As you may recall, Kinna went off down to my friend Sarah's for summer school a few weeks ago. Not for the first time either, she and Sky were there for the
summer a couple of years ago, with no problems at all. So we were a bit surprised when Kinna suddenly started getting a scabby nose. Sarah thought it might be sunburn at first, but then it spread to the rest of her head and her legs which started to swell up.
She also has these strange ridges on her skin
Just after she started getting these symptoms, Sarah's coloured mare, Squaw, got the same, but only on her white bits. The vet came, and Kinna was her usual "cooperative" self, which meant it took two and a half hours to get her treated :-/. After the struggle they'd had to get a needle in her she decided after that she didn't want anyone doing anything else to her, not even putting cream on her.
So Ali and I went to visit her yesterday and it took us about 20 minutes to convince her to let us put a rope round her neck and take a look at her. No way was anyone going to be putting anything on her head. But looking like this, who can blame her?
The vet came back and took bloods from Squaw but couldn't get anywhere near Kinns, not even after we'd put sedative in a feed for her. She remembers the
EIA incident only too well......and has never been good with needles, ever since the vet hurt her doing her microchip.
So it looks like she's going to have to come home, trying to arrange that for next week. It's bizarre as she spent the whole summer there in 2011 with no ill effects, and Squaw has lived there for years and nothing like this has ever happened. The other 2 equines are dark skinned and absolutely fine. Could it be the buttercups/St John's Wort? Maybe there are just many more because of the wet weather we've been having......
2 comments:
What a mess! It sure looks like an allergic reaction to something. That can be a cumulative thing where she reacts to something that didn't affect her earlier.
Any new paint/creosote etc. on the fencing?
I'd send a photo to a veterinary college to get input.
Good luck.
Sarah's vet has photographed both horses and every plant in the field and is going to do some research. I know St John's Wort can cause photosensitivity, and horses can get buttercup burn and they are both present in the field (the 2 affected horses have been moved to a smaller field without any). Hopefully Squaw's blood test will be able to tell them what she is reacting to......no new paint etc. and the vineyard next door hasn't been sprayed, it's a real mystery!
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