Um, you might not want to read if you are eating:
Okay, Thorougbred horse. Grey. 25 years old. Generally healthy, normal high metabolism a weenie thoroughbred has. Wears 2 blankets in the winter. Turnout during the day. I have recently been assigned to work with him. Have not worked with this horse for several years. I bring him into the stable, tie him, and pull off the blankets. Just past his whithers, along the top ofhis back, where a saddle would lay, are funny lumps under his hair. I run my hand over them, not lightly but not heavily. The lumps break loose. They approximate in size from a man's thumb to his smallest finger. The flesh underneath the scab is exposed; it's pink and kind of moist looking. The scab itself has horse hair imbedded in it, it's dry, but with a "creamy" accumulation of puss underneath. Removing the lumps doesn't seems to bother the horse. Moving excess hair from the exposed pink flesh causes him to flinch. There are about 10 lumps on either side of of the horse. If the scabs were smaller and more numerous, I would think rain rot/rain scald. The area of affliction is confined pretty much to his back just beyond his whithers. There is no way I'm going to get a saddle on him until the skin heals.
How I dealt with it: well, the owner was recovering from a minor surgery. I made sure the flesh was free of dirt, and then used an activated charcoal mix to coat the wounds, and let it dry a bit. He then had his blankets put back on, as it's very cold, he was given an apple, and set back outside. The owner will look at him tomorrow.
I have never seen anything like this before. The scabs broke off so easily, but the flesh was very obviously not healed.
Okay, Thorougbred horse. Grey. 25 years old. Generally healthy, normal high metabolism a weenie thoroughbred has. Wears 2 blankets in the winter. Turnout during the day. I have recently been assigned to work with him. Have not worked with this horse for several years. I bring him into the stable, tie him, and pull off the blankets. Just past his whithers, along the top ofhis back, where a saddle would lay, are funny lumps under his hair. I run my hand over them, not lightly but not heavily. The lumps break loose. They approximate in size from a man's thumb to his smallest finger. The flesh underneath the scab is exposed; it's pink and kind of moist looking. The scab itself has horse hair imbedded in it, it's dry, but with a "creamy" accumulation of puss underneath. Removing the lumps doesn't seems to bother the horse. Moving excess hair from the exposed pink flesh causes him to flinch. There are about 10 lumps on either side of of the horse. If the scabs were smaller and more numerous, I would think rain rot/rain scald. The area of affliction is confined pretty much to his back just beyond his whithers. There is no way I'm going to get a saddle on him until the skin heals.
How I dealt with it: well, the owner was recovering from a minor surgery. I made sure the flesh was free of dirt, and then used an activated charcoal mix to coat the wounds, and let it dry a bit. He then had his blankets put back on, as it's very cold, he was given an apple, and set back outside. The owner will look at him tomorrow.
I have never seen anything like this before. The scabs broke off so easily, but the flesh was very obviously not healed.
