Scratching the Surface of Equine Skin Diseases

If you have ever owned a horse with a skin disease you know from experience that these conditions are frustrating to manage diagnosing them can be difficult and their treatment is tedious. Worse yet skin diseases can be painful for your horse if they cause lameness or irritation under tack.
Dr. Michelle Husulak has seen her fair share of equine skin diseases during her work as a resident in equine field service at the Western College of Veterinary Medicines Veterinary Medical Centre in Saskatoon Saskatchewan. Husulak talks about diagnosing and treating four of the most common skin conditions that plague horses in Canada. 
Pastern Dermatitis
Pastern dermatitis goes by many names scratches grease heel cracked heel or mud fever. Veterinarians can rarely identify the cause of the disease but the main suspects are bacteria and fungus.
Crusted scabs are typically found on the back of the pastern but lesions can extend higher or to the front of the leg. The condition most often affects white areas on a horses leg and it can be aggravated by sunlight. To make matters worse the limb is often swollen and painful.
The skin below the crusting is red and cracked and there is often hair loss there as well says Husulak. 
She says its important to talk to your veterinarian early in the disease process. If your vet sees the wounds in the early stages he or she can biopsy the skin to try to determine the cause and treat your horse more effectively.
Initially we start off by clipping the hair and removing the dirt and debris. Then we remove the crusts with warm water and antibacterial soap says Husulak. She adds that this process can be painful and the horse may need to be sedated.
We then apply a scratches ointment thats made by our pharmacy says Husulak. It contains steroid antibiotic and antifungal medication that decreases the inflammation and kills bacteria and fungi present in the skin. 
The leg is then bandaged to keep it clean and out of the sun. Owners must continue to clean the sores apply cream and bandage the leg daily until the wounds heal.
Dermatophilosis is caused by a contagious bacteria called Dermatophilus congolensis. It can be spread between horses on brushes and tack or by biting insects. Dermatophilosis also affects other animals such as cattle but its rarely diagnosed in people.
This disease doesnt commonly affect completely healthy horses. There needs to be a break in the skin and usually the horse has an underlying condition that decreases its ability to fight off the infection says Husulak. Cracks in a horses skin can be caused by superficial wounds from trees fences or other horses.
The main clinical sign is a crusting or paint brush lesion says Husulak. Discharge and pus stick in the hair next to the skin and create paint brushlike tufts when they fall out. These tufts leave behind a patch of bald skin and become a source of infection for other animals.
Typically a horse is diagnosed with dermatophilosis based on