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Is this ringworm?

6K views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  New_image 
#1 ·
Would you believe in the years that I have been taking in rescues/projects/etc that I haven't come across ring worm? Rain rot, on over half of the horses that come here, but no ring worm. Is this what I have here? I have been treating her like any other fungus-y horse (careful where her shedding hair ends up during grooming, not sharing saddle pads, her own grooming tools, plenty of sunshine, no blanketing, feeding BOSS, Vit E, Flax, applying tea tree oil and ACV to the "spots", that sort of thing...)

And if any one else suspects ring worm (I've just never seen it in person, she has 6 spots like the ones shown below...?) Are we winning the battle if the hair is growing back? New hair growth has sprouted in two of the circles.









Waiting patiently for bathing season.........
 
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#2 ·
Sure looks like it to me. Chilly had it years ago. Topical fungus ointment took care of it.

it can be passed to you and your dogs/cats, so be careful when handling this horse and any others.
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#6 ·
It may or may not be ringworm, but her skin is so bad that I would about bet she has lice and a Vitamin A deficiency, too.

I really doubt ringworm, but since it is only a few spots, I would play it safe and get some 'Captan Powder'. It is a garden fungicide that you get at a garden center. You add water and remember to shake it up good any time you use it. Just 'dabble' it on the spots. You can do it in the winter by just using it locally.

If you get in horses with skin problems like lice and rain rot, you should get a bottle of injectable Vitamin A. It is available anywhere supplies or feed are sold for cattle. DO NOT inject it; just squirt 5 cc into any horse's mouth. You can keep Vitamin A levels up by using it weekly for 3 or 4 doses until the rain rot and lice disappear or green grass is available. It will prevent rain rot by just giving a dose once or twice a month. Or, you can give the oral dose a couple of times while you get them started on a good supplement that is high in Vitamin A like 'Farnam's Mare Plus'.
 
#7 ·
I would like to state that I am not an expert. I would like to offer a treatment option I remember being used on a rescue horse at the stables I worked at for a summer when I was 13. A vet had diagnosed ringworm and said that Vagisil (a woman's yeast infection ointment) was a good treatment. I believe it was applied to spots one to two times daily until they disappeared and then for a week longer just in case.

I would bring this option up to your vet to see if it's still a recommended treatment (and to make sure you are in fact treating ringworm). I know you said that it seemed like it was clearing, but thought I would offer just in case. Lots of luck with treatment!
 
#9 ·
Cherie is spot on. Listen to her. That skin looks scurfy and unhealthy. My horses used to look like that and have random issues with rain rot and so forth till I learned about supplementing the vit A from her. Well except for the case of scratches because I was LATE starting supplementing last fall after we started hay. Went away in like a week after dosing her.

It could be ringworm. Could be just bad skin. Id listen to her. JMO.
 
#10 ·
yeah I think ringworm.... most horses will auto immune to it when they have it.. is it a young horse? My young one got it - is hideous but does disappear after a few weeks... a regular iodine wash will help it along - and some form of antifungal cream.. yourll prob find it will spread around face ears, and even back of heels

personally for RW I wouldnt bother with the vet... as it will go away on its own eventually even if you werent to touch it - they can take a scrapping but usually its nearly healed once all thats done... Its a tad annoying and quite ugly but they only usually get it once... My girl got it off the movers truck when she was shipped to me
 
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