# Help..Photosensitivity



## Lorian (17 May 2005)

Hi guys,
Wanted your advise on photosensitivity.  My horse (Lorian) is a grey 15yr old Arab.  He lived out for the first time last year and I found out that he had photosensitivity.  The pink skin on his legs and nose went scabby with yellow fluid around them.  Very Very Horrible.  The 2 vets I went to were sure it wasnt photosensitivity and I tried Dermobion for Mud fever, Frontline for mites, MSM ointment, Aloe Vera gel, Sudocream, childrens sun block and was considering using Camrosa ointment.  In the winter it all cleared up????  He still has very pink legs and not much hair where the skin was damaged last year.  At the moment I have put him on Echinacea which I give him every day with one weekend off in 2.  I am using NAF Sunshield which I was hoping would work but he is starting to get signs of it already and I can only put this on at night as I cant get to the yard in the mornings.  Does anyone know of any good sun creams/products or had any experience with Crusader turnout boots as I was thinking of trying these.  He doesnt like being stabled so dont want to have to bring him in during the day.
Also he is turned out in a field with has no St Johns Wort and about 15 buttercups and a few patches of clover but not loads (I know that these can make horses more pronce to photosensitivity) 

Anybody with any experience of photosensitivity would be GREATLY appreciated as all vets etc seem to deny it exists and I am running out of ideas... /images/HHThreads/frown.gif
HELP............


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## Gingernags (17 May 2005)

The problem with the toxin in buttercups is its cumulative - the damage could have been done over several years and whilst there may only be a few in the field now - do you know if that has always been the case?

I know way before I found out about buttercups, a friends horse got it, and he was a coloured show horse and he had patches on his neck.  She used to turn him out in a summer sheet to keep the sun off - so I'd say try to cover any areas that get it.  Fly rugs being white reflect a good amount - there may be some that actually class themselves as sun ones.

Haven't heard of the boots but I'd think that would be a good idea - try to keep the sun off as much as poss.  You can get nose sun nets to keep their nose from burning - Rideaway have them - about a fiver.

I did see a long time ago, and not for this so not sure how safe it would be - a grey carriage horse being kept clean by some long "socks" attached to its rug - almost like comedy suspenders.

Can you ask someone at the yard to put cream on a morning?  I think you really need to get that done as often as possible.


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## Lorian (17 May 2005)

Thank you for replying.
With regards to the buttercups, I actually moved Lorian to this yard last year, he was at the previous one for several years and his field here was covered in them so this might be the cause of it.  I didnt realise it could build up in their system.  Do you maybe think then that Pink Power or a digestive aid might help him as I know that sometimes photosensitive horses have problems digesting the chlorophyll(Sorry about spelling) /images/HHThreads/smile.gif


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## Gingernags (17 May 2005)

Not sure about what you could add, but hopefully keeping him off buttercup fields will help.  I'd pull up the few that are there just in case (or get someone to spray them).

I know it stays in the liver, but maybe it was worse before being in those fields and may gradually wear off if he's not coming onto contact with them any more.  Will see what I can find out!


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## Patches (17 May 2005)

I was just going to say have you had a blood test done to test his liver function?

Photosensitivity can be a symptom of liver disease which I am sure could be treated if this is the case. Are the whites of his eyes "white" or yellowy? 

It's a toughie one isn't it. Can he be in during the day but out overnight? Would that help or would he stand over the stable door anyway in the sun?


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## heatwave (18 May 2005)

i know how you feel harry is appoloosa so suffers mainly on his nose,you arnt feeding alpha a ,are you becsuse that is what i fed harry when he was really bad and apprantly there have been studies on lucerne and it is photosensitive also check if you feed spillers feeds they all have lucerne in them .i have to be very carefull about whati feed harry  ,the best thing to do is cover the affected area ,can you turn out at night?buy the highest sun block you can (im useing aloe vera sunblock and aloe vera after sun and harry only goes out for a couple of hours in a fly mask which i have swen a extra bit on so covers his hole nose.interesting about the buttercups ,im off to pick them from my field tonight.


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## Alibear (18 May 2005)

I'd go with the other suggestions of sweing some towel onto the nose band of a field safe head coller so the towel hangs over his nose to help block out the sunlight and the turn out boots may be a good idea for his legs as well.I've only know horses with noses that suffer in the past so not to sure on his legs sorry. Also need to get his liver function checked as this is often related.


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## moose (18 May 2005)

Lorian, pls pm me have tried to pm you but it wont work but if you pm me I can reply.


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## Lorian (19 May 2005)

**UPDATE**
Spoke to vet yesterday and they were helpful.  Said best thing would be to use turnout boots or bandages on legs and fly mask for nose.  I told the vet Lorians history and how bad it was last year and he said that there is a strong possibility that his liver is probably damaged.  A blood test will cost £100 but I am going to see how it goes for a few weeks and see if the boots make a difference.  Once I have saved up I will get the test done just so that I know either way.  Has anyone had a horse with liver problems before or knows anyone who has and how to treat it?


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## spaniel (19 May 2005)

The newest horse on our yard came with a number of problems, one of which is liver damage (possibly caused by sheep fluke or ragwort).  He has had multivitamin injections and a 'tonic' administered orally.  After three weeks he had a second blood test which shows his levels are so close to nomal again that there is noneed for concern.

Im not sure whether stabilising/treating/regenerating your horses liver will stop the photosensitivity as it may be too well established but it may help.  The liver, if treated well and early, has the amazing ability to heal and reform quite quickly so fingers crossed for good results from the tests when you have them.


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## Maesfen (20 June 2005)

Hello.  I looked after a show cob with this problem a few years back.  She had had various treatments and been assessed by an expert in that field (sorry, can't remember the name just know she was female!) that had been contacted by the vet (David Eccles from Atherton, Manchester.)  At the time she was having prednisolone crushed into a feed daily.  When she came she was on 60 tablets a day but went down to 40 within 6 months and was due to be reduced further when she left.  She had also been started on a Feedmark product called Dermis (I think - I know it was about £80 for a large sack!) which also seemed to help.  If you get your vet to contact David Eccles, he might be able to put you in contact with  'the expert'.  Hope this helps.  The mare also used to have Fungacidine? cream applied to any sore spots.


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## Tia (21 June 2005)

My little pony developed photosensitivity for a short time a few years ago.  It was horrific, as the skin on her forehead was peeling off and oozing yellow pus and plasma.  I initially thought she had been attacked by some idiot who had splashed acid on her as it was so disgusting - then I realised that no, it was obviously photosensitivity.  The photosensitivity started as a little circle about the size of a 10p and within an hour and a half had spread over the whole of her forehead.  I stabled her in a dark stable immediately and smeared her with Protocon to tide her over until the vet came.  He told me that this was the right thing to do but he gave me a far stronger potion of cortisone and antihistamines which cleared it up pretty quickly.  

I had a liver test done just to make sure that she was okay - this came back clear.  My field didn't have any buttercups or St John's Wort however the neighbouring set-aside field did!  I promptly trespassed and pulled all of it that was within snatching distance from the fenceline and this seemed to do the trick and she never got it anymore.

If you have buttercups in your field then I would suggest you make sure they are sprayed next year to stop this recurring.  You can have them topped to help alleviate the problem now.  You say that there are only a handful of buttercups, so if I was you I would walk this field carefully and see if you can spot what is causing this reaction if it isn't buttercups and if you still can't find anything then the only other thing it really could be is that your horse has chronic liver damage.


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## frannieuk (2 September 2005)

Have just had one mare with it on one fetlock, put my other mare out with her and within 12hours she had developed a huge patch of it on the same fetlock, accompanied by horrendous puffy leg. Have been covering the area with gamgee and vetwrap, and both horses are recovering well. I searched the field and found a very few buttercups and some clover, but it seems odd that they only got it when moving into this one field as the other fields I have all seem to have the same type of grazing. Does anyone know where i can get the crusador turnout boots in this country?


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## spaniel (2 September 2005)

You should be able to order them through a saddlers, we have the turnout hoods so there shouldnt be a problem getting other products from Caschel.


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## staceyhowlett (19 June 2007)

I think I could write a book on this subject!  Two years ago all four of my horses got photosensitivity, at first it was misdiagnosed by the vet as mud fever.  All grazed in individual paddocks, we do not have any buttercups or St Johns Wort or Ragwort.  I had only had one horse for 3 weeks before this happend. I had their blood levels tested and the AST and GGT levels were through the roof. My vet couldnt understand how they were still competing. We 3 day event with one of them.  2 years on and we still have the problem, I have had two agronomists inspect the field, the only weeds we have which all 4 could have possibly eaten was Hogweed and Lesser Celandine.  I have been in touch with the top liver specialist at Liverpool University, but to date cannot find out exactly what caused it. We had soil samples tested for heavy metals and the water, nothing unusual in the results.  I am baffled, I have used the Mark Todd fly and UV rug with a neck cover which is good, my vet makes up a sunblock and they have the crusader fly masks on.  When it gets really hot, they have to come in.  It's a nightmare, I really thought we were going to loose one of our horses as her legs were so badly burn't.  Camrosa is fantastic at lifting the scabs and helping with the weeping. Last year was not too bad, but this year it is worse.


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## dalbystorm (3 August 2007)

My Miniature Shetland Dun gelding has an unknown liver problem and severe photosensitivity/sweetitch problem. His liver function is fine but Gamma GT reading at 1130 (1100 more than it should be). What were your GGT readings?


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## cathey0597 (9 December 2008)

Hi there, it's just a suggestion, there's a product on the market called Milk Thistle Powder by Equus Health

Aids liver damage. Famous for its ability to protect and improve liver function, plus speed up regeneration of the liver cells.

And it's natural


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