Help please!?!?!?!?!?

Question

Well, for some reason my mare has multiple scratches/nicks/gouges all over her body, like on her hips legs and face. I have no idea how she's doing it but its getting out of hand because i find one more almost every day. I have been putting an antibiotic cream stuff on them but i dont want them to scar and i would love for her to stop getting them all together. I know that it would be impossable to stop her from getting hurt unless i wrap her in bubble wrap.........Do you have any ideas for why/how this could be happening? Any tips for stopping it?

Answer 1

Any place they can get any part of their bodies where they shouldn't be in search of food is usually how this happens.  My mare was getting little scraps like these way up on her face just below her ears.  I just couldn't figure it out.  Then one day I saw how she was doing it.  They run in and out of their stalls.  The stalls have swinging doors which are about 13" off the ground to avoid getting legs caught underneath.  She was getting down on her knees, twisting her head sideways and reaching under the door for scraps of hay.  To see her do this with her big, fat, piggy belly was really quite comical.  Now I just insure the hay scraps are away from the bottom of that door - scrapes are gone.  

If they are out in any space with protrusions even so much as a piece of wood that sticks out a half inch, they can scratch themselves on that they'll get little scrapes.  Just go about the enclosure, find anything that sticks out or anywhere they can stick their heads through and look for evidence such as horse hair or rub spots to show this is where they are rubbing or something.  The only answer is that there's something(s) poking out somewhere allowing them to get rubbed enough to take off the hair and a layer of skin.  It can't be too sharp other wise they'd be drawing blood.

Answer 2

You don't mention whether she is with other horses, or if there are any in the next paddock. If so, then I would suggest that someone is bullying her. The other option that springs to mind is lice. She could be rubbing because of an itch, maybe a skin condition? Check for thorny plants in her paddock.If she is lice free & you cant find any plants that could be causing an itch, you may need to keep her rugged to stop her from rubbing bits off. IMO, she wont scar unless the patches are deep and bleeding.

Answer 3

I know exactly what you are talking about my mare has the exact same thing. I don't know how you can help it, but I do know what is causing it. My mare has two things that cause it, #1 Summer itch; If you don't know what that is it is something certain horses get in the summer that makes them really itchy, and that is what is making her get all those scratches, she is rubbing on everything she can. #2 my horse, and most likely yours too, is allergic to nats, and when nats bite their face, it causes them to lose their fur on that spot, and get them super itchy. My horse has rubbed herself raw in so many places, I know how you feel! I have been putting this corona Olenolin  ointment on it, it doesn't work great, but it is a lot better than some of the stuff I have tried. Look under you mares stomach, mine has a big patch of where she has rubbed all her fur off. Try also using deet on your horse. It sounds crazy but it works.  Good luck!