Equine integument Flashcards
Lice in horses signs and treatment
Densely stocked, winter
Pruritic
Rubbed out hair
Usually biting lice
Species specific
Treatment
-Pyrethrin based shampoo
-Pyrethrin powder (difficult to find)
Chorioptic mange is caused by in horses
Chorioptic bovis mite
“Feather mites”
Mange is most commonly found in what part of horses
Most commonly found in distal limbs of horses with heavy feathering
Hyperkeratotic skin
Stomping
Biting at legs
Treatment of mange in horses
Systemic ivermectin
Clipping feathers
Pyrethrin shampoo
Pastern dermatitis in equine is and looks like
AKA “Scratches”, “Greasy Heel”, Mud fever
Usually legs with white markings +/- in wet enclosure, sun exposure?
Thick, crusts with underlying purulent discharge
Combined bacterial and fungal infection
Treatment of pastern dermatitis in horses
Topical antibacterial, antifungal, steroid cream
Prevention of pastern dermatitis in equine
Clean, dry pens
Non-abrasive pasture (ex. Stubble fields)
Dermatophytosis looks like and is caused by in equine
Fungal infection
Zoonotic!
Pruritic
Round areas of alopecia
Highly contagious
Treatment of dermatophytosis in equine
Antifungal
Fluoride toothpaste
Benign neglect
Papillomatosis in horses is caused by
Virus
Young horses
Muzzle, prepuce, vulva
May predispose to squamous cell carcinoma
Benign neglect
Sarcoids are
Most common type of skin tumor in horses
Bovine papilloma virus (?)
Usually benign, but location usually requires removal
Eye
Prepuce
Limbs
Girth
Often recur
”The Great Pretender”
Often mimicks other skin disease
Treatments of sarcoids in equine
Chemotherapy-Immunocidin®
Radiation
Surgical excision
Cryotherapy
Prognosis guarded
Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) are most common in
Most common cancerous skin tumor
Adult horses
Unpigmented, unhaired skin
Prepuce
Vulva
Eye
Lips
SCC in horses treatment and prognosis
Good prognosis if caught early
Chemotherapy-Immunocidin®
Radiation
Surgical excision
Cryotherapy
Melanoma is what in equine and most common in
Benign skin tumor
Genetic
Grey horses
What does melanoma look like in horses
Black nodular round tumors
Underside of tail
Anus
Genitals
Lymph nodes
Face
Treatment of melanoma in horses
Benign neglect
De-bulking surgery
Wounds in horses
Horses are capable of healing from many complex and large wounds if dealt with in a timely manner, outcome depends on location more than the size of the wound.
Wounds take time to heal. Takes about 1 year for a wound to be fully “consolidated”
Advise owners to be patient
When is a wound an emergency for a horse
Any wound on the knee/hock and below
Synovial structures
Tendons and ligaments
Eyes
Very painful
Only have two!
Excessive hemorrhage
10% of blood volume
Non-weight bearing lameness
Possible penetration of body cavity
Steps to wound management in horses
Clean
To close or not to close?
Bandage
Bandage changed frequently in early stages
Check tetanus vaccine status
What to clean a horses wound with
if you wouldn’t put it in your own eye, don’t put it in a wound”
Saline*, dilute betadine solution (not scrub), Hose?
Careful with pressure
Primary closure is
Time-“Golden period” ~4-6 hours post injury
Tissue damage? Location? (Is bandaging possible? Is there enough skin to pull across?)
Dirty?
Second intention closure
–let it close on its own–contraction, epithelialization.
Delayed closure
get it cleaned up, debrided-then suture
