Advice on loan ponys skin please.

[lostscot]

My daughter has been riding a friends horse for a year and as she's wanting to start doing small shows etc but horse is too big my very lovely friend has loaned a little pony for her. She's a lovely little thing, 30 but doesn't act it and we are all very fond of her. As soon as she arrived we realised she was in a terrible state, generally filthy and no idea when her rug had last been off as her skin under is horrible but much improved after a bath and general brushing.
Main problem is her mane area is full of sores and she's itching terribly and at bottom of mane either her rug has rubbed a big sore or she's rubbed it sore. We've cleaned it and keeping a eye on it but no idea what to do to stop her itching and if you touch around it or on her mane she shakes and quivers.
Any ideas would be much appreciated please, might have to get vet out after new year....

[Micah]

Get a vet to rule out any long-term issues, or show you how to manage them. It doesnt sound like you are that experienced?

Horses have lots of things that would cause the symptoms you describe. How long have you had the pony? Is it getting better or staying the same now youve coeaned her up and sorted the rug?

It does sound like you need some advice though. Vet would be best, it might be worth getting her a general check up, teeth done etc, especially guven her age.

[lostscot]

No I've not ridden for 20 years but friend who's yard she's in, who is loaning her and is looking after has owned her own for 25 years and says she's never seen skin like it. She's only been with us two weeks, arrived just before Xmas so timing wasn't great for vet. On the whole she's much improved except her mane which she's rubbing like mad! I did speak to vet who suggested decent food, brushing and love then she'd see her If we wanted in new year.

[2015nearlyover]

She needs a vet. She may need antibiotics if it's bad, or steroids.

[mrslaughan]

Definitely vet- our vet has a day that they don't charge a call out fee..... It could be anything, including mites....

If the vet rules out anything needing "medical treatment" , and it is just general irritation, we found the NAF skin stuff great - the wash and supplement, we used it when our pony got VERY itchy. Also aloe Vera juice added to food is meant to be great and hypocare, which is a topical treatment.

[lostscot]

We chatted today and are going to call vet tomorrow, there's one nearer us than the one friend uses so will try them first as I know vet has horses herself.

[Lasttangoin2016]

OP it's important to get the medical history of this pony from the piny's original vet. It may be that the pony has a history is sweet itch or an allergy to alfalfa (as many ponies do). She could have pinworms - there could be dozens of reasons for he skin condition, and the vet may have treated her for this over the years.

[dodobookends]

Sounds like it could be sweet itch to me as well - I've had two with it - if the vet confirms it then dampen the hay in haynet (dunk in trough) before giving, and bed down on shavings.

[lostscot]

Funnily enough I've been googling sweet itch but we thought it unlikely in winter and pinworms tonight ( and scratching!)
Weve also spoken to her owner who says she's never been sick in her life and never needed a vet!
Yes I know this should all have been looked into before she arrived but it was arranged through another mutual friend as the owners had no rider for her and had basically left her stood in a stable. Once we realised how bad she was we could have sent her back as she was in such a state but they don't want her at theirs and if she's with us she will be well looked after and very much loved again against sent back to stand neglected :-(

[YouBastardSockBalls]

Sounds like mites or lice to me, but hopefully the vet will give you some answers.

[dodobookends]

If she's been stood in a stable and possibly been left alone for too long and uncared-for, could the mane scratching possibly be stress-related in any way?

If she's rubbed it raw, then it is going to be really sore and uncomfortable and she will scratch it all the more. Agree with others, the vet is the best thing, and they can check to make sure there is no sign of infection as well.

[mrslaughan]

Or she could just need a good bath and airing.......
But definitely get the cry to look at it.
Let us know what it was.

[Wildhorses3]

Mites is quite rare in horses now a days due to wormers containing a chemical which kills them.
It's quite possibly sweet itch as it's not really the time of year for lice.
A good anti fungal shampoo and a good bath will clear up a lot of skin probs,then regular brushing and also to soothe the skin use Neem oil,you can buy this on eBay,it's a totally natural oil which will clear up the majority of skin problems.

[Pixel]

I wouldn't totally rule out lice as it's been so mild and if the rug is infested and rarely taken off they could still have thrived. I would have said rain scald as another possibility as it can get very sore, especially if a secondary infection develops but if she's just been left in the stable I suppose that's unlikely. Anyway, you do need the vet to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible as the poor thing sounds utterly miserable. Good luck .

[Lasttangoin2016]

What did the vet say OP?

[fatbottomgirl67]

I wouldn't rule out sweet itch . One of ours is still itchy as it's not cold enough to kill the midges. We are having to use fly repellant on her next and face as she rubs at night. Good bath in tea tree shampoo should help soothe the itch just make sure to wash out thoroughly

[lostscot]

Sorry all forgot I started this! It's sweet itch and general neglect, we ended up clipping her as poor love was itching herself stupid where her rugs had been on so long and her coat had stuck together in lumps. She's happy to receive lots of brushing and cuddles from dd but will nip any passing adult if she thinks you're not looking!
Her open sore has eventually healed and we are desensitising her around area with lots of touching and brushing the area. Just the dry flaky mane left to deal with but she's looking much better and loves been ridden despite her age.
Now researching sweet itch remedies ready for spring....

[mrslaughan]

A good fly rug!

[mrslaughan]

Oh and apparently if you feed garlic? Also I think turmeric is a general anti inflammatory - so may have an effect on skin? Couldn't hurt to try?

[Biggles398]

Garlic actually makes my lad worse !!
(Apparently it boosts the immune system, and sweet itch is a over reacting immune response, so you're in effect over loading it even more)

My boy wears a rug and is also on a feed supplement (but I have to start it long before sweet itch season starts - in fact, I keep him on a smaller amount of it all year and then up it soon!)

[Coldwatebay]

Agreed about garlic. Would give it a miss. Also strip all feed back to basic cutting out all sugar and Alfalfa.

[51howdidthathappen]

I have good results with cavalesse and Nettex itch stop. Also rugged March or November. Or longer if weather particularly mild.

[lostscot]

First thing I did was stop the garlic and have picked up a sweet itch rug in the sales already. Food is all basic no sugar and no extra titbits.
Biggles which supplement do you use please? 51 I'll look at those.

[Biggles398]

I originally used the Global Herbs one (called something like Skratch?), but the liquid one as the powder one stinks and he'd not touch it! That worked brilliantly for a few months, then stopped working.
I now use Feedmark's "equidermis plus". I have him on it all year, and then up/lower the dose, depending on the time of year! He's been on it 3 years now I think, and for the past 3 years, he's had a full mane and tail, before that, he'd end up with a couple of strands left! (However, it didn't work at first, but I'm pretty sure it's because I waited until the midges were about before starting him on it!)

Marmite (or brewers yeast as it's cheaper) also works for a lot of horses.

However, as with everything, some things work better on different horses, so a lot will just be trial and error I'm afraid!

[lostscot]

Thank you, I've started using up some marmite on her already as had a huge one no one was eating and I'll look at these too.

[Coldwatebay]

I tried marmite with my sweet itch sufferer. Made no difference, but he did enjoy it!