Fungus under the skin - is there such a thing?

[Valrory]

Tesoro has these little bumps about a 1/4 of an inch in diamater on his front right shoulder area. He had them when I bought him & they've been there all winter. Nothing changed, so I was not concerned. However, in the last couple of weeks, I've noticed that there seems to be more of them. I had my vet look at them & she thought they were scars.

My farrier was out today & said she noticed more of them like it was spreading and that he had an under the skin fungus.

Anyone heard fo this? How would this be treated?

I'll see if I can get a photo when I get home tonight.

[Valrory]

I need to add that he is not itchy and still has hair where the bumps are.

[pnalley]

What are those bump things that have the worm thing in them? Warbler lumps?

In any case it wouldn't hurt him to get him wormed with ivermectin. That is some good stuff.

[Carol Nelson]

Three things you can do. Mix a mild solution of bleach and water...like 1 part bleach to ten to fifteen parts water...very mild. Sponge him down thoroughly in that area and around it. I had a gelding that had a peculiar rash like that all over his body when I got him. He came from the Gulf area and I think actually it was from the sea air and extreme humidity down there. I sponged him all over with the bleach and water solution and it caused him no ill effects at all...then I rinsed him off all over, and got a lot of salt out of his coat. Within days, it cleared up and has never come back.
I also, like Paula, recommend Ivermectin, both orally and topically, you can actually rub the Ivermectin into the bumps.
Also if it is an extensive rash, you can buy human Benedryl over the counter and give three to four of those broken up in his grain.

[boo]

One of my horses has the same thing, I have tried the double wormer method, and the benedryl.. will try the bleach thing..(he does not itch them , and they dont seem to bother him) and they go away in the cooler weather.. I think it is a bug allergy?

[Valrory]

Here are some photos. It is spreading. I found a small bump up on his neck, one near his girth & one further down on his tummy. He also has one under his chin in between the jaw area.

At first glance, it looks like hives. He only had a small handful (4-5) back in November and stayed the same until the last couple of weeks.

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww292/valrory_j/Misc/100_2119.jpg

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww292/valrory_j/Misc/100_2118.jpg

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww292/valrory_j/Misc/100_2117.jpg

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww292/valrory_j/Misc/100_2113.jpg

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww292/valrory_j/Misc/100_2112.jpg

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww292/valrory_j/Misc/100_2120.jpg

[Leather]

It sort of looks/sounds like the eosinophilic granuloma from this dermatology article (page 6):

http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/ceh/docs/horsereport/pubs-HR24-1-bkm-sec.pdf

Might be worth having a skin scraping/biopsy done.

[Carol Nelson]

You know...I always shudder when people show photos of things like that....kinda like humans when we have a bump or a rash that we don't know what it is....and we go on the Web and we try to diagnose it ourselves. We get all bent out of shape because we are just sure that it is a life threatening disease.
I think it's important to realize that yes, it CAN be something like the photos shown in the article, but it most likely ISN'T something like that.
From the photos that Valroy posted...I would say to try the lesser of the treatments listed...and then if that doesn't provide relief, try a little more aggressive measures....and then, God forbid, if the horse doesn't seem bothered by the problem....wait a bit and see if it goes away by itself.
Believe it or not, nine times out of ten...the horse's own immune system takes care of it, and it goes away. Just like that.

Horses will also get a dermatitis from bug bites in the summertime. The benedryl or some other such antihistamine will do the trick!!
Benedryl also comes in a liquid form which some horses tolerate much better.

[pasoglide]

Looks like bug bites . My App used to get them in the summer time . I think they where from nats or no-seeums because I never saw bugs on her .

[paintedhorizon]

My mare Sage used to get those every single summer. EXACT thing Val. Vet said it was hives and I would give her a steroid shot once a year during summer and it would clear them up.

[pnalley]

Brat gets something that looks like that evey now & then. I think in her case it is fire ant bites.

Scooter is allergic to gnats. His skin issues look nothing like that. Those warble(?) bumps don't look like that either.

[Valrory]

My vet has me doing double ivermectin for 3 days.