Due to decreasing use over the years, I have decided to disable the forum functionality of the site.

Forums will still be available to view but new posts are no longer allowed.

spontaneous white hairs??? (got a picture! still no clue!)

Krickette March 20, 2011 March 21, 2011

Forums

So I haven't seen my horses since last weekend, and won't see them again till next... But I talked to Jamie, one of the little girls who rides Nike now and then, today and she asked what was wrong with Nike's butt. I was like... there shouldn't be anything wrong... But she said there was a white spot, like a circle. She said it looked like the hairs were white. So I talked to mom, and she said that it was a white circle, around a foot above his tail, like 4 inches in diameter. She said there isn't any scar... It wasn't there last time I was home! What could this be? ETA: got more pics from Dad, so a little better quality.

Krickette Sun, 03/20/2011 - 17:09

OK, my brother's friend texted me a picture....So it's not a very good one, as it was a kid that didn't know what I was looking to see.
Mom said that if you pick the hairs up the shafts are sort of creamy looking. She says there is no skin abrasion, the skin is completely normal. She was like "Well he is 18" but I have never seen anything like this. She says its like the size of your hand.

eta: the only thing I can think is Jazz does play with him and try to mount him and rear up on him, so maybe she came down there. He's been ridden a handful of times in the past year and none of his saddles come back that far.... and it was NOT there last weekend. I would have seen... plus I took like a thousand pictures and I didn't see anything out of place.

NZ Appaloosas Sun, 03/20/2011 - 17:54

okay, if that's ringworm it's one heck of a big ringworm mark...so my next guess is bleach? Someone went after him with a bleach bottle... ;-)

Diane

accphotography Sun, 03/20/2011 - 20:06

I think it's just a sabino thing. I've seen them alot on younger horses. Not common to develop one at his age, but why not?

Krickette Sun, 03/20/2011 - 21:51

It's eerie how similar the pattern of it is to Sheba's unexplained white spot... but she had hers since the day we got her.

Krickette Sun, 03/20/2011 - 23:14

I asked a friend in vet school if it looked like anything bad and she said this:
[quote]I did some research and it looks like equine leukotrichia which is an idiopathic (no known cause) disorder that is common in Arabians. It's something random that happens and causes the hair to lose pigment but the underlying skin can be normal. It may resolve on its own or be white forever. Currently there is no known issues to arise from it. Keep an eye on the skin and if it becomes crusty or pus-like then I would have a skin scrape done. Other than that, nothing to worry about. That white patch can occur with insect bites too but it looks and sounds more like leukotrichia.[/quote]

Monsterpony Mon, 03/21/2011 - 00:45

Equine Leukotrichia is the medical description for bird catcher spots. :bigsmile: It is defined as spontaneous spots, usually 1-3 cm, that appear sporadically throughout the coat, which can appear and regress; skin is unaffected. I haven't ever seen a bird catcher spot that big, but *shrugs* it could happen.