horse scratching

ramblingroisin

hi i have a new mare bout 8 weeks . she was underweight when i got her. i have wormed her twice now and washed her with anti fungal shampoo from the vets but she is still scratching herself. her mane and tail are completely intact just her body she is causing cuts allover. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated . i have also applied ectospec today to treat incase of lice. im afraid she is goin to scar herself .

twomeys

Hi Rambling,

Myself and Karen have been discussing your situation. Firstly, its great that your being proactive and what you have done so far is excellent. As you are probably aware it could be the few classics, sweet itch, mites or lice. Karen suggested as you have now used something for lice it may be worth waiting 24 hours to see if there is any change. If there isnt it may be a good idea to call the vet in, otherwise you may be spending a lot on treatments for something thats not there. As the skin is the largest organ of the horses body you must be very careful what you put on it. There are treatments for mites that vets use but it is fatal for horses so make sure your vet is a good horse vet and not just a cow vet, if you know what I mean.

If it turns out that its lice or mites its very treatable, if its sweet each its also very treatable and I can help you with that also but its an annual treatment. Can you describe to me what your surroundings are like where you have the horse. For example is it sheltered, is there a water near by like a river or lake, are there trees on the site like ever greens? These may help us figure out whats up with her.

I could waffle on forever but if you can fill in those blanks and also describe the condition of her coat that will help too. But as I say a good vets once over may save you a lot of time and money and if he says its X Y or Z then we can help you figure out between the lot of us which treament might have worked best for us or or customers.

Regards,

Eoghan