Scabs - what are these, please?

[LindaAd]

Hebe has a nasty scabby patch on her neck, behind the ear, about the size of a 50 p. piece. The scabs look granular, like demarara sugar, and they rub off easily, leaving bare skin. They don't seem to be itchy or painful. It looks rather like mud fever - we had a bit of that earlier, in the winter, but that healed up by itself. Anyone have any idea what this might be, please?

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

Rainscald? That's where Mattie tends to get it, and he is always scabby this time of year too.

 

[LindaAd]

Thanks, Jane. Rainscald is the same as mud fever, isn't it, only higher up on the horse? Do you treat Mattie's in any way?

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

Well, there is quite a lot of disagreement on here about the best way to treat it as you will find if you do a search for old threads. My vet advised me to pick the scabs off (a cat flea comb does this brilliantly) and treat the area with athlete's foot powder, believe it or not. Mattie likes having the scabs removed, and the powder seems to clear up the infection. It is bacterial, I think that's like mud fever.

 

[popularfurball]

My default position on something like this is autoimmune/ezcema/dermatitis based issues - I'm very biased with madams issues but I'm certain it's under diagnosed as low level it often doesn't warrant vet visits and even when it does they usually say mud fever or rain scald without any further tests for healing sores I rate aloe Vera gel (so much so I grow our own now!!)

 

[Trewsers]

For rain scald on Chloe's back I have used Seleen shampoo with some success, though her Cushings dictates that her skin is never completely normal.

 

[chunky monkey]

I have similar round edge of rug on neck. Applied pig oil and sulphur and its cleared up. Its because mines toohhot with his rain sheet on. But its too cold for his fly sheet.

 

[LindaAd]

Thanks for the replies, people. It seems to have cleared up by itself now - nice clean skin underneath and the hair beginning to grow back. But I'll think of aloe vera next time - I have some growing - thanks popularfurball.