Hi all. Great to find you all on line!

I have been battling a tail head infection on my Arab mare for several years. It has become progressively worse and now I am losing the battle and possibly the war. Betadine is what I used last year with some success. However it isn't doing the trick this year.

The tail head is scaly and patchy with broken skin. If I don't do something quickly she'll be minus a tail soon. It is obviously driving her a little wild with irritation.

I expect it is a fungus as it is worse with the wet conditions this year. Flea and tic powder did nothing in extended religious applications.

Anyone with experience would be a welcome breath of fresh air.

Thanks in advance. Ian.

-- Ian Timshel (itschaotic@yahoo.ca), May 19, 2001

Answers

Ian, have you had her checked for pin worms? Sometimes they will rub the tail raw from the irritation, and it never quite heals well. Otherwise, I don't know what else you can try. Anyone have any ideas? Jan

-- Jan in CO (Janice12@aol.com), May 19, 2001.

Thanks for posting quickly. I'm a little distressed with the degree to which this is out of control.

I began by treating it as pin worm problem years ago and went for topical and internal applications of eqvalan or however you spell it. I'm all out of gas on this. I don't even know what to do about the irritation any more. I had used mineral oil for a while but it didn't really seem to do much but keep it moist. I'm stumped and the problem is going to rob her of her tail again. This time I think it's going to be unacceptably bad though so I guess I'll make some phone calls and trailer her off to see a doc. Thanks again for your input. ;^)

-- Ian Timshel (itschaotic@yahoo.ca), May 20, 2001.

Your vet is your best answer at this point. Without doing a skin exam, possibly scraping, you can't really tell what you are dealing with. Betadine does nothing much for fungus.

Is your horse out in the rain? If so, this may be rain rot, or sweet itch. If this is a badly entrenched fungal infection, it is important that she not stand out in the rain as this will only make matters worse. She should be stabled and kept dry when it rains.

Some people swear by Goldbond medicated cream...I have had good luck using Oxygene on horses with persistant problems with scratches. In another case, someone brought a rather nasty mystery skin crud into the barn on a new horse and it started to spread. An old, debilitated horse in my care came down with it, and the vet prescribed and supplied a shampoo called CytOxyl, which is 5% Benzoyl Peroxide. Following the bottle directions religiously in treating her cleared it up quickly -- the person who created the problem didn't follow directions and it lingered on and on. I also was scrupulous in cleaning all tack, blankets, etc that came in contact with her every time I scrubbed her down with it, and sprayed the stall down with Nolvasan while she was outside.

Without a vet exam it's hard to say if this will work for your horse, and since it was over $17 a bottle, you may end up saving money by going directly to the vet and not spending more money on shooting in the dark. I wish you good luck.

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), May 20, 2001.

I suspect a professional vet diagnosis would have stopped the mare from suffering a long time ago.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), May 20, 2001.

You may want to try tea tree oil and/or a colodial silver solution to clear it up. Also, I had a persistent localized skin condition on the girth chest area on one of my mares. Tried everything, including a vet visit and antibiotic run. Nothing worked. We finally started excluding one by one each item of feed for a couple of days. Turned out she had an allergy to oat hat that manifested itself in this localized very itchy outbreak. She had been eating out hay for years.

Tho this is a localized problem it is also a systemic problem. Something is up with the immune system that needs to be addressed. Also, because she can rub her tail easily on lots of things you may need to isolate her from rub areas as she may be having an allergic reaction to an exterior thing.

-- Stacia in OK (oneclassycowgirl@aol.com), May 20, 2001.

Thanks for the help. I'll be on to your suggestions with my vet

-- Ian Timshel (itschaotic@yahoo.ca), May 20, 2001.

Hi Ian, I too, have battled tail "itchies" with my four Arabd for years, off and on again. I have a herbal remedy that does help, take one bottle of witch hazel (16 ounces), 6-8 ounces of aloe vera gel, and 4 ounces of tea tree oil (all of these are available at Walmart) and put in a spray bottle and shake well. Apply at least twice a day, all around the tail head area and all the underside skin also. I also got great inprovement by feeding garlic powder twice a day, added to their feed, two teaspoonsful each feed. I suspect it is the sulfur compounds and allicin in the garlic that is beneficial to the skin allergic reactions that are going on to cause the itchies in the first place. You might also try systemic antihistamines to help the allergic reaction in your mare in addition to the feed garlic and topical witch hazel concoction, night take several things in combination to help her. Good luck!

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), May 20, 2001.

I've had the problem on several horses that arrived here over the years and found that two different products work pretty well. The first choice is Hibitane ointment for fungus. The second is any ointment for athelete's foot. They both seem to work. Good Luck.

-- Peggy Wilson & Lorne Case (moonshad@cyberus.ca), May 23, 2001.