winter skin health
For many horse owners, winter brings with it one or both of the twin curses of mud fever and rain scald; here Robinson Animal Healthcare offers advice on how they can potentially be prevented.
Winter skin care
Most winter skin conditions do in fact result from a dirty coat, which creates the prime conditions for bacteria and fungi to breed and cause problems such as mud fever and rain scald.
Careful management, such as ensuring hooves and legs are thoroughly cleaned and dried after turnout or exercise, or by providing adequate shelter, can help avoid common winter skin problems.
Mud Fever Mud fever is essentially a form of dermatitis which affects the skin on the heel, fetlock and pastern. It can affect all horses, but particularly those with long hair around the fetlocks. The skin and underlying tissues become inflamed, which leads to the skin swelling, stretching and weeping; the skin starts to crack, hair falls out and hard scabs form. In more severe cases it can lead to inflammation and infection and spread up the legs. It usually occurs during the wet winter months and is primarily caused by the bacterium dermatophilus congolensis that also causes problems like rain scald and greasy skin. The bacterium forms spores that are capable of surviving for many months, even years. If not effectively removed, the condition can reoccur at any time.
Rain Scald Rain scald is another common skin infection seen in horses around winter time. It is also referred to as ‘rain rot’ or ‘streptothricosis’.
It can appear as large crust- like scabs or small matted tufts of hair. There are usually dozens of tiny scabs that have embedded in the hair and can
Dry legs using Veterinary Gambee to absorb any excess moisture
be easily scraped off.
Underneath the scabs, the skin is usually pink with puss when the scabs are first removed, then it becomes grey and dry as it heals. It is usually hard to differentiate rain scald from other similar skin conditions, so if you are unsure, call your vet. In the early stages, you will be able to feel small lumps on the horses’ skin or hair by running your hand over your horse’s coat.
Prevention For horses prone to mud fever or rain scald, keep them out of the rain and away from muddy conditions as much as possible, keeping coats clean and dry with suitable rugs and shelter,
plus regular grooming. Disinfect rugs, tack, grooming and stable equipment thoroughly to prevent the spread of skin conditions and to eliminate re-infecting the same horse. Ideally a policy of one grooming kit per horse should be adopted.
An anti-bacterial wash can be used to cleanse areas susceptible to mud fever or rain scald, killing any bacteria on the skin and helping to remove any scabs that have formed – always remember to thoroughly rinse and dry the legs/coat after use. For best results, then bandage the legs with Veterinary Gamgee®
, as this will absorb any excess moisture and
provide warmth and insulation. By adhering to a ‘prevention is better than the cure’ philosophy you can go a long way to ensuring winter is stress free. If you are ever in any doubt about treating mud fever or rain scald or if the condition persists you should contact your vet for further advice as secondary infections can be very serious.
For more information visit www.
robinsonanimalhealthcare.com
Active Scrub can effectively cleans areas susceptible to mud fever
Equine Page 32
For many horse owners, winter brings one or both of mud fever and rain scald
www.theequinesite.co.uk
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