Mr Itchy - and being a dismal horse person

It has been a mild and VERY WET winter so far.

'Mr F' was doing fine until the 1st of January 2014 ...

We had another great ride the day before; a beautiful winters day ending with a lovely sunset.

Previously I had only put hoof boots on 'Mr F' on his front feet but the 'Barefoot Lady' pointed out that his back feet were exposed to too much abrasion on hard (tarmac) ground. As I only had boots for his front feet I borrowed a pair of hoof boots from 'Jane', with inserts, to make them fit as good as possible.

The ride out went fine, untill the last few 100 yards. One of the back hoof boots had become lightly twisted but we were nearly home (10 minutes) so I left it be. We got back home and 'Mr F' seemed pretty pleased with his lot. His feet were fine, I couldn't find any rubbing where the boot had become twisted.

2 days later 'Lillian' and I planned on going out riding again. I went to tack up 'Mr F' when I noticed he was not at all happy.  During the day I experienced annoying people of varying degrees and now we were surrounded by other people in the yard. I just wanted peace.

Normally I allow for as long as it takes to get 'Mr F' tacked up. I do not like to rush him and I like the time while brushing and preparing to get an idea of his mood.

But today I was very distracted and didn't pay much notice to the fact that 'Mr F' was giving me various hints trying to tell me something wasn't right.

As we walked out of the yard I noticed that 'Mr F' had a hard time walking with his hind legs. I still was somewhat ignoring it but then I looked at his sorrowful eyes and it was like a slap in my face. 'You stupid woman! Get a grip and become aware of the situation rather than dwelling on matters that are by and large really not all that important!' - My thoughts to myself.

I said to 'Lillian' that I wasn't going to ride but that I would lead him along the way for a while to see how his leg was. We didn't get far. It was no good. 'Lillian' too noticed that he wasn't right. I did check his feet but couldn't notice anything that could be wrong. Then again, I had very little knowledge still. 

Well, I was about to get yet another crash course in horse care.

The next morning both his back legs were quite swollen in the pastern area and I had seen him stand in the field rubbing his back side along hedges while stamping with his foot. 'Lillian' thought it could be mites (mange). 'Mr F' had always been a little itchy anyway as soon as his winter coat began growing. And when he arrived at 'Buttercup Farm' in February/March, he was infested with lice. He does have a rather thick winter coat now. Would I have known just how thick his coat grows I would have had him clipped.

The other 'option' was mud fever or something of that sort. 'Mr F' had very warm hoof walls and for a short while I wondered whether he may have an abscesses. Although he only just had his feet trimmed a few days ago and when doing the pressure point test he was fine. Besides, it seemed odd to have abscesses in both hooves at the same time, appearing over night!

I did notice some scabs on his pastern and so decided to wrapping them in bandages soaked in warm water to try and soften the scabs. I would then apply a thick layer of sudocream which is antiseptic and should protect for a while as a mud barrier. It was all that I had available at the time, it would have to do.

I washed his belly, back inner legs and neck with medicated shampoo just in case he was suffering with the lice again (I thought I had seen a few appear again).

The bandages ...

 'Mr F's laundry ...

I did ask 'Suzie' the Vet whether it could be mites but she was of the opinion that that would be very unlikely in a thoroughbred. I myself have read up on all possible parasites in the meantime, including all types of 'mud fever' and am still inclined to think it is mites (he would need an injection for that following a skin scrap for testing the type of mite/parasite.)

'Mr F's lower limbs were swollen for nearly a week but appeared to get better. I noticed that the skin on the back pastern was very hard and thick, almost crusty but not as you would see with mud fever. Perhaps he has a fungal infection (I read up on that, too!) and so I began treating the area with Iodine Spray while keeping it clean as good as possible.

He had other itchy spots such as the inner thighs. I am very glad that 'Mr F' is used to me touching him anywhere without being bothered by it. I checked his tail base and all of his back for signs of bites but all I found was a few largish scabby patches. I spent a good week washing, soaking and pulling off the scabs (some type of mud fever or rain scald I guess). He would go into a near trance like state if I'd hit the itchiest spots! I felt very sorry for him and worse I felt all itchy too for a good week!

Two weeks of soaking, washing, scratching and scab removing passed. We are slowly back to normal and 'Mr F' is starting to look much more at ease with his lot. And I no longer have to get up an extra hour earlier, because each morning and evening I would spend at least an hour dealing with 'Mr F's scabs etc.

If not already before these two week, now 'Mr F' certainly does not have a single spot on his body that I haven't touched, repeatedly while removing scabs and attending his itchyness.

Unfortuanately he lost a fair amount of tail hair because he was itching so badly. It'll take a while for that to grow back.

So, what was the cause of this?

I can only guess that it may have had to do with that ride out and the twisted boot. Perhaps it did rub somewhere. Just a tiny wound is enough for bacteria to enter and from there the infection can spread like a wildfire.  Other than that, I have no explanation.

Lets hope whatever it was does not return!