termed dermatophilosis because it is an infection caused by the bacterium Dermatophilus congolensis. Certain horses are thought to be carriers of these normally dormant bacteria, and when chronic moisture and skin trauma occur simultaneously, rain rot can result.
Luckily for horse owners, rain rot is easy to identify. Known by its characteristic “paintbrush” lesions, the hair on a horse’s back and rump becomes crusty and matted in small clumps. Underneath these clumped bits of hair is raw, tender skin.
Once you’ve identified rain rot, here’s what to do:
Medically known as pastern dermatitis, scratches goes by many other common names that all mean the same thing, such as greasy heel, cracked heel and mud fever. This equine skin condition occurs at the back of the pastern and is characterized by swelling, hair loss, red, irritated skin, and the formation of scabs. This condition understandably causes sensitivity in your horse’s heel and can be severe enough to cause lameness. While the true cause of scratches has yet to be determined, this skin disease is most commonly seen in horses that spend lots of time standing in wet or unsanitary conditions. Horses with feathers are predisposed to this disease, as long hair along the lower leg retains moisture close to the skin. Scratches usually affects two or all four feet.
Tender, raw heels are the featured characteristic of this disease. Here’s what to do if you see it:
Hives is a common allergic reaction in the skin. It can be the result of your horse’s exposure to something his immune system is over-reacting to, such as an insect bite or sting, drug reaction, pollen, or other seasonal allergy.
Also called welts or (medically) urticaria, hives appear as raised, shallow bumps that can emerge anywhere on your horse’s body. They are most commonly seen along the neck, shoulder or abdomen. Hives can be itchy and warm to the touch, but most mild cases disappear on their own. The easy part of hives is identifying the condition. The hard part is often finding the cause, since allergies can sometimes have multiple sources.
If you notice hives on your horse, here’s what to do:
Sweet itch is a common seasonal skin disease that is actually an allergy to biting midges, also called “no-see-ums.” This condition most commonly occurs along the horse’s topline, around the mane and tail, as well as on the face and ears. It manifests in a range of signs that include scaly patches of itchy skin, scab formation, and hair loss in affected areas.
If you see your horse becoming itchy and miserable in the summer, here’s what to do:
Sarcoids and melanoma are two of the most commonly encountered equine skin cancers. Both types of cancer can range from fairly benign to invasive and destructive. While most sarcoids appear on the head, neck, or legs of a horse, melanoma occurs most commonly in gray horses around the perineum and elsewhere underneath the tail. Sarcoids can come in a variety of shapes and sizes, while melanoma is usually fairly uniform and distinct as a firm nodule or group of nodules.
Treatments for equine skin cancer vary based on what type of cancer is present, its location, and how invasive it is. However, in general terms, here are some guidelines:
Anna O’Brien, DVM, is a large-animal ambulatory veterinarian in central Maryland. Her practice tackles anything equine in nature, from Miniature Horses to zebras at the local zoo, with a few cows, goats, sheep, pigs, llamas, and alpacas thrown in for good measure.
This article originally appeared in the February 2016 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!
Anna O'Brien, DVM, is a large-animal ambulatory veterinarian in central Maryland. Her practice tackles anything equine in nature, from Miniature Horses to zebras at the local zoo, with a few cows, goats, sheep, pigs, llamas, and alpacas thrown in for good measure.
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